We are delighted to announce Masks – this year’s Pomegranates Festival exhibition, which features over 20 hand-crafted Venetian and world dance masks created by Edinburgh-based artist Lorraine Pritchard. The exhibition is complemented by a new documentary film by Franzis Sánchez from this year’s Venice Carnival. The exhibition reflects the dual focus of our Pomegranates Festival … Continued

Reflections by Xiaoxuan Zhong Participating in the first-ever Ceilidh Plus was a vibrant and enriching experience that included traditional Scottish Ceilidh dancing, Chinese square dancing and American line dancing. From the moment I stepped onto the dance floor, I felt an energetic and enthusiastic atmosphere. The lively Ceilidh music set the tone for the event, … Continued

In spring 2024, the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland – the only charitable organisation of its kind in Scotland, advocating, supporting and safeguarding all Scottish and world traditional dance forms practised across the country – was one of the contenders in the Scottish Charity Awards Partnership of the Year. However, this award-worthy partnership dates back … Continued

Review by Iliyana Nedkova Here we go ‘round the young oak tree on a cold and sprightly morning at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. This resilient seven-year-old Portuguese oak, the centrepiece of our al fresco traditional dance, music and art session, is likely to outlive us and the biodiversity crisis, just like the fabled mulberry bush … Continued

Review by Catherine Coutts As Greek dancer Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker moves lithely onto the floor at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, her task is not an easy one. The audience – largely Scottish traditional music afficionados – are there for the preview of Mairi Campbell’s Living Stone exhibition. They have already been sitting for forty minutes on … Continued

How do we encourage collaboration and exchange across all traditional dance forms practised in Scotland? The short answer is that we, at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, offer support through three major routes – festivals, productions and residencies. Let’s zoom in on the range of residencies as one of these support routes we initiate, champion … Continued

We are delighted to announce a new chapter in our ongoing partnership with Dance Base, Scotland’s national centre for dance. For the first time this year, our joint Trad Dance Residency is part of Pomegranates Festival – Scotland’s festival of international traditional dance. This professional development opportunity for dance artists based in Scotland reflects our … Continued

At the heart of our Pomegranates Festival, once again, is the intensive day of professional development workshops led by Scottish artists and creative migrants based in Scotland. This year the line-up includes 12 trad dance workshops taught by 14 dance artists including Evie Waddell, Nadia Khattab, Niki & Yangyang, Lara Russo & Inesa Vėlavičiūtė, Gica … Continued

The Primary Ingredient of Trad Dance the World Over is the abridged version of an article by Dr Wendy Timmons, Convenor of Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and Senior Lecturer at University of Edinburgh, originally published in Volkstanz Magazine – the major publication of the Folk Dance Society of Germany (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Volkstanz). Collectively, … Continued

Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland supports the homegrown and international trad dance talent that helps make Edinburgh a vibrant cultural city for twelve months of the year, not just for August. Yet we are very proud to be highlighting the contribution of traditional dance artists in the programmes of Edinburgh’s summer festivals for a second … Continued