Clog and Highland dancer from Burnley.
Originally from Edinburgh, she was retired and living in Burnley when interviewed by Julian Pilling commencing in 1959. She had learned to dance from a Miss Barry, a highland teacher in Edinburgh. From her she learned a Lancashire Hornpipe, a Dutch Dance, a Schottische, and the Irish Jig together with the standard country and highland dances, including the Sailors’ Hornpipe.
Some of her Lancashire Hornpipe steps, together with one step of the Irish Jig were subsequently published (without naming the informant) in Pilling, J., “The Lancashire Clog Dance”, Folk Music Journal, 1.3, 158-179. Other material has been collated from the correspondence listed below.
These have been realised in Newcastle Notation:
Lancashire Hornpipe
Irish Jig – done in hard shoes
Schottische
Julian Pilling was filmed by Roy Dommett on Sunday 6th September 1964 at the Durham Ring Meeting, run by the Morris Ring. The dance was filmed without music, but serves to resolve many of the issues with the published notations.
Information derived from letters from J. Pilling to Tom Flett, 26/10/1959, 10/4/1960, 18/7/1960, 19/11/1961 and Pilling, J., “The Lancashire Clog Dance”, Folk Music Journal, 1.3, 158-179.