reviews

Reviews 2004
Flashbacks - Eriskay, June 16 - Marion F Morrison
http://hi-arts.co.uk/jun04_dannsa_review.htm

Reviews 2003
Strathspey Away with Dannsa - 14-16 November 2003 - Tara Smart
An energetic evening with Dannsa - March - Fiona Ritchie
Stirling - 21 March 2003 - Jo Miller
March Tour 2003 - Helen Alexander
MacPhail Theatre, 12 March - Ullapool News
Dannsa Delight - Fiona Mackenzie, Dingwall
St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow, Jan 17 - Mary Brennan
Top Ten Dance in 2002 - Highland Newsgroup, January 4

Reviews 2001
Step 2000 - Ross-shire Journal, November 27, 2001
Step 2000 - Inverness Courier, November 27, 2001

Flashbacks

Review of Dannsa in Eriskay by Marion F Morrison 16/06/04

The Eriskay performance of Dannsa began, almost on time with a typical philosophical observation by a member of the audience.

“The Uibhisteachs must think eight o'clock means eight because they are all here early.”

I had not seen the Dannsa group before but early assembly and seat bagging are usually indicators that the event is worth coming to.

The first thing that impressed me was the smart outfits of the troupe. Royal blue and cream for Frank McConnell and Mats Melin: black and white for Sandra Robertson and Caroline Reagh. Even the teenagers self consciously lurking at the door, not sure if this was a cool or uncool event were impressed enough with the trendy garb to stay and see what would follow.

They were not to be disappointed. The show started with an elegant but lively four handed reel called Dalguise followed by Frank and co coaxing the audience up for a Dashing White Sargeant A dance also referred to locally as Dannsa an Truais The dance of pity; as it allows two girls to share one man. I prefer to think of it as a learning support dance as it is guaranteed to make even the clumsiest feel that they can cope.

My favourite item of the first half was the Spinning Reel, a dance inspired by the movement, sounds and rhythms of spinning and danced with effortless precision to some of the old favourite tongue twisting puirt that many in Uist would remember from the Iain Pheadair era. All sung with great tenacity by Elizabeth Anne MacLean.

It was during my teaching spell in Daliburgh School in Uist that I met the multi-talented Elizabeth Anne and friends, who answered an SOS call as little first years to support the first Barra Feis, with their singing dancing and acting skills. Even at that age there was that intensity of concentration from Elizabeth Anne, and the burning desire to please an audience.

Listening to her sing the haunting version of Griogal Chridhe, arranged by Ishbel T. MacDonald gave me a dose of that heart lurching sadness that I simultaneously do and don't want to feel. But then in a moment she changes the mood twisting into a selection of puirt a beul. The dancers seated on the stage, kick out a drumbeat accompaniment. The fiddle of Gabe MacVarish swings into flight along with Fin's pipes and the dancers are up, setting, tapping, whirling and somewhere along the way your own hands and feet drum out the rhythm, and something in the music makes the heart and spirit rejoice for the joy of the moment.

What is unique about Dannsa is the sheer versatility of the group. They can perform solo or together. The singers can dance. The dancers can sing, and of course the musicians can do everything. Even the audience were talented at this venue. Several of them could have donned the Dannsa outfits and taken to the floor as understudies. There are not many places where the audience take on the role of performers, but the Eriskay crowd, which included many of the South Uist traditional dance club were game to learn a new quadrille arranged by Frank to music composed by Fin Moore. With only the shortest of rehearsals there they were; the volunteer troupe, nervous, not quite perfect but encouraged by the quiet confidence of the professionals to do it. Later there was the hilarious multi - age group eightsome reel with even the littlest in the audience taking part. I watched as a set with two adults and six very small children laughed their way through the dance in that sparkling way which shows that the seeds of spiritual bonding with music are sown early. In an age when the arts are accused of being distant from the general public this was indeed a sight to prove that the inspirational teaching skills of this talented group of dancers reach out to the people.

There is something in the experience of music and dance that helps us to feel free. Bur for the performer there is more. As a dancer in my childhood I well remember the agonies and the ecstasies on the road to excellence. First time on a wet slippery stage. The worst offence- kicking the swords. My competitor number flying off. Those awesomely difficult steps in the Hornpipe, with sixteen double highcuts. The joy of being able to do that king of dances. The Swords.

