Initiated and curated by us at the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, the Pomegranates Festival of world trad dance is produced through collaboration. In particular, our major academic partner, Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.
Since its inaugural edition in spring 2022 until its current fourth iteration in 2025, Pomegranates couldn’t have been possible without this partnership. In particular, our partnership with the innovative and unique Master’s in Dance Science and Education course, which gives professional dancers the scientific theory and specialist skills to push the frontiers of dance and dance education, including traditional dance.
As the only charitable organisation of its kind in Scotland, advocating, supporting and safeguarding all Scottish and world traditional dance forms practised across the country, we were one of the contenders in the Scottish Charity Awards Partnership of the Year 2024 due to the strength of this academic partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh. Also, in part due to this academic partnership, our Pomegranates Festival made it to the #ListHot100 as one of the 100 most influential cultural events of 2024 across Scotland. In 2025, the festival was praised for its dynamic curation that challenges outdated stereotypes about ‘traditional dance’.
How and when did the academic and the traditional dance world of the Pomegranates Festival converge to enable this partnership to thrive?
It was back in 2018 when the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and the Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh joined their efforts for the first time to secure funding from Creative Scotland which led to the year-long joint residency of the outstanding US percussive dance artist Nic Gariess (pictured above) with Scotland-wide public events throughout 2019. This residency continues to yield its legacy by saving Scottish Step dance from extinction. Going forward, our ambition is to award at least one 12-month-long joint residency per year.
Since 2018 we have continued to offer year-round placements for postgraduate dance students-in-residence at the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland with curatorial mentorship and hands-on experience of world trad dance across Edinburgh. Since 2022, these placements have been culminating at the Pomegranates Festival. Most recently, in 2023-25 we hosted not one but three residencies of the postgraduate students and dance artists per year, including those of Yingzhou Xie, Lingqiao Hong, Jiarui Liao, Xiaoxuan Zhong (pictured below), Jingyin Cai and Yu Xie.
The predecessor of the Pomegranates Festival?
In June 2019, to celebrate Nic Gareiss’ residency we jointly co-produced the mini-festival for global percussive dance which we staged across Edinburgh. This gave us the confidence to work together with our academic partner and aim for bigger and bolder collaborative projects. Fast forward to April 2022, when co-launched Pomegranates – Scotland’s first and only annual festival of Scottish and world traditional dance forms practised up and down the country.
The first four years 2022-25 of co-producing the Pomegranates Festival of Scottish and world traditional dance not only featured the cohort of postgraduates on the festival stages and screens. We were reassured that our partnership makes a huge difference in the professional development of 50+ students and academic staff, as well as the 250+ members at the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland.
We also know that the Pomegranetes Festival impacts positively on the health and wellbeing of all our other festival participants and audiences. Every year Pomegranates has become the platform for our diverse Forum members, alongside students and staff to teach, learn and perform. We couldn’t have done this without the in-kind access to the world-class hybrid facilities at the St Leonard’s Land Dance Studio, Moray House School of Education and Sport or the pro-bono expertise of the academics and dance scholars at the Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences, including Dr Wendy Timmons, as well as the Head of the Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity (CREID) John Ravenscroft, who said:
“I am very pleased to continue to forge our strategic academic partnership with the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland which dates back to 2018. Great to see the return of the Pomegranates Festival choreographer-in-residence Jonzi D who delivered the seminal Decolonising the Curriculum keynote lecture at Moray House School of Education and Sport as part of last year’s Pomegranates Festival. I am also excited about the opening festival show Socratic Circles which is part of the wider campaign advocating for the diverse forms of world traditional dance becoming a primary ingredient of our children’s primary education. This campaign is run by the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland in conjunction with our Centre and our School while Socratic Circles is funded by the University of Edinburgh through the Edinburgh Local Community Fund.”
In addition, every year the Pomegranates Festival provides a wider public showcase for the range of our artists’ residencies and dance theatre productions open to new and returning audiences, including families and young people. From the outset Pomegranates was recognised as an innovatively curated and affordable festival with equality, diversity, inclusion and internationality is at its core, not an add-on. It is also an integral part of TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) major festivals and we are aiming to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Pomegranates Festival in 2026.
