Well, actually Stephen, I have photos of Orkney kids and others dancing just such dances at the Annual Orkney International Science Festival with Cree students and dancers from Saskatchewan First Nations University who were presenting there. A good time was had by all. And on a traditional music and dance note, I don't know where every one on this site is ceilidh dancing and not seeing a mixture of age groups in Scotland. Every ceilidh I have been to here in Scotland including Orkney and Shetland has been well attended by all age groups including wee ones and uni students and those in between whether they are huge extraviganzas or litle community center Saturday night get togethers or weddings. In small towns it is often the only thing to do on a week-end and you can see goth kids and children, middle age couples and singles your adults university student and the elderly dancing. I regularly see 4-10 year olds being spun up the strip the willow line or doing a 2 step or the Gay Gordon or virginia Reel with any number of guys or gals of various ages from 6-96 and doing a pretty good job of holding their wn through the confusion of group dancing and waltzes. Some of the best ceilidh bands are a fantastic mixture of young and old and many are groups of young people, too. Part of my job at Uni was to book the musicians (both for the traditional Gaelic (quiet) Ceilidh and the full blown no room foot stomping partner spinning ones that go till three a.m) for The Highland Annual of a Comann Ceilteach Oilthigh Dhun Èideann (The Highland Society of Edinburgh University). With bands and individua musicians like Fergie MacDonald, Skipinnish, Deoch 'n' Dorus, Gary Innes, Skerrryvore, Croft Number 5, Brian Oh Eadhra, Nuala Kennedy, Blazing Fiddles and others, no one feels like cutting the rug just isn't cool enough. They just go and they dance and have a good time whether they are all thumbs (or big toes) at it or fleet of foot and whether they like heavy metal or classical or R and B or Zydeco. There is the Orkney Fiddle and Accordion Club and Orkney Traditional Music Project, both having member musicians of all ages. Hadhirgaan which began life as a Kirkwall Grammar School group 20 members strong are fantastic young Orcadian musicians as are Skalder, Quarterdeck, and Shoramere, too. The OIC has several after school clubs scattered across the islands that include fiddle, box and traditional music as well as combinations there of. My suggestion is to book your visit to Orkney in May and take in the Orkney Folk Festival if you are up for some good craic day and night for an extended period of time. The sessions at the Hotel are worth while especially. For the sessions bring your fiddle, your box or other instrument if you play, and your ears and tapping hands and feet and voices if you don't, and enjoy yourself. The concerts are also brilliant. All of the groups I mentioned above have websites or Bebo or MYSpace sites. Go visit them on line as they need our support. And for every group or individual that I have mentioned there are as many or more that I haven't for lack of time and space. Go on a google treasure hunt and see what you can find. it loads of good craic. Cheers, Nan On 25/09/2007, Marion <[email protected]> wrote: > I'll take the waltz - dance closer that way (grin) > Marion > > > > > > Note from me: For those that may not be familiar, there are about four > > "traditional" types of Scottish dance. The Scottish Country Dances are > > very > > formalized and patterned. Much like ball room dance only more free > > spirited > > and energetic. The north American Square dances are direct decedents of > > SCD. > > The ceilidh dances are the same type of group dances but less ridge and as > > Eliz says below, subject to a multitude of local variation. There is also > > a > > Scottish Step Dance that has died out in Scotland, but still survives on > > Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. It's very similar to the Irish Step dance you > > see in Riverdance. It's an individual dance, although there may be several > > people dancing at the same time. Highland Dance, see below, is also a solo > > dance. Originally war dances or victory dances. > > > > R > > _______________________________________ > Orcadia Group Photo Album > http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Nan Fowler 19/11 Bristo Place Edinburgh EH1 1EZ 'If I can't dance I don't want to be in your revolution'

Hmmm. I guess I understand what you are saying. It is a matter for me of being comfortable with something that is new and somewhat foreign, not a case of what's "cool" as you put it. I spent some time in the Yukon at some pretty wild western dances where the two step crow hop was the order of the day, and the dance floor, after the spirits flowed for a few hours, looked like a blocking practice for the Minnesota Vikings. People banging into each other with full body contact that ended up in someone being popped onto the floor that might bring a "sorry there partner" from the awkward Yukon blocker, who might tip his western hat as his sincere apology rolled off his tongue without missing a hop or a twirl in his sharp pointy western boots (aka winkle pickers.). No, at first encounter I found those Scottish dances just a tad