As the group leap nimbly from one dance into the next making it look so easy my mind flashes back to the character building experiences of the ceilidh circuit in Glasgow. Lightning quick changes into different outfits as programmes were hastily rearranged, usually because of the inevitable mystery of the disappearing artistes on an extended interval to the bar across the road. But performing was like a drug. You always wanted to go back. To do it better. As Billy Elliot said, “It's like electricity in you.” The Dannsa troupe generate that electricity. They create an ambience which invites the audience to share in their love of dance and music and song. Their blend of step and highland dancing injects new ideas into traditional formats and the Cape Breton and Celtic influences merge perfectly.

I thought the highlight of the evening for me was going to be the beautifully choreographed dance using fiddle bows as swords, but then there was the old and beautiful rendition of Thug mi 'n Oidhche Ge B'fhad I,- The Song of the Brothers: a song which has crossed the Atlantic to Cape Breton and has thankfully come back into popularity in Scotland again. To make my night complete the group performed as their encore my favourite dance, the hornpipe, to my favourite pipe tune, Crossing the Minch Since there were no souvenir T shirts I had to resort to having that brilliant tune put on my mobile phone to remind me of the Dannsa experience. The next time eight o¹clock will for me be quarter to, and in the front row!

Strathspey Away with Dannsa — 14-16 Nov 2003

Dannsa, a traditional step dance group, gave us their first weekend dance festival “Strathspey Away” on the 14th to 16th November. The weekend included first class dance tuition, concerts and ceilidhs. Based in Kingussie, in the Central Highlands, there were also opportunities to enjoy the countryside, do some early Christmas shopping and participate in a local session.

The weekend opened with a ceilidh to the high-spirited music of the Incredible Fling Band. Over two hundred people turned up for the ceilidh and the new Badenoch Centre provided an ideal venue.
Tuition on the Saturday and Sunday was offered in step dance, old Scottish reels and quadrilles, country dance, Irish set dance and hip hop. Classes were taught by members of Dannsa and guest tutors, Alan Irvine, Jim Barry and Johan MacLean. The flexible timetable was widely appreciated with eighty participants from as far afield as Barra, Bristol and Dublin taking part. There was also a strong local element, which was nice to see.

The step dance classes were all accompanied by music from Fin Moore, Karen Steven, Mary Ann Kennedy and Pat Clark. As dancers themselves they were able to give a unique insight into the dynamics between the music, Gaelic song and language and dance. The inter-relationship of dance and the arts, a theme running through the weekend, was also evident at the lunchtime concerts and art exhibition at the Iona Gallery.

One of the highlights of the weekend was surely the Dannsa concert on the Saturday night. Frank McConnell, Sandra Robertson, Mats Melin and Caroline Reagh delighted the audience with impressive footwork and new interpretations of traditional dances as well as social dances that everyone could get involved in.

The whole weekend was extremely well organised by Sandra Robertson who described it as “a successful and truly magical weekend”. This sentiment was echoed by Sheila MacLeod, a participant from Inverness who said, “this has been a fantastic opportunity to learn new dances, styles and steps in a friendly and creative environment”. An exhilarating and creatively inspiring weekend; this is definitely one to get in the diary for next year, 12th to 14th November 2004, see you there!

Tara Smart, Ullapool

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Scotch Four at Cromarty Hall, 2002 - © G Ramsay

An energetic evening with Dannsa

My heart tells me I attended a great concert the other night; my legs shout just as loudly that I was at a ceilidh. In fact, an evening in the company of Dannsa offers concert, ceilidh and then some: the three national traditional instruments of Scotland, dance, Gaelic song, and a unique opportunity to join in the spirit of the evening yourself.

