Traditional Music

Around a Tree

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

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Legend of the White Snake

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

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Stones are Alive

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

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Tha D airson Dannsa | D is for Dance

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

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To Ukraine with Love

How could we support communities of New Scots to shape and share their stories? As one of the three founding members of TRACS, Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland initiated To Ukraine with Love – a project aimed at supporting the community of displaced people from Ukraine in Edinburgh to shape and share the story of … Continued

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Pomegranates Workshops and Promenade

Review by Inesa Vėlavičiūtė A tribute to UNESCO’s International Dance Day and as part of Edinburgh’s Tradfest, the Pomegranates festival  premiered in 2022, celebrating traditional dances from around the world and explored their connections to contemporary hip-hop. Curated by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, a varied and inspiring programme was put together for the … Continued

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March 2023

Spring has sprung across Scotland and we are sowing the seeds of our Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland Pomegranates – our springtime international traditional dance festival 28-30 April 2023. Have you booked your Pomegranates 2023 festival tickets yet? Pay What You Can now. Can’t make it to Edinburgh for the three festival nights of live … Continued

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Auld Lang Syne

Review by Wangxiu Cheng and Yan Hong We welcome back student teacher-in-residence Wangxiu Cheng for her second-term residency 30 January–10 March 2023 with us at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland. Wangxiu is an award-winning graduate of the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy. She is currently undertaking her MSc studies in Dance Science and Education at the … Continued

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Cosmic Dance

Review by Wangxiu Cheng It is the last weekend of November 2022 but I have embraced Edinburgh’s Winter festivities and attended my first Christmas recital, or Cosmic Dance Christmas Recital, to be precise! My student placement at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland this autumn has given me the opportunity to professionally engage with a range … Continued

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Mediterraneo

  Review by Wangxiu Cheng While undertaking my student placement at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland in autumn 2022 I had the opportunity to professionally engage with a range of world dance styles – from Highland Dancing and ceilidh to Chinese Tujia dance and even Egyptian Tanura. On 19 November 2022, I had the rare … Continued

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