What We Do

Scotland's National Network for Traditional Dance

We support the diverse forms of traditional dance in Scotland as part of our intangible cultural heritage through FREE membership and three major routes - residencies, festivals and productions.

We encourage collaboration and exchange across all trad dance forms practised in Scotland. We work with our members, the traditional arts network and the contemporary art world, including policymakers, cultural, artistic and educational organisations to create and extend opportunities, including new commissions, publications and events.

We are a registered charity (SCIO SC045085) and an integral part of TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland), alongside our friends at Traditional Music Forum and Scottish Storytelling Forum.

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Our international trad dance festival

Pomegranates

Every spring since 2022 Pomegranates becomes a platform for our diverse members to teach, learn and perform and thus sow the seeds and sequins of world trad dance across the country. The festival provides a wider public showcase for the range of our artists’ residencies and dance theatre productions. In 2024 the festival season started early, with our five world trad dance sessions for beginners at Edinburgh’s Stockbridge Library and continued with another 20 events, including dance exhibitions and tours, shows and workshops, residencies and family events – all free and Pay What You Can. Click below to find out more and save the dates 25-30 April 2025 for the fourth edition of Pomegranates!

POMEGRANATES

Our #traddance campaign at Edinburgh's summer festivals

Your Shows! Our Reviews!

We support the trad dance talent that helps make Edinburgh a sprightly cultural city for 12 months of the year, not just for August. For the last two years we have been highlighting the contribution of trad dance artists in the programmes of the Edinburgh’s summer festivals. In 2024 we continue this #traddance campaign but through our new Traditional Dance Criticism Course, led by dance writer and editor Róisín O’Brien. Follow the participants in the pilot edition of the course Catherine Coutts, Yuxi Jiang, Inesa Vėlavičiūtė, Alena Shmakova, Vassia Bouchagiar-Walker and Yanmei Bowie as they review shows with trad dance roots across Edinburgh’s summer festivals. Click below to read and watch the reviews so far and stay tuned for more!

REVIEWS

The Latest from Traditional Dance Forum

In the Round: In Conversation with Yuxi Jiang and Luca Vaccari

Interview by Inesa Vėlavičiūtė   New to the International Festival Fringe’s scene, Yucca Dance presents In the Round – a captivating...
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Academic Partnership Growing from Strength to Strength

In spring 2024, the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland – the only charitable organisation of its kind in Scotland, advocating, supporting...
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Around a Tree

Review by Iliyana Nedkova Here we go ‘round the young oak tree on a cold and sprightly morning at Edinburgh’s Royal...
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