Which styles of dances work best?
Over the years, we’ve found it works well to offer a mixture of Scottish,
Irish, English, Welsh, French Canadian, American and Continental dances which
are good fun, straightforward and definitely NOT TOO COMPLICATED! Some bands
specialize in one particular dance and music style, but most bands offer
a more general and mixed repertoire. If you wanted more of an emphasis towards,
say, Scottish, or Irish styles of music or dance, this is quite feasible – but
do make this clear when enquiring about booking a Band.
You can expect a ceilidh band to do all the well-known favourite dances such
as The Bridge of Athlone, Cumberland Square Eight, The Gay Gordons, Dashing
White Sergeant, Strip the Willow, Farmer’s Jig, Ninepins, Canadian
Barn Dance and so on. These will be danced to lively jigs, reels, polkas,
rants, marches, schottisches, hornpipes or whatever is appropriate music
for the particular dance chosen. There can be regional variations and slightly
different versions of some dances – for example, Strip The Willow – but
they are all fun! Most bands have a set of dances and accompanying tunes
which they do regularly. I think that unless a band is playing for a specialized
Dance Club, it’s best to avoid the more complicated Scottish dances
like The Eightsome Reel, because they take AGES to explain and walk through,
which slows things down too much. Better to keep things moving – and
KISS - Keep It Simple Sweetheart!
The complexity of these social ceilidh and barn dances varies enormously.
The simplest dances would be done at the start of the evening and the Caller
will choose a programme of dances most suitable for the crowd. The first
few dances serve as a great ice-breaker, helping the most reluctant dancer
to realise it’s easy and fun. Having a laugh is the top priority!
Some but not all bands are able to play an old-fashioned Quickstep or Waltz.
Old time favourites like the Veleta, St Bernard’s Waltz or even the
actual original Barn Dance are in some band repertoires, but other bands
only play the more traditional folk dances.
- Do make it clear if you wish to book a band which plays a wider variety
of dances and tunes.
This may sound obvious, but if you are booking a band independent of my agency,
do just check that any Band you’re interested in is used to playing
for dancing rather than just for listening!
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