On January 23rd, Celtic Connections played for a Scottish themed night at Palazzo de Piro in Mdina. Not being held exactly on Burns night, the usual speeches were not done, but our own Scottish dance group was in attendance, led by Mark's wife Kate and ably assisted by a fellow dancer, our cajon player Juliet. Mark did a great job explaining the tradition to the Maltese guests who greeted the evening with gusto.
For the event we introduced a few well known songs from Scotland, and the audience sang lustily in the choruses.
The main object of the evening and the really fun part was to teach the audience the three dances: Gay Gordons, Dashing White Sergeant, and Strip the Willow, and to encourage everyone onto the floor. No-one held back and the initial mayhem resolved into a boisterous rendition of all three.
We were expecting an informal layout and were a bit taken aback when we saw the room beautifully laid out banquet style, complete with white chair covers. However, all went very well and both guests and band were very comfortable and well catered for. A big thank you to the staff who looked after us so well.
Below are a couple of photographs of the Band on the evening. More later once I get the dancing pictures!
A Convivial Evening
(Click to Enlarge)
Flower of Scotland
(Click to Enlarge)