strange. But they were fun to watch and I am sure by my friend Scarlett's enthusiasm, they were fun to execute. And living close to the Shelburne fiddlers contest in a family of of a few fiddlers, the reely style of music was easy to enjoy. I'll send ya a clip of one of my records off list. Twas years ago. Cheers.....tanglefoot On Sep 25, 2007, at 7:32 PM, Nan Fowler wrote: > Well, actually Stephen, I have photos of Orkney kids and others > dancing just such dances at the Annual Orkney International Science > Festival with Cree students and dancers from Saskatchewan First > Nations University who were presenting there. A good time was had by > all. > > And on a traditional music and dance note, I don't know where every > one on this site is ceilidh dancing and not seeing a mixture of age > groups in Scotland. Every ceilidh I have been to here in Scotland > including Orkney and Shetland has been well attended by all age groups > including wee ones and uni students and those in between whether they > are huge extraviganzas or litle community center Saturday night get > togethers or weddings. In small towns it is often the only thing to > do on a week-end and you can see goth kids and children, middle age > couples and singles your adults university student and the elderly > dancing. I regularly see 4-10 year olds being spun up the strip the > willow line or doing a 2 step or the Gay Gordon or virginia Reel with > any number of guys or gals of various ages from 6-96 and doing a > pretty good job of holding their wn through the confusion of group > dancing and waltzes. > > Some of the best ceilidh bands are a fantastic mixture of young and > old and many are groups of young people, too. Part of my job at Uni > was to book the musicians (both for the traditional Gaelic (quiet) > Ceilidh and the full blown no room foot stomping partner spinning ones > that go till three a.m) for The Highland Annual of a Comann Ceilteach > Oilthigh Dhun Èideann (The Highland Society of Edinburgh University). > With bands and individua musicians like Fergie MacDonald, Skipinnish, > Deoch 'n' Dorus, Gary Innes, Skerrryvore, Croft Number 5, Brian Oh > Eadhra, Nuala Kennedy, Blazing Fiddles and others, no one feels like > cutting the rug just isn't cool enough. They just go and they dance > and have a good time whether they are all thumbs (or big toes) at it > or fleet of foot and whether they like heavy metal or classical or R > and B or Zydeco. > > There is the Orkney Fiddle and Accordion Club and Orkney Traditional > Music Project, both having member musicians of all ages. Hadhirgaan > which began life as a Kirkwall Grammar School group 20 members strong > are fantastic young Orcadian musicians as are Skalder, Quarterdeck, > and Shoramere, too. The OIC has several after school clubs scattered > across the islands that include fiddle, box and traditional music as > well as combinations there of. > > My suggestion is to book your visit to Orkney in May and take in the > Orkney Folk Festival if you are up for some good craic day and night > for an extended period of time. The sessions at the Hotel are worth > while especially. For the sessions bring your fiddle, your box or > other instrument if you play, and your ears and tapping hands and feet > and voices if you don't, and enjoy yourself. The concerts are also > brilliant. All of the groups I mentioned above have websites or Bebo > or MYSpace sites. Go visit them on line as they need our support. > And for every group or individual that I have mentioned there are as > many or more that I haven't for lack of time and space. Go on a > google treasure hunt and see what you can find. it loads of good > craic. > > Cheers, Nan > > > On 25/09/2007, Marion <[email protected]> wrote: >> I'll take the waltz - dance closer that way (grin) >> Marion >>> >>> >>> Note from me: For those that may not be familiar, there are about >>> four >>> "traditional" types of Scottish dance. The Scottish Country >>> Dances are >>> very >>> formalized and patterned. Much like ball room dance only more free >>> spirited >>> and energetic. The north American Square dances are direct >>> decedents of >>> SCD. >>> The ceilidh dances are the same type of group dances but less >>> ridge and as >>> Eliz says below, subject to a multitude of local variation. There >>> is also >>> a >>> Scottish Step Dance that has died out in Scotland, but still >>> survives on >>> Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. It's very similar to the Irish Step >>> dance you >>> see in Riverdance. It's an individual dance, although there may >>> be several >>> people dancing at the same time. Highland Dance, see below, is >>> also a solo >>> dance. Originally war dances or victory dances. >>> >>> R >> >> _______________________________________ >> Orcadia Group Photo Album >> http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA- >> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> > > > -- > Nan Fowler > 19/11 Bristo Place > Edinburgh EH1 1EZ > > 'If I can't dance I don't want to be in your revolution' > > _______________________________________ > Orcadia Group Photo Album > http://tinyurl.com/28bx9x > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA- > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message