Do your high school children learn formal dance?

[Belindabelle]

DS2 has his school Christmas dance in a few days and we spent today going over a few moves because due to Covid this has not happened for 2 years and he is out of practice. It just occurred to me how quint and outdated, yet charming this is. Just wondered is it only here (in Scotland) that we do this as it’s mainly Ceilidh dances.

Yes! We’re in Scotland too.

I work in a high school and get the privilege of helping out at the parties. It’s the highlight of the year! Formal dancing makes things easier as there’s something to ‘do’, a routine to follow. Saves a lot of standing round awkwardly. At our school girls dance together as do boys, so they can dance with their friends if they’re shy. The dance floor was packed the whole night. It was a joy to see!

All my teens have, in Scotland over the last ten years. Very useful for ceilidhs for the rest of their lives, and the dances are good for overcoming awkwardness.

Yep, they do it every year. Obs with covid they hadn’t done it but was back this year eldest had formal where they did their dancing then a disco.

s1 kid did it in pe and youngest at school (p7) he hated it though. I hated it at school as none of the boys would touch me which was fun 🤩

Yes my S2 is currently grumbling about it 😄

Even at primary school they do a little mini ceilidh now and again.

I didn't like it at school, (cringe - dancing with classmates) but I went to actual Scottish country dancing classes as a bairn (and Teuchter so I'm told).

Not here in the north west.
I did a massive snort of my tea when DS came home from primary school and told me they’d been pole dancing in PE though.
Turns out they’d been learning the maypole.

Yep my son (S2) had his school dance last week & it was all celidh dancing that they had been learning in PE.

I don’t know what it is (hormones probably) but I am really touched by this.

I remember learning country dancing, as it was called, at high school in the 80’s and it never really leaves you. DH and I had a ceilidh at our wedding in 1992. Today DS (17) and I spent a lovely wee while rehearsing a few dances in the kitchen. I was surprised by how many I remembered. I was even more surprised that this was what his School Christmas Party was going to be. Though I think the last hour is a DJ. He didn’t ask for any help with those dances funnily enough.

My P7 DD was doing ceilidh dancing in PE this year - it’s a hugely useful skill as many of the family weddings tend to have a ceilidh, means there’s no awkwardness about dancing with boys in that pubescent stage.

I remember learning social dancing at school and still call on those lessons for a St Bernards Waltz.

My kids, P3 & P5, have been rushing home on PE days the last few weeks to show me what dance they’ve been learning. I only ever did it in secondary school but I used to love country dancing at this time of year and after years of not doing at all it it’s amazing how it all came back to me as friends got married and had ceilidh bands at their weddings.