A drizzly October evening in Trinity, and a group of seeming Scottish enthusiasts gathered on the top floor of the GMB for a night of “swinging and whooping and stramashing their way across a dance floor.” By 7.30pm, the attic, ready for the occasion with St Andrew’s Crosses and tartan cloth, was stuffy with students keen to see what these Scots have to offer and perhaps to compare it to the beloved “Fallaí Luimní”. Reeling 101 introduced students who are new to Caledonian Soc to the delights of Scottish reeling in preparation for their annual St Andrew’s Ball, held in November.
As is often the case in events such as these, a somewhat latent tension hung in the air before the dancing begins. The usual “how the hell did I end up in the GMB Scottish reeling” type glances were exchanged between friends as they gathered to hear the agenda for the evening. But, as always, Cal Soc quickly dampened those fears. After a brief welcome from its hairperson, James Weir, we were ready to go.
The lesson started with an introduction to the most basic move – your h-aon, dó, trí if you will. “Setting”, a somewhat fluid phenomenon, involved partners facing each other, taking a slide to the left, then right, and ending in a spin, which often, in the early attempts, tangled up a few couples. This, followed by the “figure of eight”, led to a few collisions. Once we had the basics mastered, we were ready to dance.
Our first reel was the “Dashing White Sergeant”, a classic, 18th-century set danced in groups of six. The committee kept a commendable structure on the evening, with explanations and demonstrations of each dance first and members overseeing each group when someone twirls out of time. It may have taken a few tries, but soon the room moved like clockwork with an air of accomplishment filtering through.
After a short break, we moved on to the second and final dance of the evening, “Strip the Willow”. Arguably the easiest of six reels performed at the ball, and unanimously the most fun, “Strip the Willow” involved two rows of partners facing each other with one couple essentially reeling their way to the end. The girl must link and spin each boy down the line in a sort of “hoedown throwdown” fashion, repeating with the opposite roles. Interspersed with a spin from your original partner, “Strip the Willow” became a slightly odd game of who can acquire the most speed in their rendition, which, while leading to a lot of laughing, led to some tender arms the next day. At this point, people really began to hit their stride, and the inhibitions harboured by most at the start of the evening were well and truly gone.
It was remarkable to see how quickly the skepticism of reeling turned into sheer enjoyment. After two minutes of dancing, people couldn’t help but smile. The committee’s ability to maintain some sort of control on the chaos while still dancing was praiseworthy, and created a relaxed atmosphere. It was just good craic. St Andrew’s Ball will be held at the end of November, and I’m already seeking out my tartan.
