There are several styles of traditional dance in Scotland including ceilidh dancing, country dancing, Highland dancing and step dancing. They make use of four dance styles:

• strathspey
• reel
• jig
• waltz

Strathspey

Strathspey is in simple time, has four beats in the bar and is moderate in tempo. It has a lot of dotted rhythms and usually features Scotch snap – a very short accented note played on the beat before a longer note.

Reel

The reel is a dance that frequently follows a strathspey. A reel is fairly fast in tempo and is in simple time. The melody is usually smooth and each beat is equally divided into groups of two or four.

Jig

A quick, lively dance with a 6/8 time signature. It is in compound time – it has two beats in the bar where each beat is divided into groups of three.

Waltz

A waltz is a dance with three beats in the bar and in simple time. The waltz has a fairly slow tempo and is normally danced by couples at a céilidh or social gathering.

March

A march is not strictly a dance but march tunes are regularly used at céilidhs. For example you can dance the Gay Gordons to a march.

Marches were originally composed for marching in the military. They have two or four beats to the bar and a strong steady pulse. They have a moderate tempo (so that they can be marched to).

A march is often heard together in a set with a strathspey and reel.

In this performance of a march, strathspey and reel, the step dancing adds a percussive accompaniment.