Skip to main content

Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

Try ceilidh dancing

Learn a traditional Strip the Willow dance from Scotland.
Plan a session with this activity

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Device to play music
  • Device with access to the internet
  • Device to show photos, videos, or slides

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples. Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough helpers for each team to have one. You may need some parents and carers to help out if you’re short on helpers.

Setting up this activity

  • You may want to find some traditional Scottish dancing music to play or find a local Ceilidh group to invite in to teach you.
  • This might be a great activity to invite others sections or Groups along and you could host a Ceilidh event if you wanted.
  • For groups with less than 16 people, you could either join up with another group, run it as a bring a friend night, or complete the dance with fewer numbers.
  • Make sure to tell everyone to wear comfy clothing and trainers.
  • Take a look at how to Strip the Willow with this guide from Visit Scotland or watch this BBC Scotland step-by-step video

Introduce Ceilidh dancing

  1. Ask the group what they know what a ceilidh is. See if anyone has read about them or seen them on TV. 
  2. The Ceilidh remains a popular social occasion and entertainment across Scotland and the Highlands, though Ceilidh groups can now be found across the UK. At a traditional ceilidh, participants: sing or take turns playing traditional songs on musical instruments. tell regional folk tales, myths or legends. dance vigorously into the small hours.
  3. See if anyone has ever seen the ‘Strip the Willow’ dance.
  4. Strip the Willow is a high energy dance, often seen at Scottish Ceilidhs. couples form a line down the centre of the room facing each other. Traditionally men stand on the right and ladies on the left (as viewed by the band). However,  as long as you stand opposite your partner and stick with them throughout you’re guaranteed a good time! 

Run this activity

  1. Play the BBC Scotland step-by-step video with its sound, in case someone remembers it from the music.
  2. Once the video has finished, it's time to give it a try.
  3. Some people may want to watch the video again and make notes of where to go. You could also use printed copies of this guide from Visit Scotland to help people understand where to go. You could also play the video again without the sound, in case anyone would like to take a close look at the steps.
  4. Choose sixteen people to have a go. They should stand facing a partner in two rows of eight.
  5. Play the audio to give them some idea of the rhythm. Some people should clap to the beat of the music. Everyone not dancing should join in.
  6. After a few turns, swap the dancers so that everyone can have a go.
  7. Rehearse the dance for as long as the group are enjoying it. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Make sure this activity is fun and not taken too seriously. Let the group introduce a few dance moves of their own, should they so wish.
  8. When the music ends, encourage both left and right sides to bow to one another, like in the video. Then everyone can give themselves a big round of applause.

Try the ‘Strip the Willow’ traditional dance

The top pair swing round together.

One person swings down the opposite line. They come back and swing with their partner in the middle after each person, giving their left hand to the line and their right hand to their partner. The partner follows them down the middle of the set.

The pair swings round at the bottom of the set.

The other person swings up the opposite line, again swinging their partner after each person in line.

The pair swings at the top of the set.

The pair Strip-the-Willow down the set. One swings down one line of people, while the other person swings the opposite line. They should swing each other in the middle after each person in the line.

The pair swings round at the bottom of the set and join the bottom of the line. The dance then starts again with the new top pair.

Reflection

The group has been dancing Strip the Willow, a Scottish dance. Dancing is one of the things that people enjoy the most. Did they enjoy dancing and/or watching and listening? How do you feel after experiencing this? How does it make you happier?

After watching the dance, the group got up and had a go themselves. It takes a lot of guts to stand up and perform a new dance, especially in front of your friends!

Dancing is quite active, do they feel tired? Would they enjoy dancing regularly?

 Dancing could be one of the weekly activities that helps keep you healthy. You could even incorporate it into your group meetings on a regular basis.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Contact games and activities

Make sure everyone understands what contact is acceptable, and monitor contact throughout the activity.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

  • To make this activity easier, copy the video stage-by-stage. Pause the video after each transition and have the group copy. 
  • Simplify the steps and movements for anyone who made need it.
  • If it’s too noisy and anyone doesn’t like the noise, the person could wear ear defenders, you could turn the music down, or you could run the activity outside/over a larger space to reduce the noise. Shutting doors and windows can help to reduce external sounds too.
  • People could take part holding the end of a necker if people don’t want to hold hands or link arms. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers My Skills Challenge Award
Beavers Creative Activity Badge
Beavers Thistle Award

The group could go away and take a look at some other traditional Scottish dances. They should see if they can remember any steps or sounds like those they just heard in Strip the Willow. Here are some to get them started.

Feeling brave? Keep rehearsing Strip the Willow until the group are confident enough to put on a performance for their parents or carers.

Let young people who also dance in their spare time take the lead as much as possible. It is a great opportunity to show the group what they can do!