“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9

September 26, 2015

~ A Ceilidh Dance ~

16 September 2015

Dancing in and out, weaving through our partners, like yarn weaving into a beautiful-crocheted snowflake. It was wonderful, an art form in itself.


A ceilidh dance is a traditional Gaelic dance consisting of billions of different dances. Rather like square dancing and its relation to USA, ceilidh dances are jumpy, up-beat and sometimes extremely complicated dances related to Gaelic countries, traditionally danced to Gaelic-folk music. The ceilidh dance I went to was danced in the old Blackfriars church in Edinburgh, lit up by fairy lights and the heat and sweat from the large amount of people (200 >).  This all combined to create an ideal night-out.

To begin with, and I believe keeping up with our family tradition, I was late. The friend that I was with, Danielle, is also known for being late, so in that sense we didn't make such a great pair. After missing the bus stop, meaning we had to walk a few k's in the cold, we were so ready to dance. While we came in to the church wearing jackets and scarves, everyone else was wearing short sleeves and shorts. I did not realise at that time how important it would have been to wear shorts instead of jeans...

After taking our coats off, we got straight into the first dance, Danielle and I, and to be honest I don't even remember what dance that was, I just know that we both were not cold anymore. I do remember how stiff that first dance was, which turned out to be a real friend-bonding moment, and how seamlessely it later turned into all laughs and smiles. After that first dance we sat down to rest from both the mental (bonding moment), and the physical hardship :D :)

That was when I got out my phone and recorded my one and only video of a dance, kind of a shame really. I managed to use the video to create pictures, luckily, so here they are. It is abit dark, but you will get an idea of what I am describing here :)



The next dance started up, and already we were confused, left-right-left, or right-left-right. However, we soon got the hang of it, and we were off on a roll. We did not stop dancing, besides water breaks, until the end of the night. I cannot for the life of me think of the last time that I laughed so hard. I actually felt like I was going to fall, and the dancing didn't help there either. Friendships and laughter <3

We rounded to the last song, and it was seriously like something out of a movie. We were all positioned in a large circle, and partners randomly disengaged from the circle and started waltzing a fast as possible around the room, in which we immedietely followed suit. It was so thrilling, that even though I bumped hard into another person's back, that dance, rather like a flash mob, was my favourite part of the whole ceilidh dance. The part where I could literally not feel the floor. I felt like I was floating. I have to say, Danielle and I made such a grand couple :) We knew how to waltz!!

Well, I will leave you with one last thing. By the time I got home, my feet were throbbing, my ears were singing, and my heart was full of gladness. I would do it all again in a heart beat :)

Now you are uptodate,

Laura

xoxo