Oxford University Scottish Dance Society

November 27, 2025

We hear from the Oxford University Scottish Dance Society on how they created their winning entry for the Virtual Festival. by Samantha Schad.

When I learned that the theme for the Virtual Festival was Colours of the Rainbow I knew we had to do Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. I first sang it as a child in my church choir. My son sang the narrator in his school production (in a bright yellow t-shirt and cap) and my daughter sang in the children's choir on the professional stage. The challenge was to fit the story into five minutes.

There was also the question of casting. Our Joseph dropped out just before filming and we managed to find a replacement at less than 24 hours' notice. We also had to recruit replacements for Pharaoh, Potiphar and his wife at the last minute. The talented Antonia had made a wonderful multi-coloured coat for the original Joseph, based on a red velvet jacket, with lots of other fabrics, including tartan. But our new Joseph was rather bigger, so she had to make a new coat, the night before, stitched up in time for her to get to a college ball.

The wonderful Antonia also created the soundtrack. First she recorded a piano version we could dance to, and then she added the vocals and bits of the original soundtrack. The dancers are used to my crazy choreography by now, and rose to the challenge. We're going to do this dance in the wrong order, oh yes, and the first eight bars will be in strathspey time. Now you have to be thin cows and fat cows. Pharaoh's fantastic boogying was lost off camera and had to be refilmed and added in the corner.

  Special mention should also go to Lucy, our youngest team member, who got up at 4am and hiked six miles to the station (with a backpack and several bags) to get to the venue in time for a 9am start. Now that's dedication.

  Despite all the hitches and challenges, it was fun. It was a great team project, with everyone contributing. We had picnic in the park, and lots of chocolate chip cookies. And then we won the trophy! The icing on the cake. We also really enjoyed watching the other entries, from the Germans' entertaining Bond spoof to the hordes of Lyons dancers having a great time on the beach in St Andrew's. We're looking forward to next year's Festival already.