|What is Scottish country dancing?| Scottish country dancing
(SCD) is a sociable dance form with roots stretching back for
centuries (see History). Participants are grouped into sets,
typically of 3, 4 or 5 couples arranged either in two lines (men
facing women) or in a square, and work together to dance a
sequence of formations. This will leave them in a new order, and
the dance is repeated enough times to bring them back to their
starting positions, with everyone dancing each position in turn.
SCD is mainly danced socially, for pleasure and enjoyment, but
many groups also perform; there are even occasional
competitions. Although the basic steps and formations are easy
to pick up, the technique is being honed continuously so that at
its highest levels it can now be an extremely athletic, balletic
dance form (not that the majority of social dancers take it as
seriously as that). There can be no dancing without music, and
Scottish country dancing has attracted some of the most talented
musicians to play for it