Newcastle Festival of SCD 2025

What a great day of dance we had on 8 February! When I first attended the Newcastle Festival twenty odd years ago, I never dreamed I would end up helping to run it. After lockdown, many groups struggled to get going again, so we formed a new committee of interested parties, from four different countries (we meet on Zoom), and got it up and running again (in 2023). This year we had 31 entries, including a large team from North America (for the second year in a row). As usual, the teams included a large number of young people (18-35ish). But we only had two children’s teams, one Under 12, and one Under 18, both entered by the International Team. We did try to find some more teams for these categories. Several teams who entered in the past have not started up again since lockdown. We know that there are children who dance: we would love to encourage them to take part in the Festival. 

For adult dancers attending the Festival as competitors, the day is a busy schedule of rehearsals and performances, and enjoying watching other teams dance. For the young people, add in time spent in the team room playing games and eating snacks. Then there is the excitement of dressing up in the team kit. One teenage boy was wearing a kilt for only the second time, but soon lost his self-consciousness amongst the sea of kilts on display at the Festival. 

For Under 12s especially, dancing in a huge sports hall in front of hundreds of people can be a challenging experience. This year’s adjudicator, Angela Young, came over to the team before they even walked on, and had a chat, explaining that she really wasn’t scary. After their performance she made kind and constructive comments, with plenty of praise. Linda Williamson had an even better idea, meeting them as they came off with a big tub of sweets. The Under 18s made sure they didn’t miss out either. 

But the biggest excitement was still to come, when the young people took part in the display. This year the International Team display was on the theme of Mamma Mia. We recorded our own soundtrack (singers and instrumentalists): Dancing Queen, Super Trooper, etc. The older teenagers got to dance with the adults; the children joined in the two ceilidh dances at the end. Afterwards one boy said it was the best fun he’d ever had. He came up to me later and said he’d had a great time and couldn’t wait till next year.

Dancing at the Festival is a great opportunity for young people. It shows them Scottish dancing to a standard and on a scale they had never imagined. In between the classes there are familiar dances for everyone to join in, and even if your team can’t muster a display (though there have been displays by young teams in the past) you can still enjoy watching the others: past displays have included Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, and the Wizard of Oz! In the evening there’s a social dance for all. Children are welcome to stay and join in, and quite a few do.

Next year’s Festival is on 14 February 2026, so if you’re interested in entering a team, in any section, get in touch with us at [email protected] for more information. It’s our 40th anniversary, so we’re hoping it will be a special one.

Samantha Schad