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The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian-era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina (chotis]]Spanish Wikipedia and chamamé), Finland (jenkka), France, Italy, Norway (""), Portugal and Brazil (xote, ), Spain (chotis), Sweden, Denmark (schottis), Mexico (norteño music), and the United States, among other nations. The schottische is considered by The Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka, with continental-European origin.
The schottische basic step is made up of two sidesteps to the left and right, followed by a turn in four steps. In some countries, the sidesteps and turn are replaced by strathspey hopping steps.
Schottisches danced in Europe (in the context of balfolk), where they originated, are different from how they are danced in the United States. The European or Continental version (often pronounced "skoteesh"), is typically danced to faster music and is quite restrained in its movements. The American version (often pronounced "shodish") is often large and open, with a slower tempo than the European schottische. The first part is often expressed equally as promenades, individual or led twirls or similar moves, and the second part is most often expressed as a close pivot.
The schottish Espagnol or Spanish schottische, also known as the "seven step" gained popularity in France in the early 1900s.
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It has two main forms in beat, one being more popular than the other. Both versions are similar in starting line-up to the Gay Gordons and has a polka feel to it. Typical tunes for a Highland schottische are "Brochan Lom" and "Laddie With the Plaidie".
In the more popular ceilidh version, the man stands on the left, the woman on the right. They join with left hands joined low in front and with the man's right arm over the woman's right shoulder and hands joined above it. The man points his left foot forward, toe to the floor and slightly to the left, whilst the woman does the same with her right foot. On the first two main beats, each partner raises onto their toes and performs a Highland step, bringing back the heel of extended foot against the calf of the other (inside) leg, whilst hopping on the other foot. They then trot forward 4 steps to the beat, pivot quickly so that the man is on the right and woman on the left, both facing the opposite direction of travel. Their right hands are now joined low forward and left hands above the woman's left shoulder. They perform the same Highland steps as before but now on the opposite foot, before trotting forward 4 steps again. They then face each other with the man on the inside of the circle of travel, the man's hands on the woman's waist and woman's hands on the man's shoulders (alternatively, the partners adopt the waltz position for their arms and hands). They now trot sideways 3 steps to the left (man left/right/left; woman right/left/right), then hop on the same foot as the third step, then trot sideways right (man right/left/right; woman left/right/left) and hop. For the last four bars, the pair spin round as they progress, hopping twice on each foot and finally once on the last bar (man left/left, right/right, left/left, right). They then re-form with hands joined front and back, man on left as before. The dance, when performed at ceilidhs, usually has a jolly, light-footed, spirited feel and is often accompanied by vocal yelps, woos and hooches from the male partners. The hopping spin toward the end of the routine is often done with great gusto. It often causes the pleated backs of the men's kilts to fly up and outward, sometimes with humorous results.
A variation popular in Argyll in the 1920s and '30s focused on showing the man's dancing abilities and as such became known as a form of "peacock dance" (not to be confused with the Peacock dance). For the period of the Gay Gordons stance, the partners do not move forward at all, then pivot and move back. Instead, the woman stays in one position, performing the Highland toe-steps with the right foot for four bars, while hopping. The man meanwhile performs two Highland toe-steps with the left foot while hopping. He then moves across behind the woman on his toes for four steps, so that he is now on her right. He then performs two Highland toe-steps with the right foot then moves back behind the woman to her left side again, whilst she performs her toe steps with the left foot while remaining on the same spot. Back on the left, he then faces the woman and they perform the second (polka) half of the routine as per the popular version described above.
A simplified ceilidh variation of the popular version does not required the Gay Gordons method of holding hands in the first half of the routine. Instead, the man holds the woman with his right arm across the small of the woman's back and she does the same to the man with her left arm. The toe-steps are performed as usual and they pivot and turn, whereupon the man puts his left arm across the small of the woman's back and she uses her right arm. The rest of the routine is as per the popular version.
In the southern United States at the start of the 20th century the schottische was combined with ragtime; the most popular "ragtime schottische" of the era was "Any Rags" by Thomas S. Allen in 1902. In New Orleans, Buddy Bolden's band and other proto-jazz groups were known for playing hot schottisches. It is also danced as a Western promenade dance in country–western dance venues, often after the Cotton-Eyed Joe.
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