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Celtic Community Spotlight – Cincinnati Highland Dancers

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We are starting a new section in our blog to include Community groups with a focus on Celtic Culture, Music and Arts.  We are looking for submissions for this section so please email us your article.  Please be sure to include a general description of your art/activities etc. and how they contribute to the Celtic Community.

Cincinnati Highland Dancers have been active in the TriState area around Cincinnati since 2001.  Dancers can start at age 4 and many continue into their adult years.  CHD is a 501c3 non-profit charitable organizations.  We have several missions:

  • Preserving the Scottish Culture for future generations through the art of Scottish Highland Dancing
  • Presenting and educating the general public about Scottish dance, history, and music through performances.
  • To help dancers achieve a higher level of health, fitness, confidence and self-esteem while developing good character and instilling values that will last a lifetime.

ABOUT HIGHLAND DANCING

Scottish Highland Dance is steeped in tradition, superstition and history.  Our oldest dance, the Highland Fling, was performed by a soldier as a victory dance on the shield of his fallen foe.  The Sword Dance was a dance of superstition performed the night before a battle.  Soldiers would dance over their swords and if they kick the sword, they would die in battle the following day.  Flora MacDonald’s Fancy and the Earl of Errol were created to honor their namesakes.  Another dance with a great story is the Seann Truibhas which is about the reinstatement of the kilt and tartan in Scotland after the Act of Proscription was repealed.

Scottish Jig Shoe

Scottish dancing is a bit different from Irish Step Dancing (aka Riverdance), this is definitely the most common question we have to field.  Highland dancers wear tartan (plaid) kilts and dance to bagpipe music.

Irish Hard Shoe

We use arm positions and always turn out our legs (similar to ballet), where traditional Irish dance has the arms straight down and use both turned out and neutral positions.  Both types of dance have a hard shoe but ours is quite different from the fiberglass Irish dance hard shoe.  Ours have a jingle tap on the heel and it is only used for the Scottish version of the Irish Jig.

DANCING OPPORTUNITIES

Cincinnati Highland Dancers enjoy performing at events all through the year from Rabbie Burns Suppers to St. Andrew’s Balls, Celtic Festivals and more! We also entertain at retirement homes, schools and museums.

In addition to performing, many dancers will compete starting in beginner levels and advancing to professional (some dancers can achieve the professional level by age 7!) Many organizations and festivals hold annual competitions throughout the US & Canada.

We have travelled to Walt Disney World and participated in a parade down Main Street, USA.  Danced at college basketball halftime shows and at a Cincinnati Bengals game.  In Summer 2020, we are hoping to take the group to Scotland to compete and learn more about the culture.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

May 10-11   Appalachian Festival @ Coney Island
June 2         Summerfair @ Coney Island
June 14-16  Celtic Fest Ohio @ Ohio Renaissance Festival grounds
Aug 16-18    Cincinnati Celtic Festival @ Freedom Way downtown

LEARN MORE

For more information on Cincinnati Highland Dancers or to find a Scottish Dancing teacher in your area, please contact us or visit our website Cincyhighlanddancers.webs.com.