Frankfurt SCD Club
Scottish Dancing in and around Frankfurt, for everyone
Frankfurt SCD Club
Scottish Dancing in and around Frankfurt, for everyone
Where is Beerfelden actually? When the question came last year, the first thing we did was to look up the name in the atlas. Beerfelden is quite a way from frankfurt, however despite a long journey through snow and ice, we had a pleasent evening.
Our contact to the »Schottland-Vereinigung« in the Odenwald exists a good number of years. Even though scottish dancing has paused for a while. Therefore the invitation to dance during the Burn's Night celebrations and to lead the Ceilidh dancing gave us great pleasure. The Ceilidh was to live music from the group Celtic Chakra
The team was composed of:
Ladies: Birgit (on loan from Darmstadt), Eva B, Johanna, Marie, Petra and Verena (also from Darmstadt - as last minute substitute for Eva S who was ill). Gentlemen: Anselm, Dagmar (in Kilt), Dave, Dirk, Matthias and Ralf. Reserve bank: Sabine and (in absentia) Rolf.
The evening began with a speech from the Chairman of the Association (during which amongst others, Andy McNeill, Aschaffenburg Scot and occassional dancer in Darmstadt, was declared an Honarary Member), followed by an imposing entrance from the »Odenwald Pipes & Drums« and the Haggis Ceremony. The Speech was spoken in Scots by Andy McNeill with Birgit as the carrier of the Haggis platter. The audience then partook of haggis, neeps and tatties (altenatively vegetarian haggis or »Himmel und Erde«), before our first performance.
We had a 10 minute window, in which a medley of The Dillsburg Jig, Culla Bay und The Piper and the Penguin was perfomed with one set for both squares. Thereafter Dagmer and Anselm danced Jacobite Sword Dance (always spectacular, but a nail-biter, this time it worked), before the rest of the group came back onto the dance floor to dance The Reel of the 51st Division in a five couple set with two active couples.
Next was the participation dancing which the audience joined in with elan. In a half hour window to the perfectly played and in rhythm music from Celtic Chakra, the dancers danced the Ceilidh classics Gay Gordons, the mixer The Ferryboat and Military Two-Step. After whilst the dancers (dancers and audience) recovered, Celtic Chakra performed songs, jigs and reels from their program on stage.
The program continued after the break: The professional and competent »Odenwald Pipes and Drums« played a second set, before we took to the floor for a second time. This time with a tried and tested medley of C'est l'Amour, The Blooms of Bad Nauheim and Ray Milbourne (with nearly perfect transitions: we're getting better!). Birgit, Johanna, Dagmar und Anselm then danced Scottish Lilt as a back to back foursome. New in the program The Singing Sands, a three couple Strathspey from Barry Priddey, before we danced with two sets The Reel of the Royal Scots as the finale. Owing to the lie of the land we had to turn our choreography through 90°, which for the majority of the dances made no difference, only at the end it was a bit peculiar, the audience on one side saw all our faces and on the other side all our backs. Accordingly we changed our plans so that after the last circle we ended up not in a long line but let the ladies and gentlemens rows dance through each other. Thereby the audience on both sides saw not only backs but also faces ...
The audience participation dances again found general approval, danced were Canadian Barn Dance, The Dhoon (longways sets) and as crowning finale Saint Bernard's Waltz.Celtic Chakra then performed their second set on stage until the end of the evening came with »Auld Lang Syne«.
A comparison of Beerfelden Burn's Night with the British Chamber of Commerce Burn's Night is practicaly inevitable. In Frankfurt everthing was noble and by the book, with the prescribed toasts and speeches, and in Beerfelden therfore down to earth, but with a large amount of fun for everyone. Anyway we are glad to have taken part, and give thanks not only for the invitation to participate, but for the praise and the encouraging words from many of the guests. It was a long way, but it was worthwhile!
