Written by Zayana Brown
Every Friday in a little corner somewhere in Edinburgh lies a bar and dance hall hidden in plain sight. There, people come to dance all night. Ceilidh dancing, that is, traditional Scottish folk and community dances, often done with a partner or in a group. Our abroad group spent our last night in Edinburgh twirling and stepping until we broke a sweat, and there we met a man by the name of Christopher. Christopher lives in a Scottish town called Lanark, but he’s in Edinburgh every Friday night, and he helped me to know which way to spin and how to remember my left arm from my right. I asked him how he learned all of the dance steps we did, of which there were many (at least 10 different routines they taught us!), and he told me a story of a young Christopher learning to dance at school during gym class. In Scotland, they put together a Christmas performance every December featuring their traditional dance, and according to Cristopher, they taught the steps to you in school so you knew not to be terrible. He expressed how embarrassing it was to put on your gym kit and get ready to dance, boys on one side of the room and girls on the other. Lessons began at the start of December, and they learned a little more every week until Christmas, all at the age of 12 or 13. At large, he has his school to thank for his lack of two left feet, but he also names his mum as his dancing inspiration. Since high school, he remembers dancing with his mother out in pubs or halls just like the one we went to, every Tuesday.
When he’s not on the dance floor, Christopher works as a travel writer, as well as in personal finance, which he says is ‘not as exciting, but you get paid for it.’ His real love lies with creative writing. When I asked him why he does dance, he talked about the joy of the social aspect, making connections with the people on and off the floor, like the conversation I had with him while I was nursing my apple soda and trying to wipe the sweat off my brow. He also does dance just to get himself out of the house and keep fit. He reckons dance is quite a good way to stay healthy.
Ceilidh is the word often used to describe this particular style of traditional dance, but it is also Scottish Gaelic for social gathering or social visit that includes such dancing. As we danced the night away, Christopher gave me the important reminder that for him, this dance has a lot to do with heritage, and that one of the things he loves about it so much is this cultural aspect. He says that heritage can sometimes be good or bad, but nevertheless, it is still your heritage. We should take time to acknowledge who we are, where we come from, and why we do the things we do. Then celebrate! And dance, as we embrace another day.
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