Scottish Country Dancing
Scottish Country Dance (SCD) is the social ballroom dancing of Scotland. It has been around for centuries, but many aspects of SCD have been formalized under the auspices of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS), which was started as the Scottish Country Dance Society in 1923 by Jean Milligan and Ysobel Stewart. SCD is a social form of dancing, so dances are done in couples, who are in turn part of a set. Unlike many other forms of social folk dancing, however, SCD has reasonably well-defined technique and steps. Thus an experienced dancer can enjoy both the social aspects of the dance and the beauty of the footwork and figures when executed correctly.
I began dancing in May of 2003 with the Swarthmore College class, and I have been dancing non-stop ever since. I am currently teaching a weekly dance class geared toward undergrads and graduate students at Caltech. The Caltech SCD page has more details about that class, as well as some good Scottish Country Dance resources. In addition to teaching my own class, I am on the Teachers' Committee for the San Gabriel Valley Branch of the RSCDS, and have served that committee in a number of capacities, including organizing workshops and dances. I am also the treasurer for the San Gabriel Valley Branch, and therefore an active member of the Branch Management committee. As a member of the management committee, I help to organize many of our dances, and I also run the sound for most of our dances that use recorded music. Finally, I am currently engaged in an official RSCDS Teacher Candidate course, pursuing the first part of my teaching certificate for Scottish Country Dance.
