Editing Scottish country dance (section)

==History==
{{POV section|date=September 2020}}

===Modern===
During the early 20th century, SCD still had a part in social entertainment especially in rural Scotland, even though the number of dances within the active repertoire was quite small. Scottish country dancing was in danger of dying out when, in 1923, the [[Royal Scottish Country Dance Society|Scottish Country Dance Society (SCDS)]] was founded in Glasgow with the goal of preserving "country dances ''as danced in Scotland''" (this was only recently changed to read "Scottish country dances"). The SCDS began to collect and publish the dances in the active repertoire as well as reconstruct (or reinterpret) from old sources dances that were no longer being danced. In the process, the dances and technique, which might differ considerably depending on where in Scotland a dance was collected, were strictly standardised.  This compromised the strict historical preservation, but paved the way for universal "compatibility" among dancers from (eventually) all over the world. The efforts of the SCDS became quite popular, and its influence on the training of physical education teachers meant that most Scottish children learn at least a minimum of SCD during school. The Society achieved Royal patronage in 1947 and became known as the RSCDS (Royal Scottish Country Dance Society).

Fairly soon after the inception of the SCDS people started inventing new dances in the spirit of the older ones but also introducing new figures not part of the collected canon. Today there are over 11,000 dances catalogued, of which fewer than 1,000 can be considered "traditional". Many dances are only known regionally, though the most popular in a "traditional" vein are published by the RSCDS. The RSCDS does hold significant influence since they teach the majority of Scottish country dance teachers, administrate the official SCD teaching exam, run the largest number of internally publicised events, and have published the largest number of dances.  The RSCDS publications encompass a large part of the repertoire of most dancers.

Modern SCD has evolved considerably from the early 18th century, with the constant devising of new dances, new concepts, informal variations and entirely new ideas appearing. As a pursuit, Scottish country dancing is no longer confined to Scotland. Active communities can be found throughout the world – in the rest of Britain, continental Europe, Canada, and the US as well as Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with occasional groups in places as diverse as Russia, South Africa, Argentina, and Hong Kong.

Gay and lesbian Scottish country dancing groups, first being organised in London and now in [[Manchester]] and Edinburgh aptly named [[Gay Gordons (dance)|The Gay Gordons]] offer same-sex Scottish country dancing. The London group has adopted the use of the terms "leader" and "follower" instead of "man" and "lady" (terms borrowed from [[swing dance]]).

Scottish country dancing is now recognised as a valuable activity for maintaining health and [[physical fitness|fitness]]. Researchers at the [[University of Strathclyde]] in August 2010 made a study<ref>{{Cite web | title = Dancers reel their way to fitness, University of Strathclyde | url = http://www.strath.ac.uk/press/newsreleases/2010/headline_314698_en.html | access-date = 9 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018060022/http://www.strath.ac.uk/press/newsreleases/2010/headline_314698_en.html | archive-date = 18 October 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref> of seventy women between the ages of 60 and 85 years; half were Scottish country dancers and the remainder participated in other physical activities such as swimming, walking, golf and keep fit classes. The women were assessed on their strength, stamina, flexibility and [[Balance (ability)|balance]]. They all compared favourably with average fitness levels for women in their age range, but the Scottish country dancers were shown to have more agility, stronger legs and to be able to walk more briskly than people who took part in other forms of exercise.

In Scotland, SCD is very common at both urban and rural [[ceilidh]] events. These are often informal, energetic, noisy events and the dancing is unrefined – also being aimed at beginners or at least those with very limited skills.  Ceilidh dance events may present only  a very small set of well known dances (particularly in urban settings). In these situations, there may be few other traditionally 'Scottish' or Gaelic features beyond the music and dance. (In some communities, SCD and other, the 'ceilidh' is not a dance party, but more of a 'talent show' or 'slam' where guests may present poems, songs, or skits for the enjoyment of all.)