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Meet the Tayside YouTubers keeping Scottish country dancing alive

The Tay Dancers' YouTube channel has followers in more than 50 countries.

Group of people in kilts and formal dresses standing around crocheted Christmas tree
The Tay Dancers are toasting 10 years on YouTube. Image: Supplied

Scottish country dancing may not be the fixture it once was in schools and village halls.

But thanks to these local enthusiasts, it’s still alive and kicking on YouTube and around the world.

The Tay Dancers are a group of friends from Perthshire, Dundee and Angus who joined forces in December 2014 to record some of their moves.

Ten years on, they have performed around 250 dances and gained a growing global audience.

The Tay Dancers YouTube channel has followers in more than 50 countries and their videos have racked up around 400,000 views.

Spokeswoman Irene Geoghegan says the team are looking forward to their next decade.

Screengrab of a group of eight people in kilts and tartan sashes doing a Scottish country dance
The dancers record another tutorial. Image: Tay Dancers/YouTube.

“When we started, we thought we’d have some fun, and a bit of a laugh, and maybe get to help some people as well,” she said.

“And then we started getting all these hits around the world, and people asking ‘could you do this dance please’.

“Sometimes we’ll go out to dances now and people will say ‘Oh are you one of the Tay Dancers?’.”

Tay Dancers YouTube moves bringing joy to wider audience

There’s a core team of eight, who gather at Birkhill Millennium Hall every month, plus Irene’s husband Tom, who films, edits and uploads the dances.

Tom and Irene Geoghegan seated on sofa
Tom and Irene.

The aim was to perform and record Scottish country dances that appeared on dance programmes, but only had written instructions online.

This would give dancers a chance to visualise the moves before going to events.

Ten years, and 250 YouTube dances on, the Tay Dancers are still finding new material.

And they celebrated the anniversary with three new dance recordings – Ten Years On, Celebration Reel and Frisky Ten Years.

Group of people in kilts and tartan sashes dancing in a circle
The group are not planning to slow down any time soon. Image: Tay Dancers/YouTube.

Irene says it’s particularly useful now that fewer youngsters are learning Scottish country dancing in schools.

And she says older dancers also find the videos helpful if it’s been a while since they danced and their memories are a little rusty.

“It’s very difficult to get younger people into Scottish country dancing now. So hopefully we can show them that it’s not just for old folk,” she said.

“It’s a great activity to improve physical and mental health, and it’s very sociable.”

The Tay Dancers’ videos can be viewed on YouTube and the Scottish Dancing Dictionary website.

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