When you sit back in the comfort of a concert hall, or by the stereo at home, to listen to sets of reels, jigs, strathspeys and hornpipes, do you ever wonder about the dances that drive, and are driven by, these rhythms? These days, when we hear traditional instrumental music from Celtic roots, it is usually presented as a staged performance. Yet so much of this music is Scottish, Irish, Welsh, or Breton dance music, and only recently has it been so likely to be showcased separately from the dances themselves. The melodies are certainly powerful enough to stand-alone. And the bands bringing them to us arrange the tunes in imaginative, often high-speed, sets that would defeat the stamina of even the most adventurous and athletic of dance groups. So while ceilidh dancing and ceilidh bands have thrived in the dance halls, the theatrical performance of “Celtic Music,” in its broadest sense, has been evolving apart from the dances with which it was once so closely bound.

In recent years, Irish bands have led the way in reuniting the music with the dance in performance settings. The Chieftains were first to do this on-stage with Irish step dance, touring with a young Michael Flately in the early 1980s. Cherish the Ladies have always performed with Irish step dance pairs or teams, and the popularity of the form soared with the Riverdance phenomenon in the 1990s. Now Scottish musicians and dancers are realising the importance of building upon the tremendous popularity of ceilidh and country dancing, and the re-awakened interest in Scottish step dance, by placing their dance traditions centre stage.

Caroline Reagh, Frank McConnell, Mats Melin, and Sandra Robertson are four dancers who are dedicated to sharing their enthusiasm for traditional Scottish step dance and old scotch reels. In Dannsa (Scots Gaelic for “dance”), they are partnered by three brilliant accompanists: Gaelic singer and clarsach player Mary Ann Kennedy, fiddler Mairi Campbell, and Fin Moore on Scottish small pipes and Highland pipes. On the evening I saw them, they were also joined by Hamish Moore’s 7-piece pipe band, whose repertoire pre-dates the tune sets of today’s piping competition circuit, also largely divorced from the dance traditions, and delves back into the tunes that pipers would have played for dancers in an older time. It was an exhilarating interlude. But back to the main event: Dannsa. Watching the dancers skip, tap, spin, and weave their way in and around each other, as their dances built with their music, was tremendously enjoyable and joyful. Hearing the Gaelic puirt-a-beul (mouth music) propelling the dance, as it was only ever intended to do, was a special highlight. As for singer Mary Ann Kennedy, she must surely have had access to an independent oxygen supply as she kept rhythm and lifted the dancers through their set. The dancers even gave the instrumentalists a break and offered us the riveting sound and spectacle of dance accompanied only by the rhythm of tapping feet. Returning the favour, each of the instrumentalists performed a solo piece on fiddle, pipes and harp in the course of the evening.

Just when I was thinking how much fun it all looked, we were invited to join in for a social dance well known to everyone in the crowd. This was one of several similar invitations throughout the course of the evening, and it helps make a Dannsa performance distinctive and so much fun. After being well warmed up by the sight of the dancers in full flight, the audience needed no encouragement to take to the floor each time. Australian guests of ours, who followed the band to their next gig, felt as warmly included as locals who grew up dancing these dances in school. Something for everyone.

The perfect blend of instrumental excellence, dance, song, and enthusiastic participation from stage to audience, gave this performance by Dannsa its matchless character. The audience drifted homeward surprised and elated. It was a spectacular demonstration of the bond between our national traditions in dance and music. Reunited in this way, they offer us a new dimension. As we strolled (and tapped) our way home, I was also struck by the contemporary feel of the evening: old dances revived and extended, guest Highland dancers substituting fiddle bows for swords in their sword dance, feet used as percussion and accompaniment to tunes, a sense of vitality and possibility in the re-working of traditions. I’m listening intently for the rhythmic approach of Dannsa towards my neighbourhood once again.

© Fiona Ritchie, 2003.
[Birnam performance with Na tri seudan and Gareth Mitchelson during March Tour 2003]

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Dannsa - Stirling, 21st March, 2003

From their relaxed and exuberant entrance until the last toe had stopped tapping, Dannsa - Mats Melin, Frank McConnell, Sandra Robertson and Caroline Reagh - gave their audience a wonderful night. Performing for a hall of local people and delegates from the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust conference, the group literally swept us off our feet.

What struck me as unique about Dannsa is the combination of spectacle and participation (the audience could have taken more of the latter) that they offer, and varied programme incorporating elements of traditional dances, creative extensions of these, and familiar social dances. The dancers' obvious enjoyment of the experience, and their interaction with each other, is a delight. This pervades the whole way in which this event was staged, so that the centre-stage bench where the dancers put on their shoes before our eyes seemed perfectly natural in this context. Also, the mix of solo and group dances meant that the dancers of Dannsa provided an audience for each other, lacing the night with stories, humour and banter with the musicians.

