Events

We hold weekly reeling practices throughout each Full Term at the University of Cambridge. The dates and times for these practices are disseminated at the start of each Term and weekly reminders are sent out via our mailing list and posted on our social media platforms. To subscribe to our mailing list, or to follow us on Facebook or Instagram, please click on the relevant icon at the bottom of the page.

Neither Scottish blood nor prior experience reeling or with any other form of dancing are required to join practices, and beginners are always welcome. We do not ask for any commitment, so please do feel free to come along for a week or two and see if it might be for you, with no commitment to keep coming thereafter, or to come to every practice. Generally, we teach a new two reels each week, and each session is entirely standalone, so there is never any need to worry about falling behind.

If, after practice, you find you have a bit of a thirst, fear not! After each session, we retire to a local pub en masse, usually with the Committee leading from the front.

We aim to host at least two balls each academic year, typically a black tie ball in the Michaelmas Term, and a white tie ball in the Lent Term. Priority for these events goes to members of the Society, but we are usually also fortunate enough to be able to welcome guests from across the United Kingdom to join us for an evening of reeling, including from the Oxford, Durham and St Andrews Caledonian societies. At these balls, we dance the full complement of reels, accompanied by a live band and piper and interspersed with some rock’n’roll, and provide a full dinner or breakfast service and plenty of drink to keep you dancing all night. In addition to these balls, we endeavour to host a more relaxed black tie party each Term with no teaching, but which offers a less pressured environment to practice what you have learned.

The Committee are currently aiming to bring back the traditional Burns supper for January 2025, so we can once again partake together in the great Scots celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns. Expect the Selkirk grace, haggis, neeps and tatties, speeches and toasts, singing and poetry, and plenty of whisky to wash it all down.

As a Society, we maintain strong ties with other university Caledonian societies and aim to send tables to their balls where possible, in addition to taking part in the London reeling season, including the St Andrews Ball and the Royal Caledonian Ball, and the Highland Balls in Scotland. This can make for a very active social calendar!