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RSCDS Edinburgh Branch

The home of Scottish country dancing in Edinburgh

Welcome to Edinburgh Branch of the
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society

We run weekly classes for all levels of dancers, so if you have never danced before or are a more experienced dancer looking to progress, we have a class to suit you. You’ll find all the information you need on our Classes page. If you keep reading below, you will find details of all our other activities, including our Children’s classes, social dances and Annual Ball.

Formed in 1924, we have been promoting Scottish country dancing ever since, so come and join us and experience the fun, fitness and friendship it provides.

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Latest news

Latest branch news

Take to the floor with us Edinburgh Gilbert and Sullivan Society!

Next Saturday (24 Feb) you could be out on the floor with us Edinburgh Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the fantastic Clappy Doo Ceilidh Band.
 
Tickets are being snapped up quickly, and we urge all the keen dancers and Scottish music lovers to book their tickets in good time. Dancing is not mandatory, and those who just want to listen to some cracking tunes are more than welcome to join us for our celebrations. ????????
 
2024 is all about celebration, and we’d love you to be a part of it ❤️

We are dancing into 2024 with a year of celebrations marking our Branch Centenary - 100 years of Scottish dancing in Edinburgh!

Our classes restart this week, grab your dancing shoes and join us for unforgettable evenings of laughter, music, and dancing.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all our members and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Our classes and events restart during the week commencing 8 January. 

It's Mid Term!

Don't forget that it's mid term this week so there are no Branch classes. 

Have a great break and we hope to see everyone back dancing during the week commencing 23 October.

 

Looking to start a new activity?

Dance Scottish with us for fun, fitness and friendship! 

We have a range of regular weekly Adult classes to suit all abilities from Beginners to Advanced, with expert fully trained teachers and live music at every class.

Find out more at our classes page and book your space on the dance floor. 

Our Children's Classes restart on Sat 2 September

Our regular children's classes restart on 2nd September with lots of fun for P1 and above:

P1 and above          9:30 - 10:15 am.
P5 and above          10:15 - 11:00 am

Find out more on our Young Dancers Page & book a free trial 

Dancing tonight is cancelled

We are sure it won’t come as a surprise that we have had to cancel tonight’s event.

The ground is already damp & more rain & storms are forecast for this afternoon. ⛈️

If we get a period of warm dry weather in August and September we will try and schedule another date.

Come and dance with us tonight!

The forecast is looking great for our outdoor dance tonight. Come along in join in the fun with us. 

Summer dancing

The forecast for Saturday (4 June) is looking great, and our Summer dancing is going ahead. See you there!

All our classes are on a break for Easter however there is still plenty of opportunities to dance

Join us on Tuesday (28 March) for fitness, fun and friendship at our Nice'n'Easy dance

Find out more at https://rscdsedinburgh.org/events#1680033600

It's almost time for our next Sunday Social!

Join us for fun, social dancing next Sunday afternoon at Craigmillar Park Church with our friends Dunedin Dancers. Find out more here

The Flying Scotsman Centenary

What a great time our young dancers had on Friday dancing at The Flying Scotsman Centenary event. Find out about their experience here. 

Flying Scotsman steams through Edinburgh on centenary - BBC News

Our classes start up again tomorrow!

Get ready to dance in our classes for another 5 weeks of fun. Not joined in yet? Drop us a note and we'll find a place on the dance floor for you. 

It's Mid Term!

Don't forget that it's mid term this week so there are no Branch classes. See you next week!

Spring Fling and Fringe are coming to Edinburgh!

We are excited that Spring Fling and Fringe are returning to Edinburgh. 
Find out more about Spring Fling here and head to our classes page to book your space at Spring Fringe.
Details of events for under 12s will follow in the next few days.

Cold weather update

It's chilly outside but all our classes are running as planned this week. Scottish dancing is a great way to stay warm! 

Ladies Step dancing classes

 

Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, our Patron, and as a mark of respect, we have taken the decision to cancel our online Step Classes this weekend. All dancers who have already registered for these events have been contacted directly. 

 

Queen Elizabeth II - 1926 - 2022

It is with great sadness that we have all learnt of the passing of Her Majesty The Queen.
 
A keen Scottish country dancer, she has been the Patron of The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society since 1946.
 
Many members of our Branch have had the privilege of dancing for HM The Queen over the past 70 years and our founding member, Miss Allie Anderson, devised the dance “The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh” with Mrs Florence Lesslie to commemorate her marriage to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.
 
Our thoughts are with King Charles III and the Royal Family at this sad time.

Darcey Bussell films with our Demonstration team for Royal Road Trip

Dame Darcey Bussell has recently fronted a new four-part series for More4 in celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. In the programme, she travels to several locations across the UK that are significant to the Queen and her history. She also discovers many of Her Majesty’s favourite activities and passions such as hiking the Scottish Highlands and horse racing at Ascot, and of course, Scottish country dancing.

Darcey visited Edinburgh to learn more about Scottish country dancing and iits association with the Queen and couldn’t resist the opportunity to dance with us. 

After a quick lesson in some of the finer points from Edinburgh Branch teacher Elizabeth Harry, Darcey was ready to perform The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. 

The dance was written to commemorate the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth and her husband His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.

This 40 bar reel was devised by Branch Founder, Miss Allie Anderson and her friend and Branch Teacher Miss Florence Lesslie. The music was composed by John Robertson, a senior programme operator at the BBC and conductor of the Scottish Country Dance Players.

Darcey also spoke with Branch members Dorothy Leurs and Barbara and David Ross about their memories of dancing for The Queen.

