The Southeast Florida Scottish Festival & Highland Games was pleased to announce the return of the SE FL Highland Dance competition in Plantation just outside of Fort Lauderdale for our 41st anniversary festival on March 1, 2025! Please join us next year for Premier, Pre Premier and solo choreography competitions! This event is supported by the Scottish American Society of South Florida. 

ENTRY FORMS WILL BE AVAILBLE AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE FESTIVAL DATE

The dances you will see, though all loosely called Highland dances, are divided into Highland Dances and National dances. Highland Dances were originally performed only by men, often before and after battle, and require considerable stamina. Many of the National dances, however, were devised for female interpretation and are less athletic and more graceful. Authorities on dancing have said that Highland Dancing is one of the most sophisticated forms of national dancing known.

The main points to look for while watching Highland Dancing are the precision and timing of the steps and the leg, body and arm positions. The dancer should appear relaxed and well in control of the movements. Since 1950 the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) has set standards for performance and judge’s scoring. There are many accepted steps for each dance, some of which are required in competition by the SOBHD and others, which are optional. All dancers do not, therefore, dance the same steps.