Schottische
Encyclopedia
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia
. It was popular in Victorian era
ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina
("chotis" and "chamamé
"), Finland
("jenkka
"), France
, Italy
, Norway
("Reinlender"), Portugal
and Brazil
(xote
, Chotiça), Spain
(chotis) and Sweden
and Denmark
("schottis") and the United States of America, among other nations. The schottische is considered by the Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka
, with continental (European) origin.
In general, the standard schottische is made up of two short runs and a hop followed by four turning hop steps: step step step hop, step step step hop, step hop step hop step hop step hop. Steps alternate one foot to the other, hops are only on one foot, so the leader's footwork would be: left right left hop on left, right left right hop on right, step on left hop on left, step on right hop on right, step on left hop on left, step on right hop on right. In a basic step, the running steps are done in open position (follower on the right side of the leader) and the turning steps are done in closed position; but many variations exists to play with those positions (including parting during the running steps to slip around a slower couple, or the leader genuflecting during the turning step and letting the follower circle around). The first part can be a simple progression with a hop/lift on the last beat of the four, or simply as steps (perhaps with turns); the second part can be turns, but could also be a straight progression, perhaps with variations (e.g., holds). The key to how it should be danced in each tradition is, of course, is the music.
Schottisches danced in Europe (in the context of a bal folk), where they originated, are different from how they are danced in the United States. The European (or Continental) version (often called "skoteesh"), is typically danced to faster music and is quite restrained in its movements. The American version is often large and open, with the first part expressed equally as promenades, individual or led twirls or similar moves, and the second part most often expressed as a close pivot. It seems to be mostly referred to as a "shodish". These days the general chottische step pattern fits perfectly with the flow of reggae
(and many ska songs).
, the schottische was introduced by Volga German
immigrants (now usually called "chotis") and also evolved and mixed into Chamamé
, an Argentine folk music genre.
, the xote has largely developed in the Northeastern area, specially the Sertão
, where it has created variations such as baião and arrasta-pé, which are usually grouped in the forró
denomination. All of these rhythms are typically danced in pairs, being xote the slower and simpler style of dancing, in which the couple alternate left-left-hop-right-right-hop steps.
, the dance is generally known as a jenkka
. In general, the Finnish jenkka is faster in tempo
than the Norwegian "rheinlender" and Swedish "schottis".
, the dance is called a "reinlender". The name may suggest the idea of an origin in the area of the Rhine -- meaning that it could be from Germany
or Bohemia
. The name was known as "reinlander" in Bavaria.
, a form of schottische called xoutiça or xote
has become heavily standardized for folklore displays. The pairs in groups of four, six or eight, form a circle and dance embraced all together. The circle starts to rotate until a moment when the pairs pass, this is, the pairs that are opposite each other switch places crossing each other in the centre of the circle. They continue to pass successively two by two, all the pairs. After everybody made their pass, they continue to dance by rotating in circle. Further along in the dance, all the pairs will join in the center of the circle to beat the center of the circle with their feet, and continue to dance rotating the circle in the initial position, always for the right side. Bear in mind that all the moves are made always by the pair and never by one of its elements separately, because in the schottiche you can never switch pair.
It has two main forms in 2/4 beat, one being more popular than the other. Both versions are similar in starting line-up to the Gay Gordons
and has a polka feel to it. Typical tunes for a Highland Schottische would included ‘Brochan Lom’ and “Laddie With the Plaidie”.
In the more popular ceilidh version, the man stands on the left, the woman on the right. They join with left hands joined low in front and with the man’s right arm over the woman’s right shoulder and hands joined above it. The man points his left foot forward, toe to the floor and slightly to the left, whilst the woman does the same with her right foot. On the first two main beats, each partner raises onto their toes and performs a Highland step, bringing back the heel of extended foot against the calf of the other (inside) leg, whilst hopping on the other foot. They then trot forward 4 steps to the beat, pivot quickly so that the man is on the right and woman on the left, both facing the opposite direction of travel. Their right hands are now joined low forward and left hands above the woman’s left shoulder. They perform the same Highland steps as before but now on the opposite foot, before trotting forward 4 steps again. They then face each other with the man on the inside of the circle of travel, the man’s hands on the woman’s waist and woman’s hands on the man’s shoulders (alternatively, the partners adopt the waltz position for their arms and hands). They now trot sideways 3 steps to the left (man left/right/left; woman right/left/right), then hop on the same foot as the third step, then trot sideways right (man right/left/right; woman left/right/left) and hop. For the last four bars, the pair spin round as they progress, hopping twice on each foot and finally once on the last bar (man left-left, right-right, left-left, right). They then re-form with hands joined front and back, man on left as before. The dance, when performed at ceilidhs, usually has a jolly, light-footed, spirited feel and is often accompanied by vocal “yelps”, “woo’s” and “hoochs” from the male partners. The hopping spin toward the end of the routine is often done with great gusto. It often causes the pleated backs of the men's kilts to fly up and outward, sometimes with humorous results.
