Country Dancing For Adults
Ceilidh and Country Dance both originate from folk dances dating back to the 15th or 16th century. Therefore they have many similarities.
Adult Country Dancing
A Ceilidh is Country Dancing for Adults
Everyone remembers Country dancing from school days, some with fond memories and some not. We now see kids enjoying demonstrating their dancing skills and think why should they have all the fun. Now we can.
Ceilidh Dancing lifts the skills used in country dancing to a level more suitable for Adults. With Akmed's Camel, gone are the fancy costumes and recorded music and in is a rocky, up-tempo live band and night club style light show. Rather than being a demonstration activity, it’s something you want to participate in.
Circle Dancing
Although Ceilidh dancing does not involve a Maypole, there are many routines that gather everyone into a large ring. Dances such as “Lucky 7” then have everyone weaving in and out as they progress around the circle. By not having ribbons, mistakes are quickly overlooked and forgotten about.
Square Sets
Country dancers are often arranged in sets of four or eight to form Square sets. With Ceilidh Square Sets, four couples are almost always used. As with Country dances, four people form a “Star” by putting one hand in the middle and dancing round. Ceilidh “Stars” differ in that the hands are raised to a more dominant head height.
Longways Sets
As with Country Dancing, Longways sets consist of a group of males facing a group of females. Both use “Casting Off” and “Arches” , but Longways sets in Ceilidh dancing quite often involves more complicated moves such as “Strip the Willow”. This is where a couple progresses by alternately swinging each other and the other couples until they reach the end of the set.