Cluaran
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Cluaran32 bar Strathspey for 4 Couples in a 4 Couple Set, devised by Roland Telle (2021).
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
Cluaran - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This dance, Cluaran, is dedicated to the Scottish Country Dancing group of the same name in Port-Louis, near Lorient in Brittany, France, and to its teacher, Clémentine Job.Cluaran is the Scottish Gaelic word for thistle, the national emblem of Scotland. Thistles belong to the daisy family, Asteraceae, and include numerous species distinguished by their spiny leaves, prickly stems and flower heads, usually purple or pink. Several species grow in Scotland, including the spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), commonly depicted in Scottish heraldry. Thistles grow in grassland, woodland margins, roadsides and disturbed ground, with their flowers providing nectar for bees and butterflies and their seeds supplying food for birds such as goldfinches.
The thistle has been used as a Scottish royal emblem since at least the fifteenth century. It appeared on silver coins issued during the reign of James III in 1474, while records from the reign of James V describe gold thistle ornaments purchased in France in 1536–1537 for decorating his clothing. In 1687, James VII established the present Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry, whose insignia incorporates the plant and the Latin motto "Nemo me impune lacessit", meaning "No one provokes me with impunity".
The thistle remains a feature of Scottish coats of arms, military badges, coins and official insignia.
Cluaran - Spear Thistle (Cirsium Vulgare), A Native Scottish Thistle
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Text from this original Thistle article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Kieran Roy Powell, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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