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The Highland Dirk Dance From Mary Isdale MacNab
About this film
This is The Highland Dirk Dance as 'collected' by Mary Isdale MacNab in Vancouver Canada. In the 1950s/60s she taught this to Professor Tom Flett of Liverpool University - with the strict instruction that it only ever be taught to one other person. So Professor Flett taught it to one John Wesenraft (here in the kilt). After Profesor Flett passed away, John taught it to Professor Flett's daughter Jane (here in the kilt far right). This is the only known recording of the dance and it was filmed at a teaching workshop in 1996 at the Reading Cloggies Festival of Step and Clog Dance. Thanks are due to Prof. Tony Barrand of Boston University for processing the recording from a poor quality VHS tape donated by one Mike Cherry of the Reading Cloggies. The clip was originally uploaded with permission to Professor Barrand's DVRA - The Digital Video Research Archive of Morris, Sword, and Clog Dancing at Boston University at http://www.bu.edu/dbin/dance/ The same clip is uploaded here as a mirror of the DVRA and to reach a wider public. Notation for the dance can be found in "Traditional Step Dances of Scotland" by Tom and Joan Flett. Further info. re: the Dirk Dance and other fighting dances…
Subjects
Dirk dance; step dance; clog dance; Scottish; folk dance; Reading Cloggies; Festival
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