Dancing FOR JOY

With Strictly back on our screens, we look at our rich tradition of dance

- ANDREW SHAW

Yes, it's that time of year when one of us looks at the TV and yells, 'Call that a tango?!' But the sheer joy of dancing has been an integral part of our islands for thousands of years. Here are just a few of the wonderful traditional dance forms from around the British Isles that are very much alive and kicking today.

Fancy footwork

On 30 April 1994, a seven-minute Irish stepdance routine became a global sensation. Riverdance, starring Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, was the interval act at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin. Soon afterwards, Irish dance schools were springing up all over the world. The origins of Irish dancing are cloaked in the mists of time. It is believed to have come to Ireland via the Druids and Celts, with later influences from English country dances and the European quadrille. One theory as to why stepdancers now keep their arms by their sides is that the Catholic church didn't want boys and girls to hold hands. However, it may just be a way to focus attention on the complex footwork.

Stepping out

Ask someone to name two traditional Scottish dances and they may well come up with the Highland Fling and the Gay Gordons. Each dance is from a different tradition - the former being a solo dance, and the latter, social.