The Primary Ingredient of Trad Dance the World Over is the abridged version of an article by Dr Wendy Timmons, Convenor of Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and Senior Lecturer at University of Edinburgh, originally published in Volkstanz Magazine – the major publication of the Folk Dance Society of Germany (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkstanz). Collectively, as two counterpart organisations Folk Dance Society of Germany and Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, we represent thousands of creatives and grass-roots organisations from across Germany and Scotland, all striving for the safeguarding of traditional, social and folk dance – an integral part of the vibrant socially-engaged, participatory art practice in our contemporary world. We spent over a year in 2022 and 2023 of getting to know each other through a series of encounters in Boardrooms and Zoom rooms, festivals and the dancefloor as part of our Strictly Scottish and Schottisch project, made possible through the support of the Cultural Bridge consortium of seven funding partners, all encouraging the construction of bridges between the UK and Germany. For instance, together we explored, experienced and assessed Europeade – the longest running and largest nomadic festival of folk dance across Europe by attending its 58th edition in Gotha, Germany, as well as the 2nd edition of Pomegranates – the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland own flagship festival of world dance held across Edinburgh and Glasgow.

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The Primary Ingredient of Trad Dance the World Over

Dr Wendy Timmons

Convenor of the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh

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My own personal and professional interests in traditional dance forms initially drew me to the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland soon after it was established in 2014. I proudly joined the organisation – one of the three founding members of Traditional Arts & Culture Scotland (aka TRACS), itself a consortium of charitable bodies, organised as three forums which recognise and support dance, music, storytelling and consider seasonal customs as part of Scotland’s evolving intangible cultural heritage. In 2015 I became a board member of the organisation dedicated to the advancement of all forms of traditional dance in Scotland, representing a diverse network of organisations and individuals, supporting all forms of traditional dance practised across Scotland through free membership (since November 2022) and three major routes – residencies, festivals and productions.

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My research and practice over the past 40 years in Greece and the UK had taken me to explore one particular and very ancient traditional dance step, namely the Συστα οr Susta. Otherwise known as a spring or catalyst, this step is basically a triple step which appears today as the primary ingredient in almost every form of dance that exists.

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Arguably, the evolution of the human species and the fusion of the vertebrae and pelvis led the way for bipedal walking. Whilst this brought structural vulnerabilities, it also freed up the arms and hands to carry tools, ultimately also weapons, enabling the first humanoids to flourish and diversify. These anatomical characteristics marked the ascent to cognitive life.

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Bipedality came, therefore, with the potential for variation in human expression and expression through movement. The skipping of a heart beat, for example, can be represented through a twist on walking and when two steps are expressed as three, this becomes a triple step.

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From a personal perspective, my fascinations with the triple step have taken me to ancient Greek writings where the susta or triple step are clearly documented. Exported from the Kurrites and Minoan civilisations on the island of Crete the susta was, for example, performed and used by soldiers in Sparta as a means to portray their superiority and strength in Phyrric dance forms which were used for mental and physical preparation for war.

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As a dance step the ancient susta step is still fundamental in Greek traditional dances, performed as three steps over two main beats of music and in the same way the triple step manifests in most other traditional dance forms (e.g., pas de bas, polka, Schottische, top rocking and more).

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My work at the University of Edinburgh had already successfully enabled me to create a role for dance artists-in-residence at Moray House School of Education and Sport. This initiative has provided resident dance artists with a ‘home’ for an extended period receiving access, support and mentorship, as well as scope to explore and utilise the vast resources that the University provides. More importantly, and since 2012, the residencies at the University provide a sense of belonging and relatedness that surpasses the status of a visiting artist. Equally, through the residencies, staff and students at the University experience and learn alongside established dance artists in the context of higher education.

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By 2016, having already mentored four top resident dance artists from classical and contemporary dance backgrounds, we decided to extend this opportunity to traditional dance practitioners and artists for the first time in the University’s history. The first traditional dance artist-in-residence, Nic Gareiss, was in 2018/19 and this was also the first partnership residency between the University of Edinburgh and the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland. The focus of this successful residency was the triple step and the culmination – the Art of Treepling mini trad dance festival in June 2019 – a precursor of the inaugural Pomegranates 2022.

