Highland Fling - List of Steps

List of Steps

This dance can be done as a:

• 4 step dance. Usually danced by Primary, Beginner, and Novice dancers at competitions.
• 6 step dance. Usually danced by Intermediate and Premier dancers at competitions.
• 8 step dance. Very rarely done at Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) competitions, although it is still danced at some traditional Highland Games.

The first and last steps must always be danced in those places, 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 exam they reach.

Music (Bagpipes) – "Monymusk" or any other suitable Strathspey tune.

Steps Tempo – 114* beats to the minute

• First Step: Shedding
• Second Step:Back-Stepping
• Third Step: Toe-Heels
• Fourth Step: Double shake and rock
• Fifth Step: Cross over
• Sixth Step: Shake and rock
• Seventh Step: Shake and Turn
• Eighth Step: Last Shedding

These steps comprise the steps for the Highland Fling included in the SOBHD text book. There are many more steps in existence which have been used in competition over the years – some of which have been recorded in publications by, for example, Flett, while many more exist only in the memories of senior dancers .

The current (2006) recommended tempo for the Highland Fling is 114 bpm. This has slowed considerably over the years – from 192 bpm one hundred years ago, 152 bpm in the 1960s and then 134 bpm in the 1980s.