Dance held at the Commodore Hotel on Friday 23rd February 2024
Dance Report
Honorary President Neil MacLeod welcomed everyone to the dance and introduced the Gavin Piper Scottish Dance Band, who provided excellent music for the evening with their distinctive drive and rhythm on drums and accordion.
There were 36 people in attendance, including 4 non-members. It was noted that the preferred round tables were in place allowing for more space to take to the floor and better social mixing and chat, not as easily afforded by the usual long tables.
The first dance began with the ‘Lomond Waltz’ rather than the “Gay Gordons” as per programme but nonetheless gave the promise of an enjoyable evening ahead including the more vigorous pace of the ‘Canadian Barn Dance’ and ‘Virginian Reel’.
The first half of the evening was concluded just after 9pm due to the early arrival of the tea and coffee. The popular raffle was drawn during the interval which raised the sum of £120.00. Thanks to ticket buyers and to everyone who generously provided the prizes.
After the interval the programme continued to include the gentler rhythms of the ‘Square Tango’ and ‘Southern Rose Waltz’, the latter replacing the ‘Hesitation Waltz’.
The ‘Waltz Catherine’ was danced at the usual steady pace although the ‘Mayfair Quickstep’ would have been more suited to a brisker tune such as “Whisky in the Jar” as may have been anticipated. However, the dancers keenly took to the floor.
The general views of dancers were that the evening was a great success musically with the following positive endorsements for the band:- The band was “Excellent”; “Terrific”; “Great”; “Fantastic”; “Played to the dancers” and “Played to the Ceilidh standard”.
The Honorary President concluded the evening by thanking everyone for attending what proved to be a most entertaining night concluding with the traditional ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
There was a small loss of £0.80 after deductions for venue hire, ceilidh band and other associated costs were taken into account.
The next dance will again take place in the Commodore Hotel on Friday 29th March 2024 at 8.00pm with music by the Wayne Robertson Scottish Dance Band
Did you know?
The Romans apparently had something to say about dancing (they called it ‘saltatio’) which could well have applied to the evening’s Ceilidh.
" … … dancing is the companion of a seasoned party, a pleasant place, and many delights" - Marcus Tullius Cicero
Bob McCafferty
