Celtic Circle Dances Workshop A weekend workshop of Celtic circle dances organised and facilitated by Fiona Murdoch of Dance Folkus, began on Saturday morning at the Caledonian Society Hall in Hamilton.  The dances were taught by English tutors, Cindy Kelly and Adrian Pointon, who choreographed all the dances that were taught.  We warmed up with a gentle dance called “Our Hero” (track title, Mo Ghile Mear) to the music of The Chieftains and Sting, and enjoyed throughout the day a variety of rhythms and steps to contemporary Celtic folk music, such as Clannard, John McCusker, Capercaillie and Runrig, to name a few.  Morning and afternoon tea sessions were also enjoyed…

Some impressions from a personal experience in 2023 In August 2023, Alec and I finally made the postponed-due-to-COVID 2020 trip to Scotland. We took the opportunity to preface the trip with a week in France and attended Le Grand Bal – the essential Balfolk dance festival. I knew many people who had been over the years, and who all raved about it. Held on a rural property in central France, Le Grand Bal is not easily accessible by public transport. We flew into Lyon, hired a car and based ourselves in the nearby town of Moulins, Allier. We were not kitted out for camping on site, but I was told…