Traditional Arts

Feet Together and Take a Bow. Successful Year for Pomegranates 

2025 was another successful year for the Pomegranates Festival, which ran from 25th to 30th April. The packed five-day programme of traditional dance, saw ticket sales up by 40% on 2024; a sold-out Ceilidh Plus event mixing Scottish, Hungarian and Polish social dancing; and a packed house for Charlotte McLean’s new not for glory dance … Continued

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Lorraine Pritchard’s Fascination with the Intricate Detail and Transformative Power of Venetian Masks

Exhibition Review by Catherine Coutts     Do I really want to go to see an exhibition about masks? At the start of the decade, masks (the ugly type with elastic bands, which cannot be recycled and were often to be found littering almost everywhere) were a topic of significant discussion. How effective and necessary were … Continued

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What is Intangible Cultural Heritage?

Everyone is talking about “Intangible Cultural Heritage”, but what is it and why is it important? We’ve put together a Wee Guide to Intangible Cultural Heritage to answer some of the frequently asked questions. A Wee Guide to Intangible Cultural Heritage What is Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)? Simply put, you might know it as “tradition”. … Continued

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Masked dancers and artists gather to launch this year’s Pomegranates Festival programme

The Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland is delighted to announce full details of our fourth Pomegranates Festival which will run from Friday 25 to Wednesday 30 April 2025 at various venues across Edinburgh. The Pomegranates Festival in partnership with TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) and Moray House School of Education and Sport, at the … Continued

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Stones are Alive

Review by Catherine Coutts As Greek dancer Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker moves lithely onto the floor at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, her task is not an easy one. The audience – largely Scottish traditional music afficionados – are there for the preview of Mairi Campbell’s Living Stone exhibition. They have already been sitting for forty minutes on … Continued

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Successful Year for Pomegranates International Traditional Dance Festival

2024 was another successful year for our Pomegranates Festival which ended on 30 April. The packed five-day programme of traditional dance, poetry, art and fashion, saw ticket sales up by 50% on 2023, fully-booked free family events and a packed house for fashion designer Alison Harm’s show featuring her latest collection made from sustainable tartan … Continued

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A dancer? Advance your Professional Development in a Day

At the heart of our Pomegranates Festival, once again, is the intensive day of professional development workshops led by Scottish artists and creative migrants based in Scotland. This year the line-up includes 12 trad dance workshops taught by 14 dance artists including Evie Waddell, Nadia Khattab, Niki & Yangyang, Lara Russo & Inesa Vėlavičiūtė, Gica … Continued

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Pomegranates 2024 Festival Programme Announced

The Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) in partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh are delighted to announce full details of its third Pomegranates festival programme which this year starts as early as 24 February 2024 with a series of related events and … Continued

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What does Scottish Ceilidh share with Chinese Hanfu and Mongolian dance cultures

In October 2023 we welcomed our new dance artists-in-residence Lingqiao Hong and Yingzhou Xie. Their residency is part of our ongoing partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh which enables graduate students in Dance Education and Science to undertake their formal placement at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland. … Continued

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Fair Saturday Ceilidh House

* Did you know that Fair Saturday is a global mobilisation that creates a positive social impact and provides an empathetic response to Black Friday. It brings artists and performers together from all over the world to create a celebration of culture and community. We are delighted that Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and TRACS … Continued

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