A variation, popular in Argyll in the 1920s and 30’s, was more of a peacock dance for the man. For the period of the “Gay Gordons” stance, the partners do not move forward at all, then pivot and move back. Instead, the woman stays in one position, performing the Highland toe-steps with the right foot for four bars, while hopping. The man meanwhile performs two Highland toe-steps with the left foot while hopping. He then moves across behind the woman on his toes for four steps, so that he is now on her right. He then performs two Highland toe-steps with the right foot then moves back behind the woman to her left side again, whilst she performs her toe steps with the left foot while remaining on the same spot. Back on the left, he then faces the woman and they perform the second (polka) half of the routine as per the popular version described above.
A simplified ceilidh variation of the popular version does not required the Gay Gordons method of holding hands in the first half of the routine. Instead, the man holds the woman with his right arm across the small of the woman's back and she does the same to the man with her left arm. The toe-steps are performed as usual and they pivot and turn, whereupon the man puts his left arm across the small of the woman's back and she uses her right arm. The rest of the routine is as per the popular version.
, the chotis, chotís or schotís is considered the most typical dance of the city since the 19th century and it is danced in all the traditional festivals. Some of the tunes, as "Madrid, Madrid, Madrid", by the Mexican
composer Agustín Lara
become very well known in all Spain. The authors of the Zarzuela
s created a host of new chotis and strengthened their popularity.
, the dance is known as a "schottis". The name may suggest an origin in the area of Scotland
. This is interesting because the Norwegian word used for the same dance is "reinlender", which seems to indicate an origin from the Rhine region.
In the Southern United States
at the start of the 20th century the schottische was combined with ragtime
; the most popular "ragtime schottische" of the era was "Any Rags" by Thomas S. Allen in 1902. In New Orleans, Louisiana
, Buddy Bolden
's band and other proto-jazz
groups were known for playing hot schottisches. It is also danced as a Western promenade dances in Country and Western dance venues, oftentimes after the Cotton Eyed Joe.
's 1888 play Miss Julie
, the eponymous character asks of Jean, a servant of the household, to dance a Schottische with her.
In William Faulkner
's 1936 novel Absalom, Absalom, the ill-bred Thomas Sutpen is compared to a man who taught himself the Schottische: Sutpen learned his manners the same way — in private — and executes them awkwardly.
In 1949, Robert Russell Bennett
completed his work for concert band "Suite of Old American Dances". The second movement, entitled "Schottische
", follows the American adaption of the Schottische
, musically, in style and rhythm.
A series of May 1962 strips from Charles Schulz's newspaper comic strip Peanuts
features Snoopy
performing "polkas, schottishes (sic) and waltzes" on an accordion.
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. It was popular in Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
("chotis" and "chamamé
Chamamé
Chamamé is a folk music genre from the Argentine Northeast, Mesopotamia and in the south of Brazil. Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul....
"), Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
("jenkka
Jenkka
Jenkka [/jeˈŋkːɑ/] is a fast Finnish partner dance originated in Finnish folk dance. It is danced to the music in 2/4 or 4/4 time signature of about 140 beats per minute....
"), France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
("Reinlender"), Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(xote
Xote
Xote is a Brazilian music genre and dance for pairs or groups of four. It is the local equivalent of the German schottische. Xote is a common type of forró dancing....
, Chotiça), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(chotis) and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
("schottis") and the United States of America, among other nations. The schottische is considered by the Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
, with continental (European) origin.
In general, the standard schottische is made up of two short runs and a hop followed by four turning hop steps: step step step hop, step step step hop, step hop step hop step hop step hop. Steps alternate one foot to the other, hops are only on one foot, so the leader's footwork would be: left right left hop on left, right left right hop on right, step on left hop on left, step on right hop on right, step on left hop on left, step on right hop on right. In a basic step, the running steps are done in open position (follower on the right side of the leader) and the turning steps are done in closed position; but many variations exists to play with those positions (including parting during the running steps to slip around a slower couple, or the leader genuflecting during the turning step and letting the follower circle around). The first part can be a simple progression with a hop/lift on the last beat of the four, or simply as steps (perhaps with turns); the second part can be turns, but could also be a straight progression, perhaps with variations (e.g., holds). The key to how it should be danced in each tradition is, of course, is the music.
