From the archive: Country dance festival - 20 March, 1950

DANCING at the two-day Scottish Country Dancing Festival in the Music Hall, Aberdeen was “back to the most excellent standards of pre-war”, according to the adjudicator, Miss Jean Milligan.

With the temporary halt in Scottish Country Dancing Festivals brought about by the war, they had had to start practically from the beginning when the war ended, she said. “The dancing will never be quite right however, until we have the men taking part,” she added. “I was pleased to see such fine men taking part tonight. The whole object of the Festival is to keep up the standard and to get the men back on the floor, making Scotland a dancing country again.” Her main criticism at the session was that many of the dances were done too fast. She advised competitors to take the proper time, saying: “I am sure there were many in the audience who said, ‘That’s not for me.’ Dances should be such as could be done by an 80-year-old.”