Scottish Country Dance
There are two speeds at Scottish Dancing, fast and slow, with not a lot in between. The dances are typically done in sets of four couples. It's another dance form where you learn a pattern, a series of figures. It can be quite vigorous, and the guardians of Scottish Dance care more than most that it be done well. You will actually practice doing the footwork properly. And it does look extraordinary. To see someone who's good at it doing the skip-change step or setting, is a delight. In case this helps, it's got the intricacy of English Country Dancing coupled with some serious athleticism.
The most dedicated of the dancers where special shoes called "ghillies." For a long time I resisted wearing them because they don't make them shaped like the human foot. They're all pointed. But that's for another tirade at another time. Scottish Dancing is done up on the balls of your feet. (You don't have to if that's not appealing for you. There are no police to enforce perfect form.) But dancing on the front of your foot is very difficult in normal street shoes with the big heels. Thus the ghillies, very minimalist shoes with little heel. So I've got a pair now.
I think Scottish is a lot of fun. Challenging and exciting. And yes, at the balls the men will often wear kilts. I've also resisted wearing a kilt, and sworn that I would never be so silly. But you can work up a sweat at Scottish, and a while back I was noticing that my blue jeans were sort of hot and in the way. Suddenly the idea of having a kilt on was not so frightening. Actually, the guys looked quite elegant in their kilts. Oh, but they're expensive. No. It seemed a bad idea. No kilt. Except now the Scottish Dance troup my girlfriend performs with has asked me to fill the spot of a departing member. So I'm currently prowling around eBay looking for a second-hand kilt. Life is full of surprises.