Step dancing (that solo dance originally usually in hard shoes rather than clogs) in the UK can be conveniently divided into two forms. Firstly there are those named dances which have a number of more or less unique steps as their content. The steps can usually be danced in any order (although there is sometimes a standard starting and/or finishing step) but particular step choreography is associated with a specific dance. These are most common in Scotland where the Highland Fling would be a good example but others are found in many outher parts of the UK, the Sailors’ Hornpipe being a well-known type.
The second form, again usually solo, was danced in more social settings: pubs, domestic get togethers or parties. In style the steps are often very similar to those found in vernacular clog dance, which was performed on similar occasions. Essentially the dancehas an element of improvisation, in that the steps within a dancer’s repertoire are fitted to the music in no particualr order and no two performances are necessarily the same.
Named Choreographies
We have records and notations of almost fifty of this type of step dance. Most are from Scotland but others, some of which originate on the 18th century stage, were still being taught by dancing masters in the 20th century, were found in many parts of England. Some dances were much commoner than others and for some we have different versions taught by different dancers
Find out about the "Jockey Dance", performed at Covent Garden in 1756 and still being taught in Whitehaven in the 1990s! Or perhaps you're looking for one of the dances taught in the Hebrides by Ewan McLachlan in the late 1800s.
If you know the name of your dance you can type it in the search box.
Vernacular Step Dance
Vernacular Step Dance was performed over much of England. The dance generally involved few if any shuffling units, these being replced by toe and heel movements The dance generally showed a lack of standardised patterning, it being fitted to the music at the dancer’s whim. The Vernacular Style is very variable between individuals. It is generally an unlearned style in the sense that the steps are acquired through observation and “immersion” rather than instruction as in may other forms of dance.