An award-winning educational project is coming to The Stove Network, 100 High Street, on Friday 20th April which aims to bring people together through science and music. In collaboration with Blueprint100 and as part of Dumfries & Galloway Science Festival, the Science Ceilidh will bring a mixture of both traditional and more science-themed dances to celebrate culture in its broadest sense with dance, poetry, storytelling, music and science.
Euan Macrory, Curatorial Team Member of Blueprint100, commented: “We’re really looking forward to bringing this amazing event to Dumfries and believe that this will be a great opportunity for us and our members to explore the overlap between science and art. The Science Ceilidh Band are a team of experienced educators, scientists, musicians and folk dancers who will help you explore all the questions you might have between creativity and your brain!”
The Science Ceilidh explores questions such as the benefits of music to learning, dance to cognitive ageing, linking creativity and resilience and how being bilingual can help protect against dementia. They break down science topics into their core steps and use ceilidh dance to represent this, from simulating the immune system with the Dashing White Blood Cell to swinging a partner DNA base-pairs in the Orcadian-Strip-the-Helix. They have had over 12,000 dancers up and moving since their inception in April 2014.
The evening will be led by neuroscience educator Lewis Hou alongside the Science Ceilidh Band, and will start with a creative workshop, followed by a discussion, finishing with the ceilidh. Everyone is welcome to participate in this free event – no specific science or dance experience needed! The event will begin at 8pm. Spaces are limited so visit the Blueprint100 Facebook page to find out more information and reserve a place.
Prior to the Ceilidh, there will also be a roundtable discussion held at The Stove Network at 5.30pm with Blueprint100 and Lewis Hou. The Dumfries Cultural Democracy Roundtable will explore ways in which cultural activities can be supported around Dumfries and across Scotland, how more diverse people can be engaged to become active participants in culture, not just as audiences and how people can broaden their appreciation of culture to value the everyday creativity that goes on in communities. The roundtable discussion is open to all – more information is available on the Blueprint100 Facebook page.