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Treepling, in Scots refers of course to the triple rhythms and steps associated with Scottish step dance. Nic Gareiss, a renowned step dancer from the USA, spent a whole year researching and practising the dying art of Scottish Step Dance whilst spreading and disseminating his work across Scotland and the USA through workshops and performances. As a result of this residency there has been a significant and renewed interest in Scottish Step dance which is now thriving and developing.

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In addition to the partnership residencies with the University of Edinburgh, the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland now also host and support residencies in state primary schools and arts organisations such as Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for dance and Citymoves, Aberdeen’s dance agency. In the primary schools the residencies which we facilitate, including  C is for Ceilidh – the first and perhaps the only Ceilidh dance artist-in-residence in a state-funded primary school in Scotland, allow traditional dance to be experienced and taught as part of the Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence, providing opportunities for a range of traditional dance forms to be explored.

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Sometimes, for example, the dance sessions are used as socially and emotionally enriched form of activity and an alternative to the government prescribed physical activity, e.g., the ‘daily mile’ of running or walking in the playground. Other times the dance experience is used as a means to educate through dance, e.g., teaching the Gallic language through traditional Scottish song and dance. In arts organisations the residencies focus on the traditional dance artists-in-residence themselves, providing a paid experience and access to a dance studio as a ‘safe space’ to experiment and explore their dance form. These residencies often also lead and develop into performative productions, for example our Thistles and Sunflowers choreographic fusion of dance from Scotland, Bulgaria and now Ukraine, was seeded through such a residency exploration.

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In 2018, I became the Convenor/Director of the Board for the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and soon after we restructured the organisation, broadening our remit beyond ‘strictly’ Scottish dance to include all traditional and folk dance forms that are widely practiced in Scotland. By 2022 we had also re-contextualised the scope of our only staff member from a ‘development officer’ into a curatorial role which has further enabled us to grow and develop our goals, processes and outreach as a forum.

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Post-pandemic developments of the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland were seeded in Pomegranates on 28 and 29 April 2022 when our inaugural world dance festival took place in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland. As an apt metaphor pomegranates refers to our desire as festival producers to sweetly sow the seeds for diverse forms of traditional dance to flourish. During the 2022 Pomegranates festival, we facilitated one day of ten traditional dance workshops from countries around the world, including China, Scotland, Tibet, Mongolia, The Congo, Japan, a promenade celebratory performance and of course, a Scottish Ceilidh. This first step was a great success and it emboldened us to explore funding sources and support that would allow us to work globally to enrich and broaden our reach.

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In 2022 we collaborated with our counterparts in Egypt to create our first dance film To Begin the Dance Once More inspired by the cultural heritage and practices in Scotland and Egypt; in 2023 we also embarked on another cultural bridge project, Strictly Scottish Schottische, with the the Folk Dance Society of Germany (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkstanz).

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By April 2023 Pomegranates had grown to a three-day extravaganza with no less than 12 world dance workshops, the premiere of our traditional dance film, a triple bill of live performance productions and finished with a themed and choreographed promenade production that was grounded in 10 specially commissioned Sequins of Poems to Dance To by Ian McMillan rapped and interpreted through Hip Hop. The concluding statement of a Hip Hop Ceilidh finale, also provided the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland with an opportunity to present a convincing argument that Hip Hop is and should be represented in the traditional dance environment.

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For Pomegranates 2024, we have a long weekend four-day spectacular in the planning, so watch this space linktr.ee/pomegranatesfest and do save the date to join us if you can in 26-29 April 2024.

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One further and important focal point for the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland is to ensure that traditional dance, in whatever context or form, is practised as a quality and meaningful experience. This for us means not only supporting practitioners and artists to facilitate and lead quality dance sessions, workshops and productions but also to have top-quality dance musicians to accompany these experiences. Each and every of the ‘triple steps’, i.e. residency, festival and production we initiate and support, therefore, follows this format. We have set the bar quite high in this respect as we also believe in equal payment and fair opportunity for both dance and music practitioners which ultimately requires funding and support. Our aim, however, is to develop and grow a community of creatives, including dance practitioners and dance musicians, that work together symbiotically understanding and believing in always providing the best possible experience of dance, music, craft and storytelling traditions in any context.

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Finally, as all good things really do come in threes, the growing success and momentum of residencies, productions and festivals at the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland is enabling a platform where traditional dance can flourish.

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All ‘triple step images’ here are courtesy of the contributors to the news and reviews published on the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland website throughout 2022-2023