Akelarre Dance

Akelarre visit Peebles August 2008

Tuesday 26th August 2008 saw the arrival of the Basque Dance Group, Akelarre. The group arrived in Peebles early evening to the skirl of bagpipes and were welcomed to Peebles by Peebles-Hendaye Twinning Association Chairman Bruce Macalister at a reception within Peebles Rugby Club where Akelarre members were introduced to their host families.
During the buffet the group sang one or two Basque songs and also performed some traditional dances before being whisked off for a good night?s sleep.

The theme for this year?s visit was the European Community Year of Cultural Dialogue, and with this very much in mind the group set off Wednesday afternoon to visit the "Heart of Hawick", a cultural regeneration project in neighbouring textile town, Hawick.
The E.U. has helped with this building project in Hawick which consists of a state of the art theatre/cinema, arts workshop spaces, coffee shop and tourist information centre in a former textile mill. All this is linked to a heritage research centre for visitors and locals to establish their ancestry.

The Scottish Borders Council?s Arts Development Department assisted us in setting up and promoting the workshop and performance in Hawick.
The group gained some valuable rehearsal time on stage while Agnès held a tutorial for several local young dancers. The evening performance was voted a great success as was the subsequent visit to the Exchange Bar.

On Thursday morning we visited Peebles High School where the students taught our visitors a few Scottish Country dances, including the "Dashing White Sergeant" which came in useful at the Tontine Ball. Akelarre exists to promote and teach Basque Culture and Dance and they soon had all the PHS students up dancing a Basque polka, followed by an adaptation of the Conga.
On Thursday evening the group performed to a packed Eastgate Theatre in Peebles and received a tumultuous ovation. The variety in style and pace of their programme bears testament to their overall skill and success.

Edinburgh was the destination on Friday with members of the group visiting different tourist sights, shops in the Old Town, the Scottish Parliament, and even Arthur's Seat.
In the evening we all convened at the Tontine Hotel for the Arts Festival Ball where a 12 piece swing band had us all dancing the night away.

On Saturday morning the Dancers and Musicians held an outdoor performance in Peebles Quadrangle followed by an excellent lunch at Peebles Hotel Hydro. Our guest of honour at lunch was Jeremy Purvis, MSP, who addressed the company on Intercultural Dialogue. He spoke of relations in Europe, but gave examples of globalisation to illustrate the importance of maintaining dialogue between nations and cultures.