Schottisches danced in Europe (in the context of a bal folk), where they originated, are different from how they are danced in the United States. The European (or Continental) version (often called "skoteesh"), is typically danced to faster music and is quite restrained in its movements. The American version is often large and open, with the first part expressed equally as promenades, individual or led twirls or similar moves, and the second part most often expressed as a close pivot. It seems to be mostly referred to as a "shodish". These days the general chottische step pattern fits perfectly with the flow of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
(and many ska songs).
Argentina
In ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the schottische was introduced by Volga German
Volga German
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed,...
immigrants (now usually called "chotis") and also evolved and mixed into Chamamé
Chamamé
Chamamé is a folk music genre from the Argentine Northeast, Mesopotamia and in the south of Brazil. Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul....
, an Argentine folk music genre.
Brazil
In BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the xote has largely developed in the Northeastern area, specially the Sertão
Sertão
In Portuguese, the word sertão first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century...
, where it has created variations such as baião and arrasta-pé, which are usually grouped in the forró
Forró
Forró is a kind of Northeastern Brazilian dance as well as a word used to denote the different genres of music which accompanies the dance. Both are much in evidence during the annual Festa Junina , a part of Brazilian traditional culture which celebrates some Catholic saints...
denomination. All of these rhythms are typically danced in pairs, being xote the slower and simpler style of dancing, in which the couple alternate left-left-hop-right-right-hop steps.
Finland
In FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the dance is generally known as a jenkka
Jenkka
Jenkka [/jeˈŋkːɑ/] is a fast Finnish partner dance originated in Finnish folk dance. It is danced to the music in 2/4 or 4/4 time signature of about 140 beats per minute....
. In general, the Finnish jenkka is faster in tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
than the Norwegian "rheinlender" and Swedish "schottis".
France
The "schottish Espagnole" or Spanish Schottische, also known as the "Seven Step" gained popularity in France in the early 1900s.Norway
In NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the dance is called a "reinlender". The name may suggest the idea of an origin in the area of the Rhine -- meaning that it could be from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
or Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. The name was known as "reinlander" in Bavaria.
Portugal
In PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, a form of schottische called xoutiça or xote
Xote
Xote is a Brazilian music genre and dance for pairs or groups of four. It is the local equivalent of the German schottische. Xote is a common type of forró dancing....
has become heavily standardized for folklore displays. The pairs in groups of four, six or eight, form a circle and dance embraced all together. The circle starts to rotate until a moment when the pairs pass, this is, the pairs that are opposite each other switch places crossing each other in the centre of the circle. They continue to pass successively two by two, all the pairs. After everybody made their pass, they continue to dance by rotating in circle. Further along in the dance, all the pairs will join in the center of the circle to beat the center of the circle with their feet, and continue to dance rotating the circle in the initial position, always for the right side. Bear in mind that all the moves are made always by the pair and never by one of its elements separately, because in the schottiche you can never switch pair.
Scotland
The Highland Schottische is a combination of the common schottische and the old reel.It has two main forms in 2/4 beat, one being more popular than the other. Both versions are similar in starting line-up to the Gay Gordons
Gay Gordons (dance)
The Gay Gordons is a popular dance at céilidhs and other kinds of informal and social dance. It is an "old-time" dance, of a type popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in which every couple dances the same steps, usually in a circle around the room....
and has a polka feel to it. Typical tunes for a Highland Schottische would included ‘Brochan Lom’ and “Laddie With the Plaidie”.
In the more popular ceilidh version, the man stands on the left, the woman on the right. They join with left hands joined low in front and with the man’s right arm over the woman’s right shoulder and hands joined above it. The man points his left foot forward, toe to the floor and slightly to the left, whilst the woman does the same with her right foot. On the first two main beats, each partner raises onto their toes and performs a Highland step, bringing back the heel of extended foot against the calf of the other (inside) leg, whilst hopping on the other foot. They then trot forward 4 steps to the beat, pivot quickly so that the man is on the right and woman on the left, both facing the opposite direction of travel. Their right hands are now joined low forward and left hands above the woman’s left shoulder. They perform the same Highland steps as before but now on the opposite foot, before trotting forward 4 steps again. They then face each other with the man on the inside of the circle of travel, the man’s hands on the woman’s waist and woman’s hands on the man’s shoulders (alternatively, the partners adopt the waltz position for their arms and hands). They now trot sideways 3 steps to the left (man left/right/left; woman right/left/right), then hop on the same foot as the third step, then trot sideways right (man right/left/right; woman left/right/left) and hop. For the last four bars, the pair spin round as they progress, hopping twice on each foot and finally once on the last bar (man left-left, right-right, left-left, right). They then re-form with hands joined front and back, man on left as before. The dance, when performed at ceilidhs, usually has a jolly, light-footed, spirited feel and is often accompanied by vocal “yelps”, “woo’s” and “hoochs” from the male partners. The hopping spin toward the end of the routine is often done with great gusto. It often causes the pleated backs of the men's kilts to fly up and outward, sometimes with humorous results.
