The School

The Roger Drury School of Highland Dancing was started so as to allow children and adults of all ages to learn the traditional art of Scottish Highland Dancing. The School's primary aim is to prepare students for competition and medal test examinations - a process which not only requires a knowledgeable teacher, but also hard work and determination from the pupils themselves. If, however, your aim is simply to learn this traditional art form for your own enjoyment, then you are also very welcome.

The school has a regular class every Friday evening between 6.00pm and 8.00pm at the Methodist Church Hall in Jacklyns Lane, Alresford which is just outside Winchester. The hall is very clean, modern and comfortable with good facilities for parents to relax and chat while their children dance. Although technical in nature and geared towards competitive Highland Dancing, the class is fun and relaxed in nature.

The Class

The class runs from 6.00pm to 8.00pm every Friday and is designed for all abilities. In addition, there is a monthly Saturday class running from 12.00pm - 3.00pm which a break for lunch at 1.30pm. Students who are keen to compete are encouraged to take advantage of private lessons.

Those children who are competing are encouraged to take advantage of half-day workshops which will run during the school holidays. On the subject of school holidays, dancing lessons will continue with only a one or two week break. If however, due to holiday commitments, most children are unable to attend a class, the class will be cancelled as it would be uneconomical to run a class for one child unless it was on the basis of a private lesson.

Each class will start with a warm-up and stretch routine which minimises the chance of injury, promotes cardiovascular response to the dancing and encourages flexibility. There will then be instruction in the dances themselves. This will involve meticulous attention to the individual movements from which the dances are constructed. Often children forget what they have to practice so each one will receive a notebook with which they can remind themselves throughout the week what they need to do for next week. Click here to find out what and when to practice.

As any parent will know, whenever a group of children with different personalities, from different schools and locations come together, there have to be a few ground rules put in place! These are not meant to recreate the atmosphere of an old fashioned grammar school, but rather so that everyone can develop within their potential as fully as possible. They concern things such as general behaviour, clothing for class, practicing etc and if you are interested in joining a Highland Dancing class, you should click here for the "skool rules"!

What do you need?

Initially, just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt coupled with energy and enthusiasm. The most important item to purchase is a pair of Highland Dancing shoes which are all essentially of the black lace-up style. They come in various price ranges and I will be happy to give you all the advice you need concerning your purchase. For those children very new to Highland Dancing, it is an idea to wait for a short time before purchasing the shoes; children's interests tend to come and go very frequently and they may decide after a few weeks not to continue with their lessons. This should, however, only be for no longer than a month as learning to dance in socks or barefeet alone can introduce bad habits. Additionally, if you or your child wishes to carry on learning at the school, we do ask that they purchase the school polo shirt which is available at a subsidised cost and should be worn to all lessons. This is similar to a lot of dancing schools where a regulation leotard etc has to be worn. This gives the children, during the class, a feeling of "belonging" and being a real part of the School. Follow the link above for the rules of the Dancing School which outlines what children need to bring to class.

For those who wish to compete, appear in concerts or take medal examinations - a whole new world opens up! Dancers will first and foremost need a kilt. With the kilt there is usually worn a white blouse with puffed sleeves and a velvet waistcoat with ornamental buttons. The matching tartan hose are optional until a competitor reaches the Premier Section - though most dancers usually have them. For the National Dances, they will also need what's known as an Aboyne outfit which comprises a gathered circular skirt, velvet bodice, white blouse and tartan plaid matching the skirt. Once a dancer moves into the Advanced Section of competitions they will also need a Sailor's uniform for the Sailor's Hornpipe along with a Jig dress and Jig shoes for the Irish Jig. The Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing issues very exacting requirements of what dancers should and should not wear in competitions - click here for details of the dress code. Click on the pictures below so that you can see what the outfits look like.

The Kilt!

There is no getting away from the fact that these outfits cost money! However, outfits can often be bought second hand and for those who are friendly with a dressmaker, or are a dab-hand with the sewing machine themselves, there are patterns available for you to make outfits from. Generally speaking though, a kilt should always be made by a professional kiltmaker. For both the kilt and the National Dances skirt, a dress tartan is nearly always chosen and there are some beautiful ones to choose from. Click here to see some of the tartans that most dancers normally choose. As you can see, they differ quite a lot from the usual dark green or red that most kilts are made in. When purchasing a kilt for competitive dancing, we strongly recommend that one of the dress tartans is chosen.

When choosing an outfit for those that are interested in performing at concerts or competing, you should always seek the advice of the teacher. I don't say that because I think that you are incapable of making an informed choice - far from it! The reason is that many parents spend a lot of money on an outfit that they personally think looks attractive, only to find that when it comes to competitions especially, the colours or style are not really what a judge would find appealling in comparison with other dancers. The appearance of a competitor should make no difference to the marks for their dancing but, at the end of the day, judges are just as human as anyone else and when two dancers are of comparable standard - well, which dancer would you place first? I also run a dressmaking service for most of the items you need for Highland dancing excluding the actual kilt and tartan socks. Click here for a link to the dressmaking page which gives details of the outfits and prices.