French Ceilidh
Added on 18 June 2023
French Ceilidh: Mon 15th May 2023
Not your usual Monday morning!
It was with an element of trepidation that 8 branch members, one teacher and one musician headed towards St John’s Renfield Church in Kelvindale on a bright Monday morning in mid-May. Waiting for us in the hall were approximately 70 excited 14-15 year old French students and their teachers/accompanying adults, probably wondering what would be involved in a morning of ‘Scottish culture’.
Branch Chair, Sebastian started off the morning with a brief introduction, then handed over to Anne Robertson to get the proceedings started. She delivered an excellent class, spoken entirely in French, which I’m sure contributed greatly to the good response of the students from the outset. 
We started with Circassian Circle, which was a bit of a tight squeeze, even with 2 circles, in the space available. This was followed by some ‘set’ dances which were demonstrated first by branch dancers, including the Virginia Reel, the Riverside Jig and the Flying Scotsman (complete with sound effects!). The visitors, supported by the branch volunteers, entered into the spirit of the occasion, some with more enthusiasm than others, but on the whole seemed to enjoy their brief foray into Scottish Country Dancing. The students were very respectful and all joined in every dance with varying levels of success.
Well done to Anne Robertson for coping so admirably with such a large class of lively teenagers, and to Frank Reid for playing for us. Grateful thanks also to the branch members who helped guide the students through the dances and to Peter Knapman for coming along to give his support.
Anne Murray Outreach Convenor