The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina ("chotis"Spanish Wikipedia and "chamamé"), Finland ("jenkka"), France, Italy, Norway (""), Portugal and Brazil (xote, ), Spain (chotis), Sweden, Denmark ("schottis"), Mexico (Norteño music), and the United States, among other nations. The schottische is considered by The Oxford Companion to Music to be a kind of slower polka, with continental-European origin.
The schottische basic step is made up of two sidesteps to the left and right, followed by a turn in four steps. In some countries, the sidesteps and turn are replaced by Strathspey hopping steps.
Schottisches danced in Europe (in the context of balfolk), where they originated, are different from how they are danced in the United States. The European (or Continental) version (often called "skoteesh"), is typically danced to faster music and is quite restrained in its movements. The American version is often large and open, with the first part expressed equally as promenades, individual or led twirls or similar moves, and the second part most often expressed as a close pivot. It seems to be mostly referred to as a "shodish".
Contemporary
Argentina
In Argentina, the schottische was introduced by Volga German immigrants (now usually called "chotis") and also evolved and mixed into Chamamé, an Argentine folk music genre.
Brazil
In Brazil, the xote has largely developed in the north-eastern area, specially the Sertão, where it has created variations such as baião and arrasta-pé, which are usually grouped in the forró denomination. All of these rhythms are typically danced in pairs, being xote the slower and simpler style of dancing, in which the couple alternate left-left-hop-right-right-hop steps.
Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, the dance was also known as "Šotyš".. It is danced in its more traditional folk variants as an exhibition dance, and also in the balfolk scene.
Finland
In Finland, in Finnish, the dance is generally known as a jenkka. In general, the Finnish jenkka is faster in tempo than the Norwegian "reinlender" and Swedish "schottis".
France
The scottische had been introduced in France in the 1850s. It rapidly disseminated from the salons to the countryside, becoming one of the most popular folk dances. It is one of the most common dance found in bal folk.
The "schottish Espagnol" or Spanish Schottische, also known as the "Seven Step" gained popularity in France in the early 1900s.
Germany
Germans refer to the dance as a Schottisch, which means Scottish.
Italy
A dozen variations are known, for one or more couples, some free, some in fixed choreographies, and the original name became "sciortis" in Tuscany, "sciotzè" in southern Italy, "sòtis" in Romagna.
Ireland
In the folk music of Ireland, a schottische is closely related to the highland tune type, though possessing a higher proportions of quarter notes. The so-called "German schottische," like the highland, was chiefly popular in Donegal and in Irish exile communities, notably Philadelphia, where Donegal emigrants settled. Also known as a "barn dance," the "German" is a two-hand dance played to tunes that end each eight-bar phrase with three lightly-accented quarter notes.
Mexico
Known as Chotís, it was introduced in México in 1850. In the beginning it was just a high-class ballroom dance. It became popular after a while and then a more "rustic" style was created for public parties and dance halls. It is popular in the northern states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Durango and Zacatecas.
Norway
In Norway, the dance is called a "reinlender". The name may suggest the idea of an origin in the area of the Rhine – meaning that it could be from Germany or Bohemia. The name was known as "" in Bavaria.
Poland
In Poland, the dance was also known as "Polka Tremblante" or just "Tramblanka".