WinQeilidh Community Guidelines

Connection: ceilidh dancing is fun because we connect with others socially — and also physically! These guidelines help us do that in a safe, supportive, and welcoming way.

Care: the first rule of ceilidh is don’t hurt anyone — including ourselves! We all do our best to avoid pushing, squeezing, clenching, clamping, clinging, wrenching, and anything at all involving fingernails or thumbs. We also take care of each other socially: we are kind and respectful with each other.

Consent: We can ask anyone to dance, and we can all accept or decline without explanations. We mix around by default but we also know that people may have a good reason for choosing to stay with a single partner.

Community: Ceilidh is part of a big community of folk and social dancing, with diverse conventions. At WinQeilidh we are enthusiastically gender-free, which means we understand that who we are doesn’t come with any obligations about where and with whom we dance. That’s our choice.

(Lack of) Complexity: dancers at WinQeilidh have a wide range of experience (including none!), so we keep dances at an accessible level.

Consideration: to the best of our ability, we treat others as they would like to be treated. We know that other people may not share our preferences, so we ask them.

Clarity: WinQeilidh is about learning together, so if we aren’t sure how to do something, or a call wasn’t clear, we ask. And we know that when it comes to dance many answers are opinions or preferences rather than absolute facts.

Comedy: sometimes we will intentionally be funny, and other times things will just go a bit sideways. The best response to mistakes is smiles, laughter, and trying again.

Communication: we talk to each other to resolve concerns — including failure to live up to these guidelines. If you have an experience that falls short of the expectations described here, please talk to one of the event organisers (Linda, Louise, or Tim) about it so we can help.