Year-round, we will continue to advocate for the vibrancy and visibility of Scottish and world trad dance practised across the country as part of our global intangible heritage through our three major routes at Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland – festivals, residencies and productions, all of which rely on our academic partnership with Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh. Our ambition is together to develop world trad dance courses and provide certified continuous professional development opportunities to dance artists across Scotland and beyond. We hope to facilitate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland and Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.
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In the meantime, join us to experience the outcome of our latest collaborative efforts at five of the Pomegranates Festival events 25-30 April events – free or Pay What You Can at https://www.tdfs.org/pomegranates/
Socratic Circles
The latest example of our unique way of co-devising new dance theatre through Socratic Dialogues between students and pupils – students undertaking their Master’s Degree in Dance Science and Education and Primary 6 pupils at Edinburgh’s Abbeyhill and Royal Mile Primary Schools.
Part of our joint campaign for Scottish and world trad dance as a primary ingredient of our children’s primary education.
World Trad Dance on Screen
The opening festival programme of 10 short dance films, which features the first and the second in our trilogy of screen dance co-productions, namely The Bright Fabric of Life and To Begin the Dance Once More.
Part of our joint campaign to put traditional dance in the frame of the global screen dance movement which is dominated by contemporary and classical dance.
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Ceilidh Plus
The fourth in our collaborative series of multicultural community ceilidhs where Scotland meets the world through mixing the Scottish Ceilidh with at different social traditional dance and music cultures.
Part of our joint campaign to make the Scottish Ceilidh tradition inclusive to the multi-ethnic communities which make up contemporary Scotland.
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Dance Around the World with Masks
The fourth of our day-long continuous professional development workshops for students and dance artists from across Scotland held at St Leonard’s Land Dance Studio.
Part of our joint campaign to develop world trad dance courses and provide certified continuous professional development opportunities to dance artists across Scotland and
beyond.
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Hidden Faces
The fourth of our Pomegranates Festival finales celebrating International Dance Day with a new hip hop dance theatre co-choreographed (for a second festival year!) by the father of hip hop dance theatre Jonzi D, plus a dozen of students, dancers and musicians from across Scotland. Also, a curtain raiser solo Sequins by Kalubi Mukengela-Jacoby – a recent graduate of the Master’s Degree in Dance Science and Education.
Part of our joint campaign to fill in a gap in Scotland’s performing arts landscape of dance theatre for the stage rooted in traditional dance.
Established in 2014, Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland is the only national organisation of its kind dedicated to the advancement of all forms of traditional and social dance. It advocates for and supports the diverse Scottish and world trad dance forms practised in Scotland ranging from Ceilidh to Old Time, Swing to Hip Hop as an integral part of our global intangible cultural heritage. It provides free membership to over 250 traditional dance artists and organisations and supports them through three major routes – productions, residencies and festivals such as Pomegranates. A registered charity (SCIO SC045085) and a founding member of TRACS (Traditional Arts & Culture Scotland) www.tdfs.org
TRACS (Traditional Arts & Culture Scotland) (SCIO, SC043009) is a co-operative network which champions our shared traditions of music, song, storytelling, dance, crafts, customs and local languages. TRACS celebrates the local distinctiveness of Scotland’s places: our intangible cultural heritage. TRACS brings together the Traditional Music Forum (SCIO SC042867), the Scottish Storytelling Forum (SCIO SC052330) and the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland (SCIO SC045085). Supported by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council. www.tracscotland.org
Moray House School of Education and Sport has been making a major contribution to the fields of education and sport for 175 years. Moray House staff, students and alumni have influenced, improved and transformed learning, teaching and policy worldwide. The innovative and unique Master’s in Dance Science and Education gives dancers the scientific theory and specialist skills to push the frontiers of dance and dance education.
Moray House School of Education and Sport
Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity (CREID)
MSc Dance Science and Education
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery, which, now in its 30th year, has supported over 14,600 projects with more than £501.9 million in funding through Creative Scotland and its predecessor, the Scottish Arts Council. Further information at creativescotland.com and the social media channels on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. More about the value of art and creativity in Scotland at www.ourcreativevoice.scot