Ceilidh help required.

[Lou]

I'm going to one on Saturday. What is it? What do they do? What do I do? What is this traditional Scottish dancing? Help! :sorry

[Chicklet]

you do know it translates as "Naked Swingers' Ball" don't you???

[Lou]

Aha - I wondered why Adam raised his eyebrow when I asked him what I should wear....

[Lou]

Come on - surely one of you knows what's involved in traditional Scottish dancing! :really: Please - it would help me to know what I've let myself in for!

[Basil Brush (Forum Plant)]

Drink lots
Wear a skirt
Let the man lead you
Most dances are 'called', i.e. someone shouts out the steps
"Strip the Willow" is an easy one- and you don't need to strip
Hope you have fun!

[Chicklet]

expect bruises

[Dreadful Scathe]

you'll be fine if theres a caller as brush says :)

you just need to practice bouncing and shouting 'weeeoooocch' at the top of your voice. You dont need to let the man lead you as you should be doing the same thing, by all means fight the man every step of the way as thats what makes it fun :).

[Graham]

Couldn't find anything especially helpful on a very cursory web search - this (http://www.scottishdance.net) was the best one but unless you wanted to learn the dance steps not very useful.

Usually a ceilidh is much like a modern jive party night - there are lots of people of all abilities, including complete beginners. Although a lot of people in Scotland have at some point been taught some of the dances, many have not, or have forgotten, and few people are at a level comparable to a good intermediate in modern jive. However, given where you live, if you're going to one being organised by a club/society the standard may be higher if it's something people do regularly.

All dances are repetitions of set steps. Mostly at a ceilidh relatively simple sequences are used - often the level of complexity of a beginner class in modern jive, but sometimes more the level of an intermediate class.

Most dances are danced with a partner, usually as separate couples (there are also variations called "progressives" where you actually change partners during each repeat of the steps). Other dances are danced in "sets" of usually 6 or 8. One popular dance called the Dashing White Sergeant is danced in sets of 3, either two men and a lady or two ladies and a man.

As in modern jive, footwork and style are not necessarily essential to doing the dance, although unlike modern jive there is a set footwork which you're trying to follow.

Anyone who can dance modern jive will be able to dance at a ceilidh - the key thing (exactly like modern jive!) is to relax and have fun!

[Grant]

Originally posted by Graham
Usually a ceilidh is much like a modern jive party night - there are lots of people of all abilities, including complete beginners. Although a lot of people in Scotland have at some point been taught some of the dances, many have not, or have forgotten, and few people are at a level comparable to a good intermediate in modern jive. However, given where you live, if you're going to one being organised by a club/society the standard may be higher if it's something people do regularly.
I've attended a few here in Glasgow which were aimed at the general public as opposed to the scottish country dancing fraternity. I was surprised how few people had any idea what they were doing. The number of people on the floor and the amount of alcohol they consumed turned it into a kind of dance demolition derby. If it's like this at least you won't have to worry about doing the wrong thing.
As Graham says, if yours is organised by a club/society the standard will probably be higher. In which case you can just copy the people around you who appear to know what they are doing. The hardest part is coping with the changes in direction.


Anyone who can dance modern jive will be able to dance at a ceilidh - the key thing (exactly like modern jive!) is to relax and have fun!
Exactly - well put Graham (see I'm not always picking on you!)

Grant

[Lou]

So - to sum up - bounce, drink lots & have fun. Sounds ideal - cheers guys! :cheers:

[Divissima]

Grant wrote:The number of people on the floor and the amount of alcohol they consumed turned it into a kind of dance demolition derby. If it's like this at least you won't have to worry about doing the wrong thing. Sounds like the ceilidhs I've been to in London!!:grin: If it had been one of the more formal ones where you are expected to dress up and know the dances without a caller, it would probably have been called a ball or reeling (maybe someone will help me out if I'm wrong). As people have said, there is likely to be a caller who will usually get the dancers to step through the dance slowly first, before going for it for real. But even then people often don't quite get it right (this could be to do with a genuine confusion of right and left, or it could be to do with the alcohol consumed:grin: :wink: ) - and the best part is that hardly anyone takes it seriously and if you get it wrong it is just funny. One tip though is to wear dance sneakers if you have them - sometimes it helps to have a moderate grip on the floor if you are dancing with a very exuberant man! And expect bruises (and a hangover)

[Grant]

Originally posted by Divissima
One tip though is to wear dance sneakers
steel capped working boots might offer more protection to your toes

expect bruises
but you'll still get these on your upper arms from some dances

Grant