Need some help... Highland dancing

[SemperFyffe]

So here is my problem. I have four children, all of whom have taken an interest in Highland dance (prayers would be greatly appreciated). We are very fortunate to be able to take lessons from a VERY good instructor right now and they are having great fun with it. She thinks that the kids should be ready to compete in April. My dilemma is over costumes. We will need to get kilts for all the children (?!$$) and I could really use some advice on selecting a good tartan that will provide some really good flash. Our clan dress tartan is very Christmas-y and we really don't much care for it. When dancing, is it better to have a heavier weight for greater swish or do you want the lighter weight so that it won't be so hot? I have also been considering pleating them to the military box pleat as I have always been impressed by the amount of flash and swish these kilts have. Any thoughts from experienced dancers or parents of dancers would be greatly appreciated.

[RockyR]

Typically, the kilts for highland dancers are in 11 oz (lightweight) cloth, KNIFE pleats and are "dance" tartans... basically fashion tartans with a lot of white to 'flash' while dancing. These aren't necessaarily REAL REGISTERED tartans, but fashion variations that the mills carry to sell to dancers. Example:

http://dcdalgliesh.co.uk/dancers.rpy

[Barb T]

A heavy weight tartan is too much for all that leaping around. Although a few dancers choose medium weight tartan, I've personally only ever made dancers kilts from lightweight tartan. The very best is Dalgliesh's lightweight, which is 11-12 oz - Rocky has provided the link above - and there are LOTS of wonderful choices. If you want advice on the tartans that carry well and look great on stage, I can offer some opinions. But, generally, the ones with strong contrast between the white (which makes the dancer stand out from the background scenery at a Highland games) and the colors in the tartan make for a great dancer's kilt. Be sure to stand about 20' away from the screen to see what a thumbnail looks like - what is distinct at 5" can be kind of muddy or pale or even invisible at audience/judges distances.

My personal opinion is that the lightweight tartan woven by mills other than Dalgliesh is just enough lighter to be undesirable - I think there's a difference in feel and look between 10-11 oz tartan and 11-12 oz Dalgliesh tartan. The pleats hold up better, the kilt swings better, etc. in the slightly heavier weight.

Ultimately for a dancer, what really matters, though, is that the dancer likes the tartan and feel swell on stage! So don't hesitate to have your young dancers each pick a different tartan - it won't cost any more than buying enough for all four the same.

Oh - and some of the tartans are, in fact, official dress versions of a particular tartan. But many of them (like the pink and purple ones!) have the sett of the official tartan but have substitute colors that are more attractive to dancers (most commonly young girls) for the main colors of the sett.

[ctbuchanan]

I have actually seen several dancers in our area in the bright and bold Buchanan Tartan. But I admit it is unusual. We have two Buchanan Dress Tartans - a blue and a red that are more common. My girls all did Irish Step Dancing and you can take some solace that the Irish dresses are far more expensive than the Scottish. Look for websites selling used dance kilts, we often found a bargain that way.

[Barb T]

I agree that it's very common to see other tartans in the Aboyne outfit, especially a number of years ago when most dancers danced in whatever inexpensive cotton "plaid" fabric (and I mean that loosely - the stuff that you see at Joann's) they could find. It's only been fairly recently (around here, anyway) that dancers have gone to the expense of buying yards of wool tartan for their Aboynes.

Here's our daughter in her Aboyne outfit about 15 years ago at Aboyne Scotland. The fabric is just cheap cotton "plaid" from Joann's. At that time, that was not only perfectly acceptable, but also virtually the rule! I didn't know any girls who actually had wool tartan Aboynes....

[Dixiecat]

. These aren't necessaarily REAL REGISTERED tartans, but fashion variations that the mills carry to sell to dancers. Example:

http://dcdalgliesh.co.uk/dancers.rpy

Wrong. You'll find that practically all dance tartans are REAL REGISTERED tartans. An unregistered dance tartan is an exception, not the rule as you imply. I checked the dance tartans on the link and a full 98% were registered. SOBHD dress code states that the tartan a dancer wears must be a clan, family or district tartan. Colour variations on these tartans are acceptable and are considered real tartans.

For the OP, a heavier weight tartan gives amazing swish when dancing but can be a bit much for younger dancers.
I advocate for traditional tartans, but then I'm a mature dancer who doesn't need a bright pink tartan to entice me to dance. ;). I dance in Drummond of Perth heavyweight tartan. Dress tartans are not required so feel free to choose ANY clan, family or district tartan as outlined in the SOBHD dress code.

You'll find however that most dancers' kilts will be pleated to sett and not stripe. I find that strange when the tartans are so bright and varied that they don't go that extra bit for more flash.

[bluebonnet]

One thing to remember while your children are beginners and novices that they can wear kilties, white socks and vests. You really don't need to consider a heavier weight kilt until they are in the pre-premier or premier class.

You'll save a ton of money by going the kiltie way instead of a full kilt right now. My little granddaughter's kiltie was about 150.00 for the whole outfit.

As for the actual tartan, if you are going to do the outfit exchange or second hand way, you might not get too much of a choice over what is available in the sizes you need. Keep to the dress tartans, judges tend to like to see the predominate white on the kilt.

[RockyR]

Wrong. You'll find that practically all dance tartans are REAL REGISTERED tartans. An unregistered dance tartan is an exception, not the rule as you imply. I checked the dance tartans on the link and a full 98% were registered. SOBHD dress code states that the tartan a dancer wears must be a clan, family or district tartan. Colour variations on these tartans are acceptable and are considered real tartans.

I stand, quite vehemently corrected. I will say that after a quick search of the tartan names on Dalgliesh's page, I think it's a bit further south than 98%, but the point is taken.

Also, many seem to have been registered just to show that they exist in the dance world. When you read the notes, they're of recently registered items (within the past 30 - 40 years), not as old as some clan tartans (150+ years old):

http://tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails.aspx?ref=846

[Dixiecat]

What has the date of the tartan registration got to do with the legitimacy of a dance tartan? I don't understand the tendency here to downgrade dance tartans. They're neither more or less a tartan as any one that you've currently designed in the last 10 years. At least dance tartans must be based on existing clan, family or district tartans as specified by the SOBHD which puts them in the same range as Hunting, Ancient or Weathered lines of the same tartans. And, makes them more legit than a fantasy tartan such as the R'leyh tartan.

[bonnie heather]

I've made many,many knife pleated kilts and also several kilts with military box pleats, but I've never seen that style worn for highland dancing. I did see a gent doing Scottish country dancing and the swing looked pretty good. But it wouldn't be as spectacular as the way knife pleats fly with highland dancing.
Also, I make kilts for highland dancers with hems, even for adults, because with 11-12 oz tartan, it gives a little extra weight at the bottom for a nice swing.
One way to help keep the costs down is to ask a kilt maker what he/she would charge for labor and maybe buy the tartan fabric separately through them or from someone who is able to get the trade price. Maybe you could get a discount for ordering several kilts. ???