Public Cèilidh

Now this sounds like fun!

In January the City of Auckland Morris Dancers will be hosting a week-long gathering of Morris dancers from NZ, Australia, USA and UK. They will be staying at Motu Moana in Green Bay, but will be Morris dancing and playing all over Auckland, so keep your eyes open.

To encourage the community to take up folk dancing they are holding a public cèilidh on Monday 22 January in the Blockhouse Bay community centre, from 7.30pm. This is a free event thanks to a COGS grant which has paid for the hall, the band (Tamlin, the best folk band in Auckland) and the caller (Noel Armstrong), but bring a plate or koha for supper.

But what on earth is a cèilidh? Just think of it as the forerunner of discos and nightclubs. The ancient Scottish or Irish cèilidh (pronounced kay’lee) was originally an event where local people gathered to tell stories, sing songs and recite poetry. In relatively recent times (measured in hundreds of years) the dance portion was added (much to the delight of courting young folk), and the cèilidh became the event that is now more familiar to us.

Don't know how to dance? It doesn't matter! Noel does, so all you need is the desire to have a fun time and you'll leave at the end of the night knowing how to do the likes of the Waves of Tory, Dashing White Sergeant and the Borrowdale Exchange!

You can expect plenty of rest in between dances when the Morris dancers do their stuff.
To find out more about the Morris dancers’ tour go to www.aucklandmorris.org.nz/2018-morris-tour-in-auckland

If you have half a mind to become a Morris dancer that’s all you need.