The Gardens Scottish Country Dancers is a non-profit making group dedicated to arranging summer evenings of Scottish Country Dancing to live music in the open air in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh - an activity which has gone on for over half a century. We also organise some indoor dances allowing dancers to indulge their enthusiasm when many of the clubs have reduced activity for the summer.
Our open-air dances are over for this year, but our August Programme is now running on Monday evenings.
Help us to enrich your summer dancing in 2009 by attending our Annual Meeting - open to all - and/or email us your thoughts on our activities.
| Left click on item to get to that section. |  |
A demonstration team shows the way Photo courtesy of and Copyright of Andrew Murphy |
 |
 |
Happy Dancers Photos courtesy of Tom Nisbet |
This year our open-air dances will be on Monday evenings (7.30-9.30pm) from 26th May to the 28th July, but with the exception of 2nd June
NB No dancing on 2 June 2008In addition there will be dancing on Tuesday evenings from 27th May to 29th July in St. George's West Church Hall (at the intersection of Shandwick Place and Stafford Street).
Some in-door dances are also planned for August 2008. These will take place on the four Monday evenings of August at the Church Hall of the St. Thomas-Junction Road Church from 7.30 to 9.30pm. The programmes will be posted on this site when they are available.
The events in the Princes Street Gardens are open to all, from experienced dancers to spectators. Each dance is demonstrated once by a team of experienced dancers. The programmes principally comprise dances for which prior experience is desirable, but some ceilidh dances are also included which can be picked up instantly, and there are one or two of modest complexity which can be managed if sufficient people in the set know the dance.
The dances in St. George's West are not demonstrated, but are called once before the dance. These dances, therefore, are more suitable for those with prior knowledge.
Need a reminder of the steps? Try Minicrib
Click Here to download the programme for 2008 in pdf format
Back to the topJust occasionally the weather in Edinburgh is not suitable for open-air dancing. On those occasions the dancing may be cancelled. As some of the bands and the demonstration teams come from a distance away, the decision whether to proceed or not is taken soon after 3pm on the day of the event. This website will be updated with the status as soon as it is known
Useful weather links
Running the program in Princes Street Gardens is fairly labour-intensive, so offers of reliable help, mainly with stewarding would be welcome. All are also encouraged to attend the Annual Meeting to comment on the season just past and the next, and to consider standing to be on the committee.
Back to the topFor information about the Gardens Scottish Country Dancers
contact:-
| Margaret Burns (Chair) | 0131-661 1768 |
| Margaret Harris | 0131-337 4197 |
| Agnes Macmichael (Secretary) | 01506-500457 |
| Agnes Reed | 0131-556 2140 |
The Annual Meeting of the Gardens Scottish Country Dancers will take place at 7.30pm on Monday, 1st September 2008 in St. Thomas-Junction Road Church Hall, Leith EH6 5JB.
This meeting is open to all, and we will really appreciate your input into making our 2009 season a resounding success.
Find the location with multimap or with Google Maps.
We also request
your comments on our activities
All welcome
This year (2008) we were forced by financial constraints to restrict the dancing in Princes Street Gardens to one evening per week in June and July, namely on Mondays, coupled with indoor dancing on a second evening, Tuesdays, in the hall of St. Georges West Church. As we review this arrangement, and as we contemplate next year and beyond, we would like your comments on matters such as