SCD Resources

Websites

Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Dedicated to dancing and teaching Scottish Country Dancing. Full of SCD resources and contacts.

RSCDS Sydney Branch
Sydney Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, with information on clubs, events and workshops.

Scottish Country Dancing Wikipedia entry
Information on scottish country dancing from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Video

Scottish Country Dancing Video
Video produced by the UK’s National Health Service. Scottish country dancing is an easy way to keep active and socialise at the same time. You can try it for yourself by learning a few easy steps now.

Articles

Insight – SBS TV
Transcript to an interview with Dr Michael Valenzeula from the University of New South Wales on the benefits of Scottish Country Dancing, as part of a larger programme on brain health. Screened 3 November 2010

Grab your partner for a bit of a fling
Article by Chris Elwell-Sutton on the UK’s Ceilidh Club and the number of young people becoming interested in Scottish Country Dancing and Ceilidh Dancing. Published in the London Evening Standard, June 2007.

Dance the Highland Fling
Article about Scottish Country Dancing in Lismore, NSW from the perspective of a brand new dancer. Published in the Northern Rivers Echo, July 2011.

Don’t Worry Be Happy
Article about Scottish Country Dancing and general happiness, by Julian Champkin.

Dancers reel their way to fitness
News release from the University of Strathclyde, 6 August 2010

Professor Michael Argyle
Article about the life and work of Professor Michael Argyle, the social psychologist who studied happiness , and thought dancing, church and marriage the best prescriptions. Daily Telegraph 12 September 2002.

The Psychology of Scottish Dancing
Article by Professor Michael Argyle addressing his research on Scottish Dancing – (The Reel RSCDS London No.209 Sept-Nov 1994 pp.6-7).

Scottish Social Dancing and the Formation of Community
Article by Catherine A. Shoupe on the world of Scottish Country Dancing. Published in Western Folklore 2001.

Scottish Country Dance – Benefits to Functional Ability in Older Women by Susan Dewhurst, Norah Nelson, Paul K. Dougall, and Theodoros M. Bampouras
Article on the health benefits of SCD on older women. Published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity 2014.

Dancing May Be Best for the Brain – The New York Times – 29 March 2017
Article by By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
A new study that compared the neurological effects of country dancing with those of walking and other activities suggests that there may be something unique about learning a social dance.

 

Finally a quote from Dr Michael J. Valenzuela from his book It’s Never Too Late to Change Your Mind:

“… I really think dancing has a lot going for it. Let’s analyse it from the Three Keys point of view. Obviously taking dance classes and actually practicing a partner-based dance is a social experience, so that’s one big tick. Equally, dancing can be quite physical, as any one that’s spent a night dancing can confirm. Second big tick.

But what about the cognitive key? If you’ve never been to a dance class then you may not realise that it can actually be quite mentally demanding. First, there is learning to better control and co-ordinate your body, sometimes carrying out motions that you’ve never even tried before. Next there are the moves, complex sequences that need to first be put into short term memory for reproduction during class, and then into longer term memory so that you don’t start over again at the next class. Over time, effortful and deliberate retrieval of sequences from long term memory becomes effortless actions under the control of automatic motor memory processes. And then there is the perception of beat and rhythm, anticipation of partner’s movements and intentions and so on…no wonder sometimes it’s so hard to make it look easy! Learning to dance definitely has a strong cognitive component and therefore this pass-time more than adequately fulfills the Three Keys. Besides that it is a heap of fun, often addictive for beginners and you get to dance with beautiful people (need I say more).”