Items which stood out me included the outstanding sword dances featuring guest Highland dancers, and using fiddle bows in place of swords. The waulking song had the dancers joining in the chorus and providing exciting cross-rhythms between voices and feet, building the momentum of dance and music to a peak at the end.

It was a pleasure to hear the music performed acoustically by Dannsa's able accompanists Mary Ann Kennedy (voice and clarsach), Mairi Campbell (fiddle) and Finn Moore (pipes), although the singer was occasionally inaudible. A change of staging could have remedied this easily. Other guests were Hamish Moore's Na Tri Seudan (The three treasures), a group made up of fine pipers well established in the world of Highland piping. They played in a lively and musical style derived not from the competition pipe bands of the present day, but drawing on an older, dance-related idiom. This was obviously effective as several of the dancers got up spontaneously to accompany them, and piper Donal Brown transformed himself into a dancer too!

The step dance Latha Lunasdail (1st of August) with its perfect match of mouth music and steps (the ideal tune being discovered almost by chance) was an example of the role of luck and persistence in any research. In fact one of the overriding impressions of Dannsa's work is their care for the past (and extensive research into older dances) and their encouragement of the new. They are masters at effortlessly educating their audience, while moving us with their own considerable skill.

The finale - a rithist - had musicians and dancers all up on the floor to the port a beul Seallaibh Curraigh Eoghainn (Look at Owen's coracle). Further emphasis - if it be needed - that this music is for dancing to! Dannsa will certainly get a warm welcome next time they're in Stirling, and I get to do another Strip the Willow with Frank McConnell!

Jo Miller

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"Are you coming along to Dannsa?"

was the invite thrown to me on Friday the 14th of March. I'd heard of the visit by the dance troupe last year and determined that I should get along and support the visitors, not half the reason being that I was intrigued as to what they actually did? So, that night I turned up with my friend (who coincidentally had worked with Frank McConnell years before) to see what Dannsa were up to at Lionel School.

The feet were already tapping by the time we entered the hall, which wonderfully was encircled shoulder to shoulder with an entranced audience.

The official blurb says "Dannsa (Gaelic for 'dance'), is a fairly new traditional dance performance group whose core consists of Caroline Reagh, Sandra Robertson, Frank McConnell and Mats Melin. The group came about in 1999 when Mats was asked, by the National Kidney Association, to put together a performance piece bridging traditional and contemporary dance elements for a Charity Gala performance at Eden Court in Inverness..."

But what we saw was more than traditional dance as I expected it...

"From one single idea based on the rhythm and the sounds of a spinning wheel, a 15-minute piece, now called the Spinning Reel, was created."

It was amazing ... the clicks and soft steps shuffling and tapping out the sounds of the wheel and then came the waulking songs ... transfixed I watched the dancers weave in and out, and felt the sun on my shoulders as I paused at the Cross-Skigersta junction to listen to the echoing rhythms of the shuttle running through the warp and back.

As one of the troupe announced that it was our turn I expected a little reticence, but no ... the dance floor filled up and partners were spun to traditional waltzes and others such as "Strip the Willow". The evening continued with more displays of new arrangements of traditional dances accompanied by pipes, fiddle, harp and the stunning voice of Mary Ann Kennedy, who gave us some spellbinding renditions of traditional Gaelic song.

It would have gone on longer I'm sure but for the sound of the school bell ringing to signal home-time! All in all... a night to remember - Thanks to all the Dannsa crew.

Helen Alexander

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Wednesday 12th March, Macphail Theatre, Ullapool. (Ullapool News)

An evening of music and dance effortlessly performed. Dannsa led us, through some seamless choreography, which flowed with understated energy! We were treated to new interpretations of Old Reels, Sword Dances, Jigs and Hornpipes to the accompaniment of wonderful music and song performed by Mary Ann Kennedy vocals and clarsach, Fin Moore on pipes and Mairi Campbell vocals and fiddle. In the course of the evening each performed beautiful solo pieces providing an opportunity for the dancers to catch breath!

