CIE Students experience Scottish culture through highland dancing and bagpipe demonstration

As one of the internationalisation initiatives, the College invited St. Andrews Pipe Band to come to demonstrate the raw power and finesse of Scottish highland dancing to CIE International Ambassadors, staff and exchange students from Temasek Polytechnic (Singapore). The activity consisted of three parts: a bagpipe demonstration, highland dance demonstration and finally, an audience dance-off.

Dating back to the age of warriors and conquests, highland dancing has its roots in the victory dances made by soldiers after a victorious battle. The music is produced by the formidable bagpipe; a wind instrument that requires more than the average person’s lung capacity, while the dance requires stamina, strength, and technique. While it proved challenging, the CIE students, staff and foreign guests had a merry time with the Pipe Band, capped off by an exhilarating couple’s dance that literally blew everyone out of their seats.