A traditional Scottish ceilidh might not be the first thing you’d expect to find in central London on a Friday night.
But inside Cecil Sharp House in Camden, Londoners of all ages are swapping nightclubs and DJs for folk dancing and a live band.
The London Ceilidh Club has been running since 1998, and organisers say demand is rising, particularly among younger Londoners looking for an alternative to the city’s usual kind of partying.
Unlike most dance events, you don’t have to worry about whether your dance moves are cool enough.
Every movement is called out live and attendees can learn a miriad of new dances in less than a minute, before trying their luck on the sprung dance floor.
Ed McCabe, founder of the London Ceilidh Club said: “We have to have communal spaces for folk that allow people to come together in a nice environment that’s well looked after and well run.
“Because those are the areas that people are going to meet. They’re going to meet their friends, they’re going to have great times, they’re going to meet a partner, they’re going to have children, they’re going to have all these things because these places exist.
“And it’s so much more fun than Tinder!”
For many attending, it’s a chance for people of all ages to connect with strangers and make new friends, in a city that can feel quite isolating.
With rising interest in folk traditions and Londoners searching for healthier, more social ways to spend an evening, the humble ceilidh is stepping back into the spotlight.
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