A variation, popular in Argyll in the 1920s and 30’s, was more of a peacock dance for the man. For the period of the “Gay Gordons” stance, the partners do not move forward at all, then pivot and move back. Instead, the woman stays in one position, performing the Highland toe-steps with the right foot for four bars, while hopping. The man meanwhile performs two Highland toe-steps with the left foot while hopping. He then moves across behind the woman on his toes for four steps, so that he is now on her right. He then performs two Highland toe-steps with the right foot then moves back behind the woman to her left side again, whilst she performs her toe steps with the left foot while remaining on the same spot. Back on the left, he then faces the woman and they perform the second (polka) half of the routine as per the popular version described above.
A simplified ceilidh variation of the popular version does not required the Gay Gordons method of holding hands in the first half of the routine. Instead, the man holds the woman with his right arm across the small of the woman's back and she does the same to the man with her left arm. The toe-steps are performed as usual and they pivot and turn, whereupon the man puts his left arm across the small of the woman's back and she uses her right arm. The rest of the routine is as per the popular version.
Spain
In MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, the chotis, chotís or schotís is considered the most typical dance of the city since the 19th century and it is danced in all the traditional festivals. Some of the tunes, as "Madrid, Madrid, Madrid", by the Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
composer Agustín Lara
Agustín Lara
Agustín Lara was a Mexican singer and songwriter.-Biography:Lara was born in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. Later, the Lara family had to move again to Mexico City, establishing their house in the borough of Coyoacán. After Lara's mother died, Agustín and his siblings lived in a hospice run by their...
become very well known in all Spain. The authors of the Zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
s created a host of new chotis and strengthened their popularity.
Sweden
In SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the dance is known as a "schottis". The name may suggest an origin in the area of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. This is interesting because the Norwegian word used for the same dance is "reinlender", which seems to indicate an origin from the Rhine region.
United States
The schottische came to the USA from Europe and there are countless variations of the dance. After 1848, a number of old ballroom variants of schottische were danced in California. The "Five-Step Schottische" and a Highland Schottische with modifications were included on lists of ballroom dances of the period. Four of the variants had quite striking similarities with the second half of each dance described as turning with two-step. This is similar to the old "Glide Polka" (step-close-step, with no hop) or the galop (glide,change,glide). In Texas alone there have been schottische like dances with names such as Drunk, Blue Bonnett, MgGinty, and Douglas. Schottische variations include a straight leg kick, a kick-hop and a standing hop. Both include the traditional hop that is part of the schottische.In the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
at the start of the 20th century the schottische was combined with ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
; the most popular "ragtime schottische" of the era was "Any Rags" by Thomas S. Allen in 1902. In New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Buddy Bolden
Buddy Bolden
Charles "Buddy" Bolden was an African American cornetist and is regarded by contemporaries as a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of rag-time music which later came to be known as jazz.- Life :...
's band and other proto-jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
groups were known for playing hot schottisches. It is also danced as a Western promenade dances in Country and Western dance venues, oftentimes after the Cotton Eyed Joe.
Literary and cultural references
In August StrindbergAugust Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
's 1888 play Miss Julie
Miss Julie
Miss Julie is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg dealing with class, love, lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among them...
, the eponymous character asks of Jean, a servant of the household, to dance a Schottische with her.
In William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
's 1936 novel Absalom, Absalom, the ill-bred Thomas Sutpen is compared to a man who taught himself the Schottische: Sutpen learned his manners the same way — in private — and executes them awkwardly.
In 1949, Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
completed his work for concert band "Suite of Old American Dances". The second movement, entitled "Schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
", follows the American adaption of the Schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
, musically, in style and rhythm.
A series of May 1962 strips from Charles Schulz's newspaper comic strip Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
features Snoopy
Snoopy
Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...
performing "polkas, schottishes (sic) and waltzes" on an accordion.
External links
- Schottische within traditional dances of the County of Nice (France)
- How to Dance the Scottische including a short history
- Description and Pictures from the 1939 book "Cowboy Dances" by Lloyd Shaw
- Beadle's dime ball-room companion and guide to dancing. Comprising rules of etiquette, hints on private parties, toilettes for the ball-room, etc. Also, a synopsis of round and square dances, dictionary of French terms, etc; New York, Beadle and company [c1868] on line copy at Library of Congress