Dunedin International Folk Dance Festival

Experience Scottish, French and Hungarian folk music and dance at the Dunedin International Folk Dance Festival in its 27th edition, taking place 17-20 July, with indoor and outdoor performances.

The Festival’s Gala Opening Performance & Ceilidh at the Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh is one of the highlights, with folk dance and music performances from ‘Les Pierrots de la Vallee’ – from Normandy, France and ‘Csata Táncegyüttes’ – from Isaszeg, near Budapest, Hungary.

These visiting groups will perform alongside two Edinburgh dance groups, Dunedin Dancers and ‘New Scotland’, featuring the range of Scottish dance – country dancing, highland, hard shoe stepdance and ceilidh with live music.

The opening showcase, and only scheduled indoor performance, takes place on the evening of Thursday 17 July in the Mary Erskine School Hall, Ravelston Dykes EH4 3NT. Tickets are £22 full price; £17 concession and £5 for under 18s. You can book tickets through the EventBrite link on Dunedin Dancers website www.dunedindancers.org.uk or at the door on the night (if not sold out).

All the other festival performances are in the afternoon: outside The Scottish Parliament (Fri 18 July), St Andrew’s Square (Sat 19 July), and Stirling Castle (20 July), and are free – though admission to Stirling Castle needs to be paid. Ideal for families looking for activities during the school holidays.

The 27th Dunedin International Folk Dance Festival is organised on a voluntary basis by Dunedin Dancers in association with Edinburgh University New Scotland Country Dance Society (EUNSCDS).

NB: The use of ‘Dunedin’ comes from the Gaelic name for Edinburgh ‘Dùn Èideann’ – which also inspired the city in New Zealand’s name and alliterates nicely with ‘Dancers’!