In Glasgow Ceilidh news this summer, we have been fortunate to secure a great run of events with Merchant Square. At the epicentre of Glasgow’s happening bar and night-life, Merchant Square also has another side to its events: the conference event takeover!

Glasgow Convention Bureau do a great job of attracting large conferences to the city. And by good job, I mean they have been named top conference bureau in the UK 12 years running by the Meeting and Incentive Travel Awards. 

Over the course of each summer, conference organisers are looking to find a venue that can easily accommodate a conference audience of up to 1500 people. 1500 people that descend at once, sit down for dinner, and then watch Scottish culture come alive through music and dancing, as a highlight of the conferences Social Program, which are often at the Scottish Event Campus.

Merchant Square’s range of dining establishments closes for the night to allow for the conference events. Black Box Pro Audio set up a stage, lighting and PA system.

The band who have been asked back time and time again are the rock-and-pop Ceilidh band Scraggly Cats. Their simple ceilidh dancing walk-throughs work well for uninitiated ceilidh clients. This is especially relevant with conference audiences, where the band deals with up to 1500 ceilidh rookies at the same time. 

To vary the entertainment and allow for a mix between Scottish cultural dancing and pure pop and rock, then band then plays a set of pop and rock classics. This is a specially curated mix of tunes that are recognised worldwide!

The 2019 conferences at Merchant Square are:

12th June – Offshore Mechanics & Arctic Engineering (OMAE), 1000 guests

10th July – CAP Partner – Federation of European Microbiologists (FEMS) 2019 Congress of European Microbiologists, 800 guests

18th July – International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe (ISMPMI), 1300 guests

1st Aug – International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC) 2019, 800 guests

4th Sept – European Conference on Applied Superconductivity (EUCAS) 2019, 1000 guests

8th Oct – The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)’s International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) 2019, 1000 guests

5900 people from 36 countries over 6 nights in Glasgow Ceilidh dancing. Strangers coming together in an embrace of Scottish culture across disciplines, nations, and languages. Resulting in 8 spectacular nights.

Thanks to Black Box Audio for the amazing sound and light for the events, and to Jenni and the Merchant Square Team for putting the conference events on.

 

We had a great time at ceilidh number 5, the EUCAS conference on the 4th September. The attendees were enthusiastic and great fun. Without much ceilidh dancing experience, they got stuck in and danced their lab coats off. Check out some of the fun from that night below:

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Modern Ceilidh Band

Our modern ceilidh band, Tartanium, rocked up this Glasgow conference.  The 10 piece band along with the Tartanium dancers, helped hundreds of delegates ceilidh dance. This was the first dance! 

Scottish Show Video

Scottish show by the Tartanium 10 piece band. A modern funky Scottish band perform a Scottish show with contemporary dancers. The show piece combines bagpipes and fiddle with a driving rhythm section, (kit drums, keys, bass and electric guitar,) along with a horn section of sax, trumpet and trombone. The band rocked the Glasgow conference hosted at the SEC and Glasgow Hilton. The audience: 500 guests at a Nursing conference. 

The modern Scottish show can be anywhere between 15-30 minutes. This can be paired with an interactive modern ceilidh segment of up to 60 minutes. The Tartanium dancers mix contemporary choreography and traditional Highland dance steps to provide a spectacle for guests to watch. They can also help with the ceilidh segment, which helps massively!
The band also perform pop and rock covers to keep the dance floor moving all night.
The Tartanium band have also been called in to entertain opening and closing ceremonies for conference audiences. Sometimes accompanied by dancers or a pipe band. High impact modern Scottish performance for all events!
Find out more about the Tartanium Scottish Show

Scraggly Cats: Ceilidh and Covers at EICC Conference

The Scraggly Cats had a cracking gig at the EICC in Edinburgh last year. With 1300 delegates at the conference, the ceilidh was always going to be epic. Have a watch of the video for the end of the Strip the Willow, along with pop covers from the band.
We were lucky to have 6 Highland dancers on the floor to help us manage this massive conference crowd. They did well!
Have a look at more from the ceilidh and covers Scraggly Cats band 

If you are wanting to book the band for your event or conference, please drop us an email or call the events office.

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What is a ceilidh? While some people are very familiar with the idea of a Ceilidh…. others are not so.  Let’s start at the beginning:

Traditionally it is a gathering or social event, and it didn’t necessarily involve any dancing.  These days a Ceilidh is a sociable way to bring people together involving Scottish music and dance.

