Scottish and Old Time Dancing

Subject: Scottish and Old Time Dancing.

Society is made up of so many parts. I tuned in by accident to a gathering of Scottish people celebrating an evening of Scottish dancing. The Reel and a Barn Dance were two of the dances as the accordion led band, with fiddle, drums and piano struck up to play each tune. The tunes themselves were a part of Scottish mythology, written to perhaps mourn a failure of a crop of barley, or the sad tidings of a ship wreck off the shore. 
The rigour and the formality of the dance and the strict time keeping of the band didn't hide the enjoyment and fun these people were having. The rolling rhythmic cadence of the band, an automatic foot tapping experience was a pleasure made more so by the homogeneity  of the people taking part. Amidst the Internet and the explosion of cultural activity on the 'web' this backwater of traditional interest remains very strong amongst the older generation.
I remember over 50 years ago in Cape Town being introduced to "Old Time Dancing" as it was called then, now renamed "Modern Sequence Dancing". The sequence of steps and the importance of knowing, not only which way you were going but who you were receiving to dance the next sequence with as the old sequence ended and a new one began was a bit of a strain.
Once a month the formal 'black tie' and women in 'ball gowns' would parade the floor in Bergvliet's Community Centre, as my Aunt and Uncle would meet with long standing friends to enjoy each other's company and dance the night away. The formality of manner extended to carrying a card on which a member of the opposite sex agreed to partner you in a dance when that dance's turn came to be played, so that your night was planned from the outset. The Valeta, the Boston Two Step, the Military Two Step, the Waltz, were all danced with grace and gusto as the dancers swirled around the floor, eyes alight with the fun of the occasion. A tipple or three at the table between dances drew the people together in a way that, in today's disco dancing, where people seem disconnected apparently doing their own thing in the dark recesses of their own mind, is not so apparent.
Back then to the jolly sound of the band and the whoops of the dancers as they swirled around the floor. A different generation and a different set of values.