A Toast Tae Robbie Shepherd… reflections

When you’re asked to dance in front of 1,400 people at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen it is with some trepidation that you accept.  And so it was that the RSCDS dancers stepped onto the stage to dance Major Ian Stewart, Mrs Milne of Kinneff and The Deil Amang the Tailors in front of a capacity audience to celebrate the life and work of a weel-kent entertainer and broadcaster Robbie Shepherd.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the name Robbie Shepherd he was the voice, for 35 years, behind BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Take the Floor' which showcased traditional music, song and dance.  He also received the Society's Scroll of Honour in 1998 for his work promoting Scottish country dancing and music. He passed away in August last year and we were really honoured to be asked to take part in this celebratory concert. King Charles had sent a message describing the show as ‘a fitting tribute to an outstanding individual’.

The day drew near but with the demands of work and families we still hadn’t managed to meet up for a practice, so to say we were last minute in our preparation is an understatement. Finally, at 12pm on the day,  nine of us:  Emma Allsop, Julie Chalmers, Clare Grycuk, Louise Msika, Gary Coull, Paul McKnight, Josh Msika, Jason Williamson and William Williamson, met together to work out the transitions and have a rehearsal with the band, who themselves had to practise the music.  We did in fact have quite a few run throughs, just in case!

Several of us had never been backstage at His Majesty’s Theatre so we were able to soak in the atmosphere of another world. Completed in 1906 it is a vast rabbit warren of dressing rooms interspersed with technical equipment, pulleys, props, ropes, rigging, stage platforms and we certainly had a muscle stretch climbing the never-ending stairs from dressing rooms to stage.

Then began the full afternoon rehearsal with instructions and timings being piped to each dressing room so we were able to hear, if not see, the pipe bands, the fiddlers, the soloists and the bothy ballad champions reciting the Doric ditties.

By 7.30pm, the start of the show, we were ready.  Our turn came as the last act before the interval, providing the audience with the first dance performance of the evening.  It was somewhat nerve wracking taking the first steps onto the stage in the full glare of the lights, but for all of us the adrenalin had kicked in and we were energised.  It was utterly joyous to dance that evening as the audience helped us along, clapping and cheering, especially to the Deil, the vibe was terrific.  Having an all-star band with 14 talented musicians added to the occasion, who wouldn’t want to dance to such incredible music.

All too soon it was over, but we still had the finale and that was a sight to behold with 160 performers on stage, the pipes, fiddles, bands all playing as the cast and audience sang ‘The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen’ ending with the pipe bands giving a rousing rendition of ‘Scotland the Brave’.  With Robbie’s picture in the background, it was a fitting tribute to his life and work, there were certainly a few tears shed that night.

As dancers we were so privileged to be part of the event and it was a great opportunity to promote Scottish country dancing as fun, social and joyful.  Robbie had done so much to promote the dancing, we felt it was a fitting tribute to that lovely man.