When you have your wedding in Scotland you’ll want to include a ceilidh in your evening’s dancing but may be worried that your guests will not know the dances and find four hours of ceilidh too much.
There are plenty of ways round that but, so long as you get a good ceilidh band, you’ll probably find you and your guests enjoy it so much that time flies in a never to be forgotten experience of laughter and fun. All worthwhile ceilidh bands in Scotland provide a caller to help the novices and those that may have forgotten some of the steps and there’s often a band member who can come out and demonstrate the moves.
A great way to get everyone involved
Something that sets ceilidh dancing apart from modern dancing is that everyone gets involved and, as each dance progresses, people become more confident until, after a couple of hours there’s a warm feeling of cooperation and inclusion across the dance floor. Ceilidhs create a feeling of teamwork and togetherness, exactly what it was designed for on remote outlying communities where the drudgery of working together could be offset by having outrageous fun together.
There’s also opportunity for individual expression, especially in the solo parts of dances like The Eightsome Reel where each dancer in the group of eight gets their time “in the spotlight” to show off their expertise.
Begginers have more fun!
Beginners can often have more fun than the experienced dancer since all the moves are new and the thrill of newly discovered skills makes the evening fly by with such a sense of personal elation and connectedness with all the other dancers.
Several ceilidh bands include traditional Celtic music, songs and ballads to give you a breather between the up-tempo dances (which can give you a good “glow” but then everyone’s doing the same and having fun together). If you look carefully you’ll find celebrated traditional singer in a ceilidh band such as Ross Kennedy in Canterach and Jura Ceilidh Band.
Still, if after all I’ve said, you are still sure you want modern music to dance to as well there are many ceilidh bands who offer a disco package, whether through a modern lap-top computer program (often included in the package price or an actual DJ which can be quite a bit more expensive. For example: The Reel Fling.
Function band instead?
In Scotland you’ll find that most wedding function bands also offer a 45 – 60 ceilidh set among their pop and rock covers songs and this can be fine if your main interest is the modern music but they’ll never be the same as a dedicated ceilidh band who specialise in the special expertise needed to play traditional instruments in the way that fits the dancing, that’s treat you just have to experience!
Ceilidh dancing is perfect for ages: children, teenagers, young adults “middle aged” and elderly, there something there for everyone and they can all enjoy themselves together, there’s nothing quite like it.
