Rudders at Home

Last night, I attended my very first ceilidh. It’s pronounced “kay-lee” and it’s a type of Scottish folk dancing. Basically, it’s square dancing, Scottish style.

I’ve been trying to convince Paul for ages that this is something we wanted to do. He didn’t seem to be too keen on the idea. However, when I got two of my girlfriends to come along and booked tickets, he didn’t have any excuse not to go.

We had such a good night. Basically, you show up, have a drink and then the dancing started at 8. There was a band with a caller, and while they don’t call the whole song, they do walk you through the first steps. So, it was really very beginner friendly.

It was very similar to the square dancing I did during one summer when I was younger. The steps were a bit more complicated, and there was a lot more spinning involved, but I think that just made it even better! There were a number of different kinds of dances. Some took 4 couples, some took more depending, and there were also couples dances and one where Paul danced with one lady on each arm! Isn’t he the charmed one?

My favorite dance was definitely the one where I ended up flying! Two couples go to the middle of the square and the ladies put the arms over the men’s shoulders and then you go flying off into a spin! If I could remember the name of it, I’d post a link. Unfortunately though, I was too caught up in the moment to remember the names of any dances.

I don’t know what I expected, but it was so much fun. I am a bit disappointed there wasn’t any dancing like this going on, though! The Ceilidh Club organizes these things, and it was a pretty nice setup. It was a group of really friendly people, folks who just wanted to dance and have a good time. Paul’s already to agreed to go again, and I can’t wait!

I just wish I had remembered my camera.

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