By Sheona Burns
You don’t have to eat haggis, play bagpipes, or drink shots of whisky to partake in a wee bit of Scottish culture.
All you need is a tartan kilt, black leather slippers, and a little bit of co-ordination, according to Bonny Berger.
“I like to kick up my feet and dance a Scottish jig every so often,” says the Scottish country dancer. “It’s great fun, and it gives a pretty good workout too.”
Berger gets ‘jiggy’ every Monday night at Glashan school on Arlington Avenue where she takes Scottish dance lessons.
“There’s something wonderful about dressing in kilts, and dancing to Scottish music,” she says.
“Even though I’m not Scottish, this kind of dancing is very historic. It’s a real cultural experience and I love that sort of thing.”
The classes, run by the Arbrae Dancers of Ottawa, specialize in Scottish country dancing – otherwise known as “the ballroom dancing of Scotland.”
Unlike Highland dancing, which usually involves solo dancing to bagpipe music, Scottish country dancing involves sets of six to 10 people, dancing to the sounds of the fiddle, piano, violin and accordion.
“This is a type of social dancing,” says Elaine Hoag, the dance school’s secretary.
“Dance etiquette requires that you change partners every so often, so you’re not always stuck with the same person.”
The Ardbrae Dancers of Ottawa have been teaching Scottish country dancing for over 40 years.They have over 100 students, ranging in ages from 20 to 80.
“There’s a diverse group of people interested in Scottish dance,” says Hoag.
“We get everybody from couples interested in staying active and being social, to people who just plain enjoy the music,” she says. “It’s also fairly easy to learn.”
Susanne Young, dance instructor at Ardbrae, says there are only a few people in her class who are of Scottish ancestry.
“You don’t need to be Scottish to take part in this kind of dancing,” she says. “This is the sort of thing that anyone can enjoy.”
Scottish country dancing is thriving in dance schools all over the world.
“It’s really popular in Asia right now,” says Young. “People in Japan are crazy about it.”
Young, who is of French-Canadian descent, says Scottish country dancing has universal appeal.
“This type of dancing is popular everywhere,” she said. Nationality doesn’t matter.”
Although Berger was born and raised in Canada she says she’s enchanted by the Scottish culture.
“I love everything about Scotland from the clothes, the music, to those little Scotty dogs,” she says. “I think I must have been born there in a past life.”
Berger hopes to visit Scotland someday and strut some of her dance moves.
“But first, I have to improve my dance steps,” she says.