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Enjoy this curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Apr 25
Penguin Day
Reel of the Emperor's Egg
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"It is very difficult not to be excited by 10,000 penguins."
~ David Attenborough
I should say so! Should you yourself happen upon even 100 penguins, you may excitedly refer to them as a colony, a rookery, or even—rather charmingly—a waddle! You might also be tempted to form a special square configuration of five penguins in a domino arrangement, perfect for this tribute reel. If you're a few penguins short, five people will do quite nicely.
Inspired by the Emperor penguins whose seasonal challenges in the harsh Antarctic were chronicled by David Attenborough's television series, this 32-bar reel by Bardill/Prince captures something of the species’ remarkable endurance. The dance reflects the dramatic surge from ocean to ice, the long and determined march to the breeding grounds, and the careful arrival of the egg. As the devisor wryly notes, “It’s a really easy dance—once the trek sequence is mastered!”
Should you—or your penguin companions—be attending a Highland Ball, you may hear the familiar slang for formal evening wear: the “penguin suit.” If dressing the part, it is worth taking a cue from the Emperor penguin itself when choosing between Black Tie and White Tie. Of course, if you are a penguin, the matter is settled—you are permanently and impeccably dressed for any occasion. Fittingly, there is even a recently designed tribute tartan for the Emperor Penguin, which would sit rather well alongside a Prince Charlie waistcoat. 🕺 💃 💙 🖤 🤍 🧡 💛 👑 🐧 🐧 🐧 🥚
Reel of the Emperor's Egg
World Penguin Day is celebrated on April 25th! There are believed to be 17 penguin species, ranging from the Little Blue Penguin to the mighty Emperor Penguin, all native to the southern hemisphere.
Emperor Penguins are the tallest species, standing nearly 4 feet tall.
Emperor penguins breed almost exclusively on sea ice and so are perhaps the only species of bird that never sets foot on land. They begin their breeding cycle when other Antarctic penguins have finished theirs, at the end of April to May. Other smaller penguins at this time head north away from the encroaching winter while the Emperors head south into it. They seem to choose very dramatic sites, a large flat area where they can waddle when carrying their egg or chick on their feet surrounded by high ice cliffs or icebergs that help to give a little shelter from the winds.
Some penguin species create nests for their eggs out of pebbles and loose feathers, but Emperor Penguins are an exception: They incubate a single egg each breeding season on the top of their feet. Under a loose fold of skin is a featherless area with a concentration of blood vessels that keeps the egg warm.
After the female lays the egg, her nutritional reserves become depleted and she must return to feed in the ocean for two months. This leaves the responsibility of keeping the egg warm through the freezing Antarctic winter to the father. The father spends the two months holding the egg precariously between the tops of his feet and his brooding pouch, without feeding, throughout the brutal winter (when freezing winds can reach 120 mph).
For more on this dance's inspiration, natural historian David Attenborough's documentaries, including his newest one on penguins, Dynasties (2018), click the penguin chicks to see one of the rarest penguins on earth, an all black emperor penguin.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
