Difference between a "dancing" kilt and any other, and liners?

[Barb T]

In fact, it's a relatively new thing for women to compete in kilts in Highland dancing and dates from the 1940s and 50s. The Highland Fling, the Sword Dance, the Barracks, etc. were danced originally by men in the Highland regiments, and, until the early 1900s, only boys entered Highland dance competitions. Girls began to enter dance competitions in the early 1900s, but only in the traditional "Aboyne" costume, not in kilts. It's my understanding that women competing in kilts began in the 1940s and 1950s.

But - don't think that modern Highland dancing is for girls/women only, despite the small number of boys/men at a typical Highland games. Many of the winners at the world championship have been men.

Wildrover - any dance teacher would be delighted to add males to a dance class. Our local group has two adult males and has had several boys over the years.

[Friday]

Wildrover
There appears to be a couple of Scottish Dance Groups in Colorado you might want to check if the accept men.

Scottish Dance Net

This link lists Scottish Dance groups through out the world.

There are probably other groups and I have no connection with this one.

[hospitaller]

I have never heard of a longer liner for "dance kilts". Would this be for modesty? Because Highland dancers and Scottish Country Dancers, like Highland Athletes in general always wear some sort of dark colored underwear for modesty' sake.

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

from pictures I've seen of Scottish Highland Games, underwear or athletic shorts only happen in the US, most if not all male dancers and highland athletes in scotland participate au natural, as a kilt should be worn.

[MartinGrenoble]

Two points caught my attention :

Barb said dancers did not wear kilt pins. Oh?
I've rarely seen a klit without one, personally.

Friday advised "check to see if they accept men".
I've never come across a dance group that did not welcome new men (provided of course that they know their left foot from their right), since the male/female ratio is usually quite unbalanced.

I don't wish to dwell on delicate matters, but it has always been a tradition, even within the military, to be correctly "dressed" when dancing.

Martin

[wildrover]

Y'all may yet convince me to give this a shot . Thanks for the links!

...FTR, I agree with Hospitaller...tho the rules seem to state differently. The 1BSG guys were wearing, I assume, heavy kilts, and horsehair sporrans...for all I know, the weight balances out, front to rear, and nothing went flying nor did their kilts take on the characteristics of girls' skirts as I've seen when swing dancing. I don't think I'll have any problem jumping around in a kilt and sporran, unless the getup weighs more than about 30#, and I doubt it does!

Martin, I just split my sides at your accidental misspelling of "kilt" ...contextually there couldn't have been a better place to misspell it!

[Panache]

from pictures I've seen of Scottish Highland Games, underwear or athletic shorts only happen in the US, most if not all male dancers and highland athletes in scotland participate au natural, as a kilt should be worn.

Hector,

I disagree with you

Having had a bit of chat with someone on the other side of the pond and offered a bit of evidence to share, let me try to convince you that there are some situations where it is best and /or required to wear undergarments with a kilt.

Highland dancing at these events are done in accordance with the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) rules. The dress code can be found at http://www.sobhd.net/downloads/pdfs/...0code%20v2.pdf

You will note that the wearing of dark or toning with the kilt coloured underwear is required for Gentlemen. Lady dancers are also required to wear undergarments but are also allowed white underwear for certain classes of dance.

Here is a picture from McClef showing a correctly attired highland dancer from the Harpenden gathering:




Now the kilt is mainly worn only in the heavy athletic events. It would seem that the wearing of undershorts ('bicycle short' style black Lycra) under the kilt seems quite common.

Here's a heavy competitor from the Braemar games this year




When one is going engaged in public performing activities one knows have a probability of exposing oneself, it behooves a gentleman or lady to take appropriate precautions.

My thanks to my friend over the pond for their insight and assistance.

Cheers


Jamie :ootd:

[St. Amish]

A "dancer's (not dancing!) kilt" is simply a traditional kilt made for a dancer.

-The construction is exactly the same, and the kilt opens on the same side as any trad kilt would.

-It's hard to leap around the swords with a big heavy kilt, so the tartan weight is typically less than for a man's trad kilt. In my opinion, the best kilts for dancers are made in 11-12 oz tartan (such as Dalgliesh weaves). I don't like 10 oz tartan for a kilt for a dancer - it's too flippy and wrinkles too easily, although some mills sell 10 oz tartan specifically for dancing (personally, I think it's too light). But 8 oz would be _too_ light in anyone's book.

-How much tartan is in a kilt for a dancer depends on the size of the dancer. Because most girls are smaller than most men, the kilt typically has less tartan. But even for a small girl, there will be at least 5 yards, and maybe 6, depending on the size of the sett (less than 5 yards doesn't give enough pleats and doesn't have the needed swing). For a larger dancer, I've used 7 yards or more. Because light weight tartan typically has smaller setts than heavier weight tartan, you can get away with a little less tartan and still have a nice number of pleats.

-Dancers typically wear dress (or white-based) tartans, because they show up better on stage. Dancers typically compete outdoors, and a dark kilt doesn't stand out on stage with a background of woods and fields. Dalgliesh specializes in weaving dress tartans for Highland dance - they carry over 80 dress tartans in 11-12 oz range.

-Kilts for dancers are not artificially weighted in any way, but they virtually all have hems that give them a bit of weight at the bottom. The hem is necessary because lightweight tartan is woven without a kilting selvedge.

-Because a dancer does not wear a kilt pin, the second apron edge buckle is necessary to control the fringe edge of the kilt.

-The kilt has a lining (not a liner) across the top of the inside of the kilt to cover the canvas interfacing. Steve explained it nicely.

-If you watch a Highland dance competition, the only concession to modesty is that the dancers are required to wear dark colored dance underwear so that the viewer doesn't get a flash of white panties when the kilt swings....

What does a dancer's kilt cost to make? My fiance has an aversion to "billie" kilts because of the length, and has been snooping around the dancer's area at Games to see if she can find one her size in a tartan that she will wear. Now I'm wondering if I can afford to have one made for her.

[lethearen]

What does a dancer's kilt cost to make? My fiance has an aversion to "billie" kilts because of the length, and has been snooping around the dancer's area at Games to see if she can find one her size in a tartan that she will wear. Now I'm wondering if I can afford to have one made for her.

If I understand correctly, Barb was pretty much saying that a dancer's kilt is just a kilt. Tends to be lighter weight fabric, but otherwise just a kilt.

Scotweb (link in upper right of the forum) has women's mini-kilts for about 100$. You can specify how long to make it, so she could have it come to her knees if she wanted. As long as she doesn't mind its not being an 8-yarder something like that would could work, perhaps?

[St. Amish]

If I understand correctly, Barb was pretty much saying that a dancer's kilt is just a kilt. Tends to be lighter weight fabric, but otherwise just a kilt.

Right, I get that. I just have never purchased light weight material, so I assumed there would be some cost differential.

[St. Amish]

If I understand correctly, Barb was pretty much saying that a dancer's kilt is just a kilt. Tends to be lighter weight fabric, but otherwise just a kilt.

And now that I think about it more, it would take quite a bit less material to make an "8 yd" on her petite frame than the 9 yards of material it took for mine.