I don't know whether or not to appologize for the title (still, pardon the language). So, I'll explain it. While walking the other day I mentioned to my friend that my favorite Ceilidh dance is Strip the Willow. She couldn't hear me very well, so, confusingly, she turned to me and said," Sorry. Did you just say you shit a willow?"
-"No, Alex, I didn't! I said I like the dance Strip the Willow, I didn't shat a Willow."
Thus this title came to being.
Anyways...What is a Ceilidh? Ceilidhs are sessions of traditional Scottish dance. Here at Uni Ceilidhs take place once a week and more often if you are part of a traditional dance group or society. Since I attended my first one, I have come to appreciate it and love it. I have also come to love the atmosphere of a Ceilidh. People are warm and welcoming and everyone is happy and full of energy. The dance can be seen as a combination of ballroom dancing, Israeli dancing, and square dancing.
**I forgot to mention this when I originally posted this, but, new information is always good. A gent generally wears a kilt, stockings, shoes, and a nice shirt to a Ceilidh, while girls where a dress (preferably one that twirls well). I am proud to say that at the first Ceilidh I had on a kilt, toe shoes, dress shirt and suit coat.
Below you will find a list of all the dances I have learned at Ceilidhs and their discriptions. Enjoy.
The Gay Gordons:
A partner dance. Couples create a circle in the counter clockwise direction with the gents on the inside and the ladies on the outside. The gent of the couple takes the lady's left hand in his left and places his right arm across the lady's back and takes her right hand in his. The music begins. Together the couples move forward three steps, maintaing the hold, and then turn 180 degrees(maintaining the hold, but switching which arm is on the lady's back) and take three steps backward. Then this movement is repeated.
The gent then spins the lady under his arm for the count of four before taking her in a ballroom hold and polkaing for four (a polka is a quick movement where the couple quickly spins around in a circle).
The movements are repeated indefinetly (until the band decides to stop).
Strip The Willow:
Four couples line up facing each other, gents with the left shoudler facing the band and and ladies opposite them. The top couple, the couple nearest the band, cross hands and spin clockwise for 16 counts. After this, the lady spins the first gent in the line with her right arm and then spins her partner in the left. Then she spins the next gent in the line, and then her partner. She proceeds down the line until she has spun every gent in the gorup of four. At the end of the line, the lady cross hands with her partner and then they spin for 16.
The gent then does the same as his partner did with the ladies in the line, starting with the lady farthest from the band. Once he has spun the ladies, he and his partner spin for 16 and then the two of them spin the opposite gender's line like they did before, but simultaneously. This is done by spinning the first lady and gent and then spinning each other. They move down the line until they have spun everyone and then spin again for last time for 16. As they are spinning for the final time, the next couple begins to spin and the process is repeated for each couple or.
Canadian Barn Dance:
Couples gather in a counter clockwise circles, gents are on the inside and ladies are on the outside. The gent holds his lady's hand. The couples takes three steps forward, hops (a hop is bringing your outside knee up to your waist, a half kick), takes three steps backwards, and hops. The gent and lady then spin away from each other and clap, before spinning back towards each other and taking each others hands, right in right and left in left. They then take two steps to the left, then two steps to the right before taking ballroom hold. They then polka for four counts.
Rinse and Repeat
St. Barnard's Waltz:
Couples form a counter clockwise circle. The gent and lady go into a ballroom hold. The couples move to the counter clockwise three steps then go up-down (up on the balls of the feet and back down). They then move clockwise two steps and then the gent, with the lady following, moves his left leg back and then his right. He then moves forward on his left, the lady still follows, and then forward on his right. He then spins the lady underneath his arm before wlatzing for three counts (Don't ask me how to waltz, I'm still working on it).
