A dirk dance is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

dance performed while brandishing a dirk. It is a solo dance but can be performed by two or more people dancing in unison. The dance is quite different in style from the better known Highland dances and in many ways imitates the use of a dirk in fighting. Research suggests that the dance may, in fact, have originated as a series of moves for training in the use of the dirk. There are records showing that a Dirk Dance was included in Highland Dance competitions in 1841.Webster, David, Scottish Highland Games, 1959 ed., pg.33 The dance was recorded by J. F. and T. M. Flett in their book, ''Traditional Step-Dancing in Scotland'', after they learned it from Mary Isdale Mac Nab of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. She in turn had learned the dance in the 1900s from Scottish piping and dance champion, D.C. Mather. Another tradition of dirk dance, now lost, involved two dancers. In this dance, one is "killed" with the dirk, but then resurrected by his/her sorrowful partner. A dirk dance from the

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was also recovered by Manx folk researcher,

Mona Douglas Mona Douglas (18 September 1898 – 8 October 1987) was a Manx cultural activist, folklorist, poet, novelist and journalist. She is recognised as the main driving force behind the modern revival of Manx culture and is acknowledged as the most ...

. In this version, the dancer wields a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

. Highland dance was also performed with other

weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

including the Lochaber axe, the broadsword, flail, and paired

targe Targe (from Old Franconian ' 'shield', Proto-Germanic ' 'border') was a general word for shield in late Old English. Its diminutive, ''target'', came to mean an object to be aimed at in the 18th century. The term refers to various types of shi ...

and dirk. The Highland Dirk Dance resembles a combative dance similar to those of Indonesian Pentjak Silat, which has the performer executing knife techniques combined with

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

style kicks, trips and sweeps. One version of the dance involved attacking and defensive techniques with single-sticks and targe shields and was last performed in Britain in 1850 by two brothers named MacLennan, one of whom was a colleague of Mr Mather.

References

External links

Scottish Combat Academy article on the dirk danceA book containing some discussion of the Dirk Dance in context of knife fighting''Restoring to Use Our Almost Forgotten Dances: The Collection and Revival of Manx Folk Song and Dance'' by Mona Douglas
{{Scottish folk music Scottish culture Scottish dances War dances

See also

References

External links