Scottish Dancing at the Highland Games Festival

Jasmin Astle Demonstrating Highland Dancing in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

I ate a big breakfast this morning because I was off to a Scottish dancing workshop at the New Brunswick Highland Games here in Fredericton. Jasmin Astle, the young woman I interviewed yesterday, was leading a class in the history of highland dance and letting us try it.

After explaining some of the traditional steps, she taught two of us the most basic moves in the repertoire: pas de bas and high cuts. Usually this is taught to kids when they’re first starting out, so I had a laugh about starting a bit too late. The gal who joined me on stage (the others decided to just watch us make a fool of ourselves) was from Longueuil, Quebec and told me as we started, “I love watching dancing, but, as you can see, I’m not a graceful dancer.”

She was fine, if not a touch confused. I had trouble with keeping my fingers in the shape of antlers. Yes antlers: your thumb must touch your middle finger, your index finger lifted, and your pinkie finger held up the highest. The other hand is in a fist on your hip. When I put my arms in the air, I automatically make “ballet” hands, so it was a weird adjustment. My feet were okay.

Men's Heavy Events at the Scottish Highland Games Festival in Fredericton, NB.

Heavy Events
Before heading off for lunch, I went to see the heavy events. Yesterday was the men’s heavy events, where I watched the caber toss. Today I saw the women do their thing, with the winner of the hammer throw, Adena Robinson, heaving the thing 62.5 feet for the first place honour. Impressive.

Highland Dancing
My favourite part of the weekend, though, was the East Coast Choreography Challenge. After watching traditional highland dancing all weekend, this deviation was refreshing. It’s still a competition, but lets the choreographers and dancers depart from just traditional steps to incorporate their own styles.

Fredericton Hotel
Dinner was back at the Delta Fredericton, where I’m staying, at Bruno’s Restaurant. I had the butternut squash soup, which is always a favourite of mine, with Alaska char for my main. The star of the show were the desserts me and my guest ordered: a cherry & amaretto cheesecake and raspberry & blueberry crème brulée. They were both done perfectly and left as just crumbs. 

Barb Murray's School of Highland Dance Performs in Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada).

What I Liked:

• I’ve really enjoyed my time in Fredericton. We had one evening and one day of foul weather, but today made up for it with bright sunshine and warmth for the closing day of the New Brunswick Highland Games Festival.
• Jasmin’s Scottish dancing workshop was fun. It was my first crack at highland dancing and, although I don’t see myself continuing on with it, at least I got a taste of what these dancers go through. (Holy cardio workout.)
• I absolutely loved the East Coast Choreography Challenge. The girls really seemed to like performing these new steps and a slightly different style. I loved the costumes of the gals who won the competition.
  

Tags: Bruno’s restaurant, East Coast Choreography Challenge, Fredericton, Fredericton Hotel, Heavy Events, Highland dancing, Highland Games Festival, Jasmin Astle, New Brunswick, Scottish Dancing