2025 was another successful year for the Pomegranates Festival, which ran from 25th to 30th April. The packed five-day programme of traditional dance, saw ticket sales up by 40% on 2024; a sold-out Ceilidh Plus event mixing Scottish, Hungarian and Polish social dancing; and a packed house for Charlotte McLean’s new not for glory dance … Continued

We are delighted that this year’s Pomegranates Festival (25-30 April 2025) is themed around traditional dance and intangible cultural heritage, especially at a time when Scots are soon to be invited to nominate their favourite traditions to be included on an official living heritage list. Later this year, submissions for the list will be encouraged from all sectors … Continued

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

In the lead-up to this year’s Pomegranates Festival of traditional dance (25-30 April 2025), we, at the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland are celebrating Scottish traditional dance alongside world traditional dance practised by New Scots and cultural migrant communities across Scotland, with two more Ceilidh Plus nights on 21 March and 26 April in Edinburgh. … Continued

  Click here https://www.tdfs.org/trad-dance-cast/ to listen  To celebrate Women’s History Month, the Pomegranates Festival (25-30 April) is launching a new podcast episode highlighting the role of women in traditional dance. Released on 8 March to mark International Women’s Day, the episode features dance researcher and new Scot Alena Shmakova discussing her work on dance history in … Continued

Interview by Inesa Vėlavičiūtė   New to the International Festival Fringe’s scene, Yucca Dance presents In the Round – a captivating dance theatre piece that explores the universal symbolism of circles and perpetual cycles. Drawing inspiration from nature, spiritual beliefs, and modern life, the performance weaves together diverse cultural interpretations of these timeless motifs. I … Continued

  Review by Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker Is it possible for humans to break out of the endless repetitive cycles that human nature is comprised of? Or should we? And if yes, which ones do we choose to break out of and how? These are some of the questions two young and talented dancers/choreographers pose to the … Continued

Review by Yanmei Bowie I went to see the sensational Legend of the White Snake four times at C ARTS in Edinburgh, performed by Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre from Beijing, China. With a history of over six hundred years, kunqu evolved from a music and vocal style local to Kunshan (near Suzhou and Shanghai in China), … Continued

Review by Vassia Bouchagiar – Walker There is a sense of intrigued expectation as we wait for the performance of Futuristic Folktales to start. To everyone’s surprise director Charlotte Mclean, along with her two performers Orrow Bell and Seke Chimutengwende, take to the stage in full bright white light in order to introduce themselves and … 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