The unaccompanied pieces were equally spellbinding. The rhythm of the foot beats at one time supporting a solo sword dance. At other times the steps provided the percussive backing to the music and song. The dances to puirt-a-beul demonstated the enduring link between song and dance. A new set, dancing to the rhythms of work, was accommpanied by a series of waulking songs. The intricacy of the moves in the dance were carried out with such ease the dancers weaving and spinning their way around the floor.

The evening finished to the delight of the up until then, sedentary audience, with an Orcadian "Strip the Willow" in true Macphail Theatre style!

Those of you who weren't there missed a truly memorable evening.

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Dannsa Delight

It was not only the floorboards of the Kilmorack Village Hall which were springing, above the village of Beauly recently. Scottish traditional dance company Dannsa (Gaelic for Dance) ,were nearing the end of their Spring tour and had chosen this community hall for their Inverness-shire concert. The four dancers, Matts Melin, a native of Sweden but now living in Scotland, Frank McConnell of Conon Bridge, Caroline Reagh of Ardross and Sandra Robertson of Kingussie demonstrated a wide and spectacular range of Scottish traditional dances. Many given a refreshing new treatment which were a delight to behold . Particularly enjoyable was the new take on the traditional Sword Dance. There were no kilts to be seen but the rhythm of the feet, stepping faster than the eye could see , surely evoked the images of the Massed Pipes and Drums to everyone in the audience. Particlularly refreshing was the sight of so many youngsters there that night , transfixed by the sight and sound of the dancers and all of them them were inspired to get up and join the dancers at various points in the evening. The dancers were supported by the excellent and at times, most moving musicianship of Fin Moore on Scottish small pipes and the Highland bagpipes, Marie Campbell on fiddle and haunting Scots vocals and Mary Ann Kennedy ,who apart from contributing marvellously evocative and pointed Gaelic Puirt a Beul and waulking songs, also accompanied the others on Clarsach . A finer demonstration of the close partnership between our native dances and the music which inspired them, could not be had anywhere and it is strongly recommended you try to catch their next round of concerts. The company will shortly be taking their skills to Sweden and we can only be intensely envious of the Swedes.

Fiona Mackenzie, Dingwall

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Dannsa, St Andrew's in the Square, Glasgow, 17th January 2003

Mary Brennan

What's this? Reels and strathspeys, and full-throated pipes, their skirling rising to the topmost cherub on the kirk ceiling. And dancing. Witty footwork full of a vivacity that would have encouraged Tam o'Shanter's eyes to pop in delight.

Only this Celtic Connections event (presented by the Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust) wasn't set amid the ruins of Alloway Kirk but in the handsomely restored St Andrew's in the Square. No Cutty Sarks on display either, but Dannsa, all ready for action in trousers and cutting a genial dash with a repertoire of Scottish step dance. In style and mood this was really a feel-good hooley. The audience swiftly found their own feet, joining in the Gay Gordons, the Military Two-Step, and a host of other sociable favourites that are still the hallmark of a fine ceilidh. In between, Dannsa - Caroline Reagh, Frank McConnell, Mats Melin, and Sandra Robertson - took to the floor. Not to make an exhibition of themselves, however, for all four wear their expertise lightly.

Group dances evoke a sense of the community context in which they originated while solos seemed to happen in response to live music. Not just as a dialogue with their own singers/musicians but also, spontaneously, to the rich energy of Na Tri Suedan, a seven-strong band of young pipers led by Hamish Moore that made a resounding debut last night. Happy folk were Stripping the Willow when I left, oh so reluctantly.

(The Herald, 18th January 2003)

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Highland News Group - Jan 4, 2003

Top Dance in 2002

1. Dannsa at Carrbridge Village Hall
2. Scottish Dance Theatre triple bill
3. Scottish Ballet - The Snowman
4. Ballet West - The Nutcracker
5. Classical Dance Centre - Celtic Spirit - Eden Court

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Dannsa — a review (Easter Tour 2002)

The saintly Fr. Calum MacNeil, who did a valiant job drilling me and, what seemed like, hundreds of others in Highland dancing every Saturday morning at St Peter's Hall in Daliburgh, produced some very fine dancers. I was not one of them. If my memory serves me well, his classes in Daliburgh were set up in the late 1950s and ran for a few years. But with Fr Calum's translation to another parish, things changed and I never again danced a 'Paddy Bah' (as I imagined it was spelt) other than when showing off during an Eightsome Reel at the Balivanich Gym.

