"Ma was delighted with her trip, but she was disgusted with the girls
for allowing me to embrace and kiss them — and she was horrified
at the Schottische as performed by Miss Castle and me. She was
perfectly willing for me to dance until 12 o'clock at the imminent
peril of my going to sleep on the after watch — but then she would
top off with a very inconsistent sermon on dancing in general; ending
with a terrific broadside aimed at the heresy of heresies, the Schottische."
— Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain
Letter to Orion Clemens, March 18, 1861
Since it was first described in the mid-19th century, Schottische has remained a popular folk dance tradition around the world.
Here are a few of our favorite Schottische tunes, arranged by tempo.
If you or your community is interested in learning Schottische, .
For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.
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