Seann triubhas
The seann triubhas (pronounced [ʃãũn̪ˠ ˈt̪ɾu.əs̪], approximately shown-TROOSS) is a Highland dance. Its name is a Scottish Gaelic phrase which means 'old trousers'.
There has been a widely accepted story that the kicking or sweeping movements of the legs in the first step represented the attempt of the dancer to shake off the "despicable" trews, but D. G. MacLennan wrote in Traditional Highland and Scottish Dances that "this first step has nothing to do with the idea of kicking off the trews, but ... is new to the dance and was composed by myself".
In the late 18th century, the dance was performed to a
In contemporary competitive Highland dance, after dancing three to four steps, the dancer will clap, which signals the piper to speed up the music. The final, or 'Quick Time' steps look similar to the Highland Fling, and Quick Time steps currently described in the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) textbook are steps that used to be danced in the Fling. Other steps have been published by G. Douglas Taylor,[7] William Cameron,[8] D. G. MacLennan,[9] and Joan & Tom Flett.[10]
A version of a seann triubhas in a
The seann triubhas is now danced at most Highland dance competitions around the world. Dancers usually start dancing it in the Beginner category at competitions, and continue to dance it up to Premier. This dance is also common in most Highland and Theory exams. Dancers wear the standard kilt outfit to perform this dance, though it historically had been performed in tartan trews as well.[13]
List of steps
This dance is usually done with either:
- 4 steps (3 slow steps and 1 quick step) 3&1
- 6 steps (4 slow steps and 2 quick steps) 4&2
The first step must always be done to start the dance, but the rest of the steps are up to the dancer to choose. At the higher levels the SOBHD will release a different order of steps for each year to be danced in championship competitions. Dancers taking theory exams may also need to know all of these steps, as well as their order, depending on the level of their exam.
Music - Whistle ower the Lave o't'
Slow steps tempo – 94–104
First step: brushing
First step alternative Second step: side travel
Third step: diagonal travel
Third alternative Fourth step: backward travel
Fourth alternative Fifth step: travelling balance
Alternative method of counting Sixth step: leap and highcut
Seventh step: entrechat and highcut Eighth step: leap and shedding Ninth step: leap and entrechat Tenth step: highcut in front and balance
Alternative tenth step Eleventh Step: side heel-and-toe
Twelfth Step: double highcutting
Quick steps tempo – 112–124 beats per minute
Thirteenth step: shedding with back-step
Fourteenth step: toe-and-heel and rock
Fifteenth step: pointing and back-stepping
Sixteenth step: heel-and-toe and shedding
Seventeenth step: heel-and-toe, shedding, and back-stepping
Eighteenth step: back-stepping
Finish method 1: one leap
Finish method 2: two leaps
Finish method 3: two Highland fling turns
Entrechat endings:
Method 1: one entrechat
Method 2: two entrechats
Method 3: leap then entrechat
Method 4: entrechat then leap
Method 5: leap, entrechat, leap
Method 6: leap, entrechat, leap, entrechat
References
- ^ MacLennan, D. G. (1952). Highland and Traditional Scottish Dances. Edinburgh: T. & A. Constable. p. 27.
- ISBN 0969065361.
- ^ Scott, Catriona Mairi (2005). The Scottish Highland Dancing Tradition. PhD dissertation, University of Edinburgh.
- ^ Martin, Martin (2003) [1703]. "9. Description of the Isle of Sky". A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland. Retrieved 5 February 2016 – via Undiscovered Scotland.
- ISBN 9781898218456.
- ^ Flett & Flett (1996), pp. 35–38.
- ^ Taylor, G. Douglas (1929). Some Traditional Scottish Dances. London: Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. pp. 36–44.
- ^ Cameron, William (1951). Highland Dances of Scotland. Aberdeen: Aberdeen Journals. pp. 30–38.
- ^ MacLennan (1952), pp. 49–51.
- ^ Flett & Flett (1996), pp. 138–141.
- ^ Flett & Flett (1996), pp. 201–203.
- ISBN 9780945193326.
- ^ MacLennan (1952), p. 26.
- ISBN 1898169365.
External links
- SOBHD 2015 Championship Steps [1]
- Silent film footage of the seann triubhas, Highland fling, and sword dancefrom 1915
- Descriptions of distinctive seann triubhas steps taught by Pipe Major Peter Quinn