The Origins of the Strathspey Razorfish2012 2012-10-03 | An audio companion for the forthcoming paper 'Reeling in the Strathspey: The Origins of Scotland's National Music'
Old West Highland Circular Reel.mov Razorfish2012 2012-10-12 | An ancient Reel that was danced by Highlanders until the early 20th century. The Fletts (1972, 111) describe it as 'an unsophisticated dance which could be of very great antiquity. Moreover, many parts of the West Highlands and the Western Isles retained their Catholic faith throughout the Reformation period, so that social dancing would have taken place there in an unbroken tradition dating back to medieval times, and the circular reel could be part of this tradition'. As Micheal Newton has pointed out, certain aspects of the dance - as seen here - may be later accretions to the tradition (e.g. the hard-shoe step dancing and linear formation). However, the core dance form may go back to the 16th century or before.
