Scottish Dance in Art Museum

- Artistic Realizations of Scottish Country Dance and Highland Dance -

Scottish dance has been interpreted into choreography of several ballets and other dance genres. Click to see a link of the performance if available.

1951 Donald of the Burthens Dancer Brian Shaw performing the sword dance in the Sadler's Wells Ballet production of Léonide Massine's Scottish ballet 'Donald of the Burthens', at Covent Garden, London, 1951. The sets were designed by Scottish painters Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde.	Union Jack New York City Ballet (2006) performs Union Jack - photo by Paul Kolnik, a ballet by George Balanchine (1976)	2008 Worlds Ice Dance Championships Scottish siblings John and Sinead Kerr
Stars on Ice 2013 Scottish Ice Dancers John and Sinead Kerr at the 2013 Stars on Ice performing to Coronach by The Porridge Men	La Sylphide La Sylphide is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet. Only the version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836 survives. It is one of the world's oldest surviving ballets. The ballet begins in the hall of a Scottish farmhouse. James Ruben, a young Scotsman, sleeps in a chair by the fireside. A sylph gazes lovingly upon him and dances about hi and then vanishes when he suddenly wakes.	"Highland Fling" Matthew Bourne's modern take on "La Sylphide," Highland Fling updates 19th century ballet La Sylphide to modern Glasgow. On their wedding night, James is tempted away from his bride and into an enchanted forest by a Sylph.. Bourne's choreography draws not only on classical ballet but the storytelling body language of slapstick and mime.
"Brief Fling" Brief Fling is Mikhail Baryshnikov’s last commission from Twyla Tharp during his tenure as artistic director of American Ballet Theatre. The title references both the traditional Scottish dance and a short-lived romance. Isaac Mizrahi's tartan costumes divide the dancers into clans of blue, red, green and off-white.