More than 250 arts organisations are taking part in Get Scotland Dancing, part of the four-year legacy culture programme for Glasgow 2014 aimed at getting more people of Scotland up on their feet and moving to music. As a country which has a high level of obesity, the Get Scotland Dancing campaign is a fantastic initiative to encourage more people to engage with dance through the various methods of the programme of activity.
Full details of the programme have been announced, with the majority of events designed to encourage participation, and many involve taster sessions for dance organisations. The programme is particularly geared towards mass, participatory events. This includes the Big Dance Pledge, a new dance created by Scottish Ballet which will be performed worldwide in mass-dances on 16 May. Participants will be able to learn the dances by watching videos online. Meanwhile, there will be a succession of ceilidhs around the world, all starting at 7.30pm on 21 June, forming the 24 Hour Commonwealth Ceilidh.
Performance events of the Get Scotland Dancing programme include a youth dance festival led by Scotland’s YDance involving 36 dance groups from commonwealth countries at the Glasgow Tramway from 10-12 July. Youth dance companies from all over the country will be participating, such as Quicksilver, the youth company of Britain’s oldest dance company, Rambert. The programme also includes a new interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons created by choreographers and community dance artists Royston Maldoom and Tamara McLorg, which will premiere in Aberdeen on 20 July. Lastly, Gathered Together, an international inclusive dance festival hosted by Indepen-dance at the Tramway, will run from 27-30 August.
Full details of Get Scotland Dancing and associated events are at www.getscotlanddancing.org