Brussels Afternoon Workshop and Evening Dance

We had a wonderful weekend of music and dancing last weekend in Brussels thanks to Ewan Galloway and Ian Robertson. Not only did they play for our afternoon workshop and evening dance on Saturday but, having brought their sound equipment with them, they were also up for supporting us at two ceilidhs - one on Friday evening in Brussels and another on Sunday afternoon in Liège. 

On Friday night, we had 66 dancers of all ages and abilities turn up and the callers, Jette Rossen and Anne Scobie, led them through a mixture of 14 dances. There was often chaos on the floor but a lot of laughter too. A ceilidh with live music was a first for Brussels Dance Scottish and with Ewan and Ian’s music a wonderful evening was guaranteed. 

On Saturday, our guest teacher was Bexi Wepner from Vienna and she took us through a lovely selection of dances, including “There are No Kangaroos in Austria” and some Derek Haynes dances to promote the upcoming RSCDS publication. Accompanied by Ewan on accordion and Ian on fiddle, we were certainly not disappointed on the music front and the great selection of tunes and a perfect tempo helped the dancers keep their energy up to the last dance. Isabelle Baukens and Aga Widlaszewska also enjoyed their first time as MCs and did a fantastic job with clear recaps in a confident and relaxed manner that contributed to a très bonne ambiance. 

On Sunday afternoon, we took the ceilidh show to Liège - an hour’s drive from Brussels. There is a small group of Scottish country dancers there for whom we have organised several workshops over the years but we thought it would be much more fun to organise a ceilidh and widen the possible participation. And it worked! 28 experienced folk dancers came along and really enjoyed working their way through the dances. Jette and Anne used the same programme as Friday night (also made it easier for Ewan and Ian) but naturellement had to call the dances in French. 

Thanks to everyone who came and joined us. We invite you to come to Brussels in March next year for a special celebration - 6 March 2027 with musicians Ian & Judith Muir and teacher Kristian Vestli, Oslo.