Children ceilidh, old people ceilidh, people with disabilities ceilidh.  It is an inclusive Scottish past time. It’s fun. It’s good to stimulate your blood flow and coordination.  It makes you more attractive (probably!).

How do you pronounce the word?

For those unfamiliar with a ceilidh, just the thought of asking about a ceilidh can be a little daunting!  How do you pronounce it?  Simply put, it is said, “Kay-lee” or ‘K LEE’. It is a Gaelic word meaning a gathering.  To ceilidh you will need: some coordination, a sense of fun and a bit of energy (various dance intensities for different energy levels)

Why might I choose to have a ceilidh?

A ceilidh is much more than simply enjoying Scotland’s musical heritage.  It is a great way to get people up and dancing.  It is a fantastic way to meet people and interact in an informal way.

What is its role in Scottish culture?

Most people in Scotland know how to ceilidh dance.  We were taught in gym lessons at school.  It is often used to bring together two sides of a family at a wedding to start the party, or as a celebration at a work, Christmas or corporate party.

Where can we listen to ceilidh music? 

Watch our modern ceilidh video of Contemporary Scottish Music Over 160000 other people have! 

Listen to funky ceilidh band audio at our ceilidh soundcloud

Online:  Have a look through our ceilidh band website for pictures, audio and media streams. 

To Download a track for non commercial use.  Watch this space! coming soon!  

Where can I find ceilidh music for commercial use?

If you are working in TV, radio, advertising, and are looking to license or commission a piece of ceilidh music then get in touch.  We have worked with various brands, TV shows and films to help create the Scottish mood.  We even scrubbed up pretty well to feature on ‘This September’ with Charles Dance!

My boyfriend is taking me reeling, what should I do?

Watch some videos, get yourself a reeling partner and let them know that this is your first dance! Also see ‘what shoes’ below.  Please note that reeling and ceilidh dancing although similar, are different.  More on that in our next blog post! 

Can anyone get involved in a ceilidh?

Anyone can ceilidh dance. It’s simple, but fun and energetic.  The key to ceilidh dancing is having a band that has a caller. There are various types of ceilidh band, from traditional ceilidh bands (usually with accordion or fiddle (violin) leading the sound)  to modern bands with bagpipes, synthesizer  and kit drums.  The most important thing for a beginner ceilidh audience is getting a ceilidh caller ( this is the person who explains the different dances to the guests).

There are lots of different ceilidh dances, from Gay Gordon’s to the Dashing White Seargent.  Some are fast, some are slow. Some are for couples (or two friends!!) and some are done as group dances.

The key is getting a balance of dancing, fun, crowd participation and team building.

How many ceilidh dances will we do? 

The answer is different depending on your audience. Some groups will ceilidh dance all night long, under the right ceilidh instruction. Some conference groups, who may have never experienced ceilidh before may like 4 or 5 dances.  There are some bands, such as the Scraggly Cats, who are well versed in mixing the evenings entertainment up between our traditional ceilidh dancing, and Modern pop and rock.  This gives the event organiser the flexibility on the evening to vary between the traditional Scottish element, and guests letting their hair down at a conference or incentive event.

What is the most appropriate ladies Ceilidh footwear? 

Though shalt go to the ceilidh ball. 2 pairs, one for arriving at the ball, the other for dancing.  It can be very fast paced spinning, turns and skipping.  So appropriate pretty flat shoes are a winner.  Also bear in mind you may have had a drink by the dancing stage!

Ceilidh dancers

When there is a large group, whether a conference of 1000 people, an incentive event of 500, or a corporate group visiting Scotland for the first time.  It is often handy to have some professional ceilidh dancers to come in and help keep some order on the dancefloor.

The Scottish dancers can often offer a showpiece spectacle, which can lead nicely into the guests dancing for themselves.  The dance routines can be traditionally Scottish, with highland fling and sword dance.  Alternatively for a more contemporary Scottish event, there are also dancers performing contemporary choreographed routines in mini kilts, before helping out a conference delegation.

I don’t think my guests will ceilidh dance!

There are some events that guests ceilidh participation is not on the cards! Maybe there is no space at your venue to get everyone dancing. Maybe the demographic of your crowd is such that you don’t feel they will dance (we had a great night with 100 Turkish men!! We didn’t think it would work either!!)

If you want to give the guests a great Scottish show, which mixes things up between traditional Scottish sounds and dancing.  Along with modern rock ceilidh, then have a look at Tartanium.

Next in the ceilidh dancing series: What is the difference between traditional and modern ceilidh bands?  

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