Jean Milligan

Jean Callander Milligan (9 July 1886 – 28 July 1978) was a physical education teacher at Jordanhill College who founded the Scottish Country Dance Society. She is credited with creating the modern incarnation of Scottish country dance.

Early life and education Miss Milligan was the daughter of educators James Milligan and Isabella Milligan. She was considered a fragile child after surviving rheumatic fever, and did not attend school until she was nine years old. Then, she attended Garnethill School (Glasgow High School for Girls), where her father was the headmaster. She trained to teach physical education at Dartford College, where she was a student of Martina Bergman-Österberg.

Career Miss Milligan learned some traditional dances, recipes, and handiwork skills from her mother, and performed Morris dancing at a 1910 festival. She and Stewart ran an annual summer school beginning in 1927. In 1946 she attended the International Youth Festival with a troupe of 66 dancers, and in 1948 she represented the Scottish Country Dance Society at a meeting of the International Folk Music Council in Basel. She was dance advisor to the Scottish Film Council. Won't You Join the Dance? A Manual of Scottish Country Dancing Dances of Scotland (1951, with Donald G. MacLennan) 101 Scottish Country Dances (1957) 99 More Scottish Country Dances (1963) Introducing Scottish Country Dancing (1968, with Irene Stewart)

Personal life and legacy Miss Milligan lived in a tenement in Glasgow during World War II. In March 2024 she featured in a podcast episode about Scottish women and dance. The "Miss Jean Milligan" reel is named for her.

Many Scottish country dances and tunes are named after Milligan. Dances include:

Miss Milligan's Travels, devised by Ben Stein Salute to Miss Milligan, by John Drewry Miss Milligan's Strathspey Welcome to Miss Milligan, by Liliane Chamoine A Tribute to Miss Milligan, by Jean Riddell Second Salute to Miss Milligan, by Priscilla Burrag