I say all this in an attempt to excuse my limited knowledge and appreciation of the art of dancing. It also explains why I hardly savoured the prospect of sitting through a couple of hours of dancing having felt obliged, because I knew two of the dancers involved, to attend a recent performance by Dannsa.

Dannsa is a company of traditional dancers who toured communities in the Highlands and Islands this Spring. When I saw them in Portree the company's dancers, Caroline Reagh, Sandra Robertson, Mats Melin and Frank McConnell, were supported by singer, Arthur Cormack, Fin Moore on pipes, Ronan Martin on fiddle, Mary Ann Kennedy on clarsach and vocals. At other venues the mix of support musicians varied.

There is something deliciously heart-warming to have gone along to a performance more in hope than expectation only to find yourself thoroughly enchanted at its conclusion. Dannsa put on a performance that was enthralling, riveting and uplifting as well as being thoroughly professional. I was astonished by how much I enjoyed Dannsa - this was but one of many surprises that evening.

Their performance was a rich blend of new and traditional dance pieces, delivered in a happy, relaxed and seemingly effortless fashion. It was also a performance of surprising diversity. The changes were rung by alternating solo dances with ensemble performances, and dancing to the backing of pipes and fiddle and then to puirt a beul. All this was interspersed with solo contributions from Fin and Ronan on the pipes and fiddle and songs from Mary Ann and Arthur.

At the break I wondered if Dannsa could inject even more variety into an already diverse performance. Well, they did — in fact, very soon after the restart when the troupe made me sit up with surprise as they enthusiastically joined in the chorus of a waulking song while continuing to dance. And just when we were least expecting it, the piper danced. Dannsa's performance exuded creativity and was manifestly well researched and prepared. It also had an endearing freedom and integrity and I marvelled at the dancers' ability to follow one lung-bursting piece with another.

In such an accomplished show, where the whole seemed greater than the sum of each member's input, it would be invidious to single out individual performances. But perhaps I might mention particular highlights. Frank MacConnell's dance to the jig "Donald, Willie and his Dog" was a joyous and appropriate combination. Mats Melin's interpretation of the "Flowers of Edinburgh" sent a tingle up my back-bone and I was lachrymose during Fin Moore's playing of "Mrs Stuart of Pitcaitland" - during which he managed to re-tune a drone on his small pipes without missing a beat! Mary Ann's singing of Taladh Dhomhnaill Ghuirm was memorable - nor will I easily forget the grace and style of both Caroline and Sandra.

I suppose I believe that it is better for artistes not to leave an audience totally sated at the end of a performance. However, when the curtain closed on Dannsa after an enthusiastically requested and received encore, this sound philosophy had deserted me — I really craved more!

Dannsa is a combine which surely must have a great future and, if they return to Portree even with exactly the same performance, it would not be (as we say in Gaelic) a case of running but jumping to see them again.

(Cailean MacLean, Portree, April 2002)

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(Step 2000, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Ross-shire Journal, Nov 27 2001)

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"Taken at face value, Highland step-dancing doesn't appear to have a lot going for it. It's less flamboyant than the high-stepping Irish kind and lacks the razzle-dazzle of Tap. It's just someone shuffling about in a half-hearted attempt at dancing, isn't it?

Anyone of that opinion would have soon been disabused by the virtuosity and creativity that has been applied to the genre by teachers Mats Melin, Caroline Reagh, Sandra Robertson and Frank McConnell who put themselves through the paces as Dannsa, an unassuming quartet who let their twinkling toes do the talking.

Without pushing the form into the realms of showbusiness or music hall, they have developed a traditional kind of terpsichore that combines line-dancing with set dancing to create progressive dances that seem quite uncontrived and are performed with a deceptively casual grace and evident enjoyment."

(Step 2000, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Inverness Courier, Nov 27 2001)