Dashing White Seargent:
For this dance a gent needs to findhimself two, preferably attarcive and amable, ladies. The gent, with his ladies, finds another group of three. The groups line up opposite each other making a groups of six, four ladies and two gents. Music begins. Holding hands, the group of six moves left for 8 coutns and then the right for 8 counts. The group then breaks off into two lines, each line being a gent and his two ladies. The gent then sets to the lady on his right (to set someone is to either to do pah-de-bas or do two kicks, one to the right and one to the left), spins with her, sets the lady on his left, spins with her, and then weaves back and forth between his partners twice (spinning them as he goes).
The three, the gent and his two ladies, join hands. They then walk towards the opposite trio for three steps, stomp their feet, walk back three steps, and clap their hands. They then pass over or under, alternating each time the dance is repeated, the opposite trio and joins hands with the next group of three who are approaching them. The new group of six then begins to move left for 8.
Guess what. "What?" Rinse and repeat. "Oh."
Virginia Reel:
Four couples line up facing each other as they did for Strip the Willow. All the ladies hold hands and the men follow suit. They walk twowards each other for four and then walk away from each other for four, repeat. The ladies and gents then drop hands and walk towards their partners. The gents all spin their lady with their right, then back to line, then spin their lady with their left, then back, then with both hands, then back, do-si-do, then back.
The top couple couple take hands, then side step to the right for four counts (kind of like the Yesh dance), and then back to the left for four steps. The couple then drop hands and lead their line (gents follow the gent and ladies follow the lady) back around until they meet together at the back and create a bridge with their hands. Other couples meet behind them, grab hands, and go through the bride they created until the next couple becomes the top couple.
Oh, no! Not again! Wait, you're right, rinse and repeat. :( ...
Military Two Step:
Couples line up counter clockwise. Holding hands the couples take their outside foot and perform two heal-toes. They then walk forward three steps and turn around. They repeat, heal-toe, heal-toe, forward-two-three. They then turn towards each other, hold hands, and do a right jump-kick and then a left jump-kick. The gent the spins his lady and polkas for four.
Getting tired yet? Good. Rinse and Repeat (hopefully, this repeating thing is reminding you of Monty Python's "whick").
Flying Scotsman:
Four couples group and make two lines, one gents and one ladies. The four ladies join hands and then weave amongst the men before reforming their line opposite the men. The men then follow suit, weaving through the ladies and then reforming their line. The top couple joins hands in the middle and side steps as far down in the room as they can go and then rejoin their group of four at the back. All gents from all groups hold hands, as do the ladies, and then both groups quickly side step away from the band towards the back of the room whilst "woohing" like a train. They then move back and the dance begins again within the smaller groups.
Also Rinse and Repeat.
Ocadian Strip the Willow:
Unlike everything else above, the Ocadian Strip the Willos is one large, amazing dance. This is my favorite dance of all and as my friends can tell you, I will be quite the merry person whilst performing it.
To perform Ocadian Strip the Willow all couples must line up, gents in one line and ladies in the other. Everyone claps and stomps. The top couple crosses hands and spins for 16. Then, the lady and gent "strip the willow." The lady spins the men's line while the man spins the women's line. Between each spin with a person, the couple spins each other. They spin the line with their right arm and their partner with their left. At the end they join together, spin, then split to their separate lines.
When the top couple reaches the fourth gent and lady down the line, the next couple begins to spin. This dance is doen until everyone couple has "stripped the willow" at least once. This...Takes...Energy.
Auld Lang Syne.
Everyone holds hands in a very large circle and begins singing Auld Lang Syne (a Robert Burns' poem). On the second verse of the song everyone crosses arms. This typically ends a night of Ceilidhing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpg7Ztxuj6c
There you have it, a list of many awesome dances. Unfortunately, for each song, Scottish bands believe in playing for many minutes. One dance can last up to ten minutes. Not only that, but the bands love to pick up the pace of the music every inute through the song. A Ceilidh requires a 150% of any energy you have left after a long day of lectures, studying, and working.
Thank you to Sarah, Annie, and Nicolle for helping me write this article. The visuals helped along with the singing...
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