DST - Sir Walter Scott workshop

On Sunday 14th November 2021, Edinburgh Scottish Dancers hosted a workshop celebrating the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's birth at Murrayfield Parish Church; here Andrew Nolan tells us all about it...

'After a long break, the Edinburgh Scottish Dancers (ESD) restarted in full force last week with a workshop celebrating the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's birth. With the recent republication of the Heart of Mid-Lothian leaflet by the RSCDS, it was an ideal time to try out the formations and dances and see how they have been interpreted. 

Jimmie Hill was the perfect guide for the 40 or so dancers as he took them through each of the eight dances. As well as the dances, he gave valuable insight into how some of the original instructions have been re-interpreted and how living a tradition SCD really is; did you know that some of the early RSCDS books talk about sets of 4-6 couples, and the curtsey and bow at the end of a dance being without a chord?

A definite highlight was the version of Madge Wildfire's Strathspey, with its beautiful original tune and Madge Wildfire's Reel, with a satisfying twist on a reel of 3 with corners to finish the dance. The whole workshop was set to music by Andrew Nolan, who made sure that each couple had the original tune when they danced, another difference to what we usually hear today and we were delighted that Lorna Ogilvie, RSCDS Chairman, joined us to see what the dances looked like off the pages of the book.

Jimmie Hill, Lorna Ogilvie and Andrew Nolan
 

The workshop had broad appeal, beyond just Scottish Country dancers, with dancers from other historical traditions joining for the afternoon. Everyone, regardless of what drew them in, had an informative and fun afternoon even if the waltz poussette didn't always go to plan!'

Thanks Andrew, we're delighted to hear the workshop went well.  Don't forget, if you've got news and stories you'd like to share, drop us an email at lyndsay.walker@rscds.org.