A ceilidh was traditionally a social gathering that had roots in Scotland and Ireland and did not necessarily involve dancing. Rather, people met to tell stories, recite poems and sing.
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Berlin Ceilidh Band
Over time, however, music and dance became more and more important and now determine the main program of the meetings. Jigs, reels, polkas, line, square and circle dances are danced to live music from melodeons, fiddles, whistles and many other traditional instruments.
Modern e-ceilidh mostly involves dancing traditional dance sets, but the music can be played by a mix of traditional and modern instruments, e.g. melodeon, fiddle, electric bass and percussion. The beat of the music is usually very lively, the dances are full of energy and easy to learn, even without any prior dance knowledge.
Berlin Ceilidh Band:
In December 2009, a few musicians and a dance instructor came together in Berlin to organize an e-ceilidh evening the following January. What started as a one-off experiment was such a resounding success that we decided to definitely do it again. So they continued with regular e-ceilidh evenings, indoors in winter and outdoors in the park in summer, which continue to be very popular. They are now a group of around 8 consistent musicians from England, USA and Germany, which is constantly enriched by national or international guests.
