The Highland Fling is one of the oldest of the Highland dances that originated in the Gaelic Highlands of Scotland. Returning from a victorious battle, male warriors would perform the dance in celebration of their success. It was performed on a small round shield, called a targe. Most targes had a sharp spike of steel projecting from the center, so the dancers learned to move with skill and dexterity to avoid injuring themselves.
This dance is now performed at dance competitions and events around the world. It is no longer danced on a shield, but it is still the goal of the dancer to stay in the same spot throughout the dance. The Highland Fling is danced at almost all competition levels, from Primary to Premier. It is also performed for most Highland and Theory examinations. Dancers wear the standard Kilt outfit to perform this dance.
Some people believe the Fling may have originated from a different source. There is a story about a young boy who saw a stag. When his father asked him to describe it, the boy could not find the words, so he danced on the spot, shaping his arms and hands into the animal he saw.
This dance can be done as a:
The first and last steps must always be danced in those places, but the rest of the steps are up to the dancer to choose. At the higher levels the SOBHD will release a different order of steps for each year to be danced in championship competitions. Dancers taking theory exams may also need to know all of these steps, as well as their order, depending on the level of exam they reach.
Music (Bagpipes) - "Monymusk" or any other suitable Strathspey tune.
Steps Tempo - 114* beats to the minute
First Step: Shedding
Second Step: First Back-Stepping
Third Step: Toe and Heel
Fourth Step: Rocking
Fifth Step: Second Back-Stepping
Sixth Step: Cross-Over
Seventh Step: Shake and Turn
Eighth Step: Last Shedding
These steps comprise the steps for the Highland Fling included in the SOBHD text book. There are many more steps in existence which have been used in competition over the years - some of which have been recorded in publications by, for example, Flett, while many more exist only in the memories of senior dancers .
The current (2006) recommended tempo for the Highland Fling is 114 bpm. This has slowed considerably over the years - from 192 bpm one hundred years ago, 152 bpm in the 1960s and then 134 bpm in the 1980s.
The Highland Fling can also been seen in the 2002 version of Nicholas Nickleby, performed by Alan Cumming Nicholas Nickleby (2002 film)