The Irish style is great at footwork but they keep their hands to the sides so much whereas the Highland dancing allows plenty of expression with arms and hands.
[B][COLOR="Red"][SIZE="1"]Reverend Earl Trefor the Sublunary of Kesslington under Ox, Venerable Lord Trefor the Unhyphenated of Much Bottom, Sir Trefor the Corpulent of Leighton in the Bucket, Viscount Mcclef the Portable of Kirkby Overblow.
Cymru, Yr Alban, Iwerddon, Cernyw, Ynys Manau a Lydaw am byth! Yng Nghiltiau Ynghyd!
(Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Isle of Man and Brittany forever - united in the Kilts!)[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]
Question: is sword dancing done only by women? It seems that is the only way I have seen it, yet it would a men's dance in other cultures.
I won't compare the two styles, but I do love the way the kilt swirls on the Highland dancers.
Highland dancing used to be done almost entirely by men, but now it is very rare to see many men doing the fling. So no, the sword dance is not done only by women.
Question: is sword dancing done only by women? It seems that is the only way I have seen it, yet it would a men's dance in other cultures.
I won't compare the two styles, but I do love the way the kilt swirls on the Highland dancers.
As Greg said, Highland dancing used to be almost exclusively if not completely exclusively men.
The sword dance in particular was a bit of a ritual done before battles.
The dance would start with bowing to the four airts before the complicated steps in and out of the crossed swords. Similar to 'Viking' oar walking, it was considered something that talented young warriors would do to show off their skill in general.
However, on the eve of battle it would be done only by the best. A good sword dance with no injuries meant that the battle would go well.
Originally Posted by Galician
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