deiseil /dʲeʃal

(sounds like jay-shal)

Deiseil Airson Dannsa (Scottish Gaelic for “Ready to Dance”) is a new organisation led by Amy Geddes and Alison Carlyle, which aims to promote awareness of and participation in stepdance, Scotland’s indigenous percussive dance tradition.

See the show

The company was founded to produce the first piece of theatre about Scottish stepdance Deiseil: Dancing in Time.

You can book tickets to see the show at the Edinburgh Fringe (8-16th August) here.

Stepdance was historically an important part of Gaelic culture, but became virtually unknown in Scotland due to cultural suppression, the Highland Clearances, and evolution into Highland dance and Scottish country dance. It was preserved by Scottish emigrants to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and we learned from their descendants bringing the dance back to Scotland in the 1990s.

Deiseil: Dancing in Time offers the perfect opportunity for us to spend meaningful time in communities, connecting them with this tradition: not only performing the show, but also teaching workshops, engaging with community organisations and settings and providing creative and mentoring opportunities for local artists.

The performances by Deiseil Airson Dannsa are a breathtaking celebration of Scottish culture and tradition.

Sarah MacLeod

Cultural Historian