Teaching our Chrildren to Dance keeps them healthy and anchored in their culture.

 

 

This delightful picture from the website of the CLUARAN website (the Scottish dance group in St Louis, on the Golfe de Morbihan in Southern Brittany) shows both the joy of dancing, and my passion for teaching children to dance. Dance brings children great fun, joyful laughter, a sense of achievement, good body posture and healthy exercise. What's not to like?  Dancing has been enhanced by the success of TV programs like Dancing with the Stars (USA) and Strictly Come Dancing (in UK) and films like Billy Elliot about a boy who wanted to dance .... and maybe by huge stage successes like Hamilton, The Lion King and West Side Story that include dancing as an integral part of their whole story. Even boys!

 

We have forgotten the cultural importance of dancing - which was traditionally linked to the masculine skills of fencing -  in European life. In Africa dancing is an integral part of daily life. This used to be true in Europe. Entertainment was poetry and music, song and dance. Now we consume entertainment on a box, while sinking unhealthily into our armchairs. In the New Year : teach children to dance! 

Here is an RSCDS picture of The Triumph danced around 1841. Our heritage!
 

 

 

we are dancing all over Brittany - most nights of the week there is Scottish dancing somewhere !

Last Sunday I danced on the coast of the Côtes d'Armor. This next Sunday I shall be dancing in Josselin, in the centre of Brittany, where the RSCDS Breton Branch will have its monthly dance : easy dances from 10am and more complex dances in the afternoon. Friday I danced in Lannion; Tuesdays I dance in Guingamp or in St Quay Perros; Mondays I sometimes dance in Rennes .... and we have a monthly Ceilidh (on the Last Sunday of every month) in Pordic, near St Brieuc. naturally, our whole approach seeks to place Scottish culture in Europe, even if the English prefer their Brexit.

Dancing is good for you.

Dancing is the most complete exercise for the body and the brain; and to these physical assets, the music brings psychological soothing while the dance groups provide social health and conviviality.  Scottish dance improves balance, while the teamwork involved in dancing the formations together contributes a different type of balance and adds very beneficial social interactions. 

Researchers have proved than DANCING IS GOOD FOR YOU !!!!!