Darcey Bussell’s Royal Road Trip will air its first episode on More4 on Tuesday 19 July at 2100.

Darcey Bussell with Branch Dem Team

 

Tonight's outdoor dancing cancelled

We have regrettably taken the decision to cancel tonight’s outdoor event.

Whilst the forecast is for a dry evening there has been some rain so the grass is slightly damp. It’s also quite cool and breezy.

Thanks to everyone who has come along and supported these events, we hope to see you at our Summer dance on 23 July.

It's a beautiful night for dancing!

We hope to see you there at our Platinum Jubilee event - 7.00pm at St Mary's Cathedral, Palmerston Place

Get ready to celebrate HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee with us!

Dance Scottish on Saturday 4th June to commemorate HM The Queen's historic reign.

Tickets are on sale now!

Highland Workshop - Sunday 24 April

This event is now sold out! Contact us if you would like to be added to the waiting list for a place. 

Book now for our Nice'n'Easy dance next week

Get ready for lots of fun next Tuesday (29 March) when everyone is welcome to join us on the dance floor for a fun programme of surprise dances. 

Book online and save some cash!

Get ready to dance into Spring...

Join us at our Spring Dance! We have a programme of fun, popular dances and wonderful music  at our new venue. There's plenty of space on the dance floor for everyone.

It's mid term in Edinburgh!

There are no classes this week.

Why not take some time to check out our YouTube channel until you can dance with us again next week? 

Exciting News!

Booking for the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Summer School in 2022 is now open!

New Year; new you!

Our classes are back and are a great way to get fit and have fun. Find out more and book online now.

Get ready to dance with us this weekend!

Our Online classes head back into the virtual dance studio this weekend. Grab your pumps, roll back the carpet & book your space now!

Happy New Year!

Watch out for our Classes & Events starting as soon as it is safe to dance again

Sad News!

We have reluctantly have taken the decision to cancel our Christmas Dance tomorrow evening (Saturday 11 December) in light of the current guidance from the Scottish Government. Dancers who have already purchased tickets have been contacted directly. 

We're getting ready for Christmas!

Book your space on the dance floor at our Christmas Party on Tuesday 7 December.

"These classes warm up my body and soul"

There are a few spaces remaining at our Ladies Step dance workshop on Sunday afternoon. Book your place online now. 

Ready. Set. Dance!

Find fun, fitness and friendship at our new Beginners class starting next Monday (25 October). Find out more here.

Come and dance at our Sunday Social this weekend!

This is a joint event with Dunedin Dancers at is always lots of fun. 

Book online now. 

Our fun Scottish dance classes for young dancers start tomorrow!

Book a place on the dance floor for young dancers age P1 - P5. 

See you tomorrow for lots of fun! 

Get ready to dance with us tonight!

Our Fun for All classes start tonight, Greenbank Church Hall at 8pm. Don't forget to book your place in advance... 

See you there! 

Welcome back!

We are excited to be welcoming dancers from across Scotland onto the dance floor with us tonight. With music from Iain MacPhail and his Scottish dance band it's bound to be a grand evening! 

** BREAKING NEWS ^^

Our Ladies Step dance workshop on Sunday 19 September is now sold out. Booking is open now for the next two workshops on Sundays 17 October and 21 November.

Members are invited to join us at our AGM

Advance booking for our Annual General Meeting is required at the moment. Members are invited to book online to join us on Wednesday 15 September at 7.30pm. 

Join us at our Grand Dance on Sat 18 September

Find out more and book your space on the dance floor now. Details here

Welcome to our new website

At long last we are delighred to be live! Check out all our events and classes which are happening later this month. 

Dancing at Last !

We are pleased to welcome you back to dance in the open air.

Click here for more information.

Keep in touch via Facebook and Twitter

Follow us on our Facebook and Twitter accounts on this screen where you’ll find regular updates.

What is Scottish country dancing?

Scottish country dancing is fun, with dancers finding the shared experience of dance both physically and mentally enjoyable. Whether you dance at a local club, in a town hall or at a one-off Ceilidh event, the result is the same!

Scottish country dancing is great for fitness as regular exercise helps improve your health. Dance is a great physical activity to get you moving, building cardio endurance and boosting circulation. Scottish country dancing keeps your brain active! Memorising steps and formations will improve your cognitive skills and help prevent dementia.

You will find friendship throughout the world as Scottish country dancers are welcomed into a worldwide community of dancers and firm friendships are formed by dancers everywhere attending their regular classes and social events.

Scottish country dancing is a dynamic, spirited social dance genre which is uniquely Scottish. The Jigs, Reels, Strathspeys which we dance are distinct in their rhythm and the dancing is sociable, enjoyable and as energetic as you want it to be.

With its roots in the assemblies and balls of the 18th and 19th centuries, its popularity has increased to this day and it is now danced all over the world in more informal settings. It is an evolving form of social dancing where you regularly dance with a partner in “sets” typically of 3 or 4 couples. Throughout a social event or class, you will regularly change partner, making it very sociable.

Scottish country dancing in Edinburgh

We run weekly classes for all level of dancers, so if you have never danced before or are a more experienced dancer looking to progress, we have a class to suit you. You’ll find all the information you need on our Classes page.

Keep exploring our site to find details of all our other activities, including our Children’s classes, social events and our Annual Ball. Formed in 1924, we have been promoting Scottish country dancing ever since, so come and join us and experience the fun, fitness and friendship it provides.

Drop us a line

We hope you have found the information you need on our website, if not check out our FAQs or drop us a line and we’ll respond as quickly as possible.

Get in touch