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IBERIAN PENINSULA WEEKEND GATHERING OF SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCERS

Hotel Beatriz Palace & Spa, Fuengirola. Friday 8th to Sunday 10th March 2013
Such is the popularity of the Weekend that it takes months of planning and has to be booked two years in advance by the host group. On a rotational basis, groups share th…

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Hotel Beatriz Palace & Spa, Fuengirola. Friday 8th to Sunday 10th March 2013

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Such is the popularity of the Weekend that it takes months of planning and has to be booked two years in advance by the host group. On a rotational basis, groups share the responsibility for the once-a-year gathering of the clans from all over the Iberian Peninsula. There are about 10 groups spread over Spain and Portugal from which 124 dancers attended this year’s gathering – 15 from Torrevieja.

Full highland dress was needed for this occasion so a large suitcase was soon filled. On the Thursday we took 6 hours to drive, with two quite long stops, to Fuengirola. We arrived at our hotel only just in time for afternoon tea.

Checking in at the 4 star Hotel was efficiently dealt with amid the greeting of many dancers from distant groups. Once settled in our rooms we unpacked then took a short walk around the hotel to familiarise ourselves with the area, often bumping into other groups of IPG attendees. Dinner was spent renewing acquaintances, and continued later with a nightcap in the bar.

Friday morning some of us headed off to explore the town. Official registration for the dance groups took place in the afternoon, then there was a walk-through session of the evening’s dances for those who needed it, (that turned out to be most of us). The evening began with an excellent dinner. Dancing commenced at 21.00 – kilts and gowns, swirling to the tunes of the Graigellachie Band. The dancing went on until after midnight.

On Saturday morning, for the keen dancers, our teacher for the weekend, Mervyn Short, held a technique class. After the class there was a meeting for interested members, when volunteers were sought to host the IPG two years hence.The afternoon was spent relaxing and catching up with more gossip. Those who required a walk-through of the evening’s dances had to be in the ballroom for 16.00. As on the previous night, the evening started with dinner. At 20.45 a ‘Grand March’ preceded the Ball which began at 21.00. A total of 17 dances were reeled, jigged – or strathspeyed (a tempo unique to Scottish Country Dancing). The evening was rounded off with Auld Lang Syne and a short polka. A few hardy couples wound down in the bar until the wee hours.

On Sunday morning a Group Teachers’ Meeting was held, followed by another class. Mervyn Short took us through some technique and formation lessons. He then taught dances, which included those moves. For some it was time to go home for work the next day, but with a promise to meet again next year. For us the afternoon provided free time to explore further the delights of Fuengirola. A Ceilidh was held on Sunday evening and this proved to be great fun and a fitting end to a wonderful weekend.

Scottish Country Dancing is held at 3 p.m. on Monday afternoons at El Paraiso Restaurant in Jardin del Mar, Torrevieja. Why not join us, you don’t need a kilt for the classes.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/38186/

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