About
As the mist curls over the green hills, the sound of a lone bagpipe echoes a haunting tune through the valley; a shepherd and his two border collies drive laggard sheep home; the last rays of sunlight shine golden on the stone walls of Edinburgh Castle. Now is the time to dance, as the people of Scotland have for centuries.
Stroll with us down a narrow street, towards the sound of fiddles, accordions, drums, and laughter. Push open the door and you’re swept into the hall. The dance has begun, a lively reel, an elegant strathspey, and then a display of the dancing of the Highland Sword Dance, the Highland Fling, and the Seann Triubhas.
Who We Are
Dunsmuir Scottish Dancers Scottish Country, Highland, and Step Dancing Performance Group of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area is a company dedicated to keeping alive the spirit and form of Scottish dances, old and new. Our repertoire spans four centuries of dance tradition. Period costumes and musical stylings bring the past to the present.
We offer your gathering a wide variety of Scottish dancing. You will enjoy lively country dance reels, as well as elegant strathspeys. We perform works from the 18th Century, and dances created by contemporary devisers.
In addition to country and Highland dances, our performances include the historic National Dances. Highland dancers of the Dunsmuir troupe have competed and won awards in America, Canada, and Scotland. Our musicians have performed throughout the United States.
Here's one of the tunes we dance to called "Ladies of Clan MacKay"...
If you're interested in purchasing this tune and others, please visit Ron Wallace's website. Then click "Listen to selections" to hear other sample clips.
Our Dances
Our dances are our history, representing Scottish war, freedom, superstition and oppression. They express our pride, joy, and grief. Watch the dances, you will see a story unfold, step by step. Dunsmuir Scottish Dancers offer many performance options, using live or recorded music. We will be happy to teach your group a dance or two. Recent performances have ended with the entire audience pushing back their chairs and joining us! We have danced at the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Highland Games, Masonic functions, fund raisers, and Celtic Festivals.
Our Dancers
Current Dancers are:
Catherine Berner, Myra Blaylock, Mark Burt, Huy Dang, Charlotte Houston, Joanne Houston, Xenia Kestitalo, John McComas, Dwayne McQuilliams, Mary McQuilliams, Zuriah Meacham, Jane Muirhead, Pat O'Brien, Sylvain Pelletier, Mary Prout, Donald Robertson, Shari Salis, Cindy Sobrero, Linda Turner, Salina Welsh, Tim Wilson and Tom Winter.
Current Musicians are:
Gary Thomas, piano; Ron Wallace, recorder, bagpipes; Michele Winter, fiddle; and Donald Robertson, percussion.
