Join the club: Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Lyon Branch

We get a lot of engineers,” said Laure Gardelle, dance teacher at the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society in Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). No wonder, considering how she talks about it.

She likes the symmetry of figures, choreographed movements and rhythm patterns in 4/4 time arranged in a series of eight bars. She explains how the science of it lies in balancing a seemingly limitless number of figures into a multifaceted dance.

Ms Gardelle is no scientist, engineer or mathematician, however, but a researcher and teacher of English at the University of Grenoble.

She learned about Scottish country dancing while on a study-abroad programme as a French language assistant at the University of Leeds in 1999-2000 and was instantly hooked. Upon returning home a year later, she continued with Breton dancing until a friend told her, in 2002, that there was an association for Scottish country dancing in Lyon.

Members meet every Friday from 19:00 to 21:00, during which they practise four different dances and learn the figures for each. Children’s classes take place every Monday.

This is where the maths comes in.

“Figures are counted in eight bars. One dance equals four sets of eight bars. You then change position and go back again, four times eight bars once again as a couple,” she said. “The pleasure comes from combining figures and exploring variations,” she added.

It’s a numbers game

Ms Gardelle is also responsible for several tutorial videos on the association’s website, drawing on F.L. Pilling’s Scottish Country Dancing diagrams, commonly known as the “Little Green Book”.

It is a pure numbers game.

The Fisherman’s Reel, The Deil Amang The Tailors and Cherrybank Gardens are all dances explained by Ms Gardelle using F.L. Pilling’s system: a combination of squares, rectangles and triangles, numbers from two to 32, and letters arranged almost like equations.

Scottish country dancing has gained popularity across France, a country whose dance traditions are more commonly associated with Brittany, Alsace and Savoie through danses bretonnes, alsaciennes and savoyardes.

It seems that, over the years, members have retained something of Scotland.

Are they Scottish?

“One or two members out of every hundred. Almost all of them are French,” she said.

Surely they speak English?

“Most do not, actually,” she added.

Have they even been to Scotland?

“Some developed an interest in Scotland after a trip, yes,” she said. “But the appeal really comes from the atmosphere and the sense of community.”

The branch stands by the federation’s credo: fun, fitness and friendship. Members do not take part in competitions or performance events.

It was founded in 1986 through the association La Chanterelle, which brought together traditional dances from around the world. In 1992, two English teachers began teaching Scottish country dancing every two weeks, before moving to weekly classes.

Loyal membership

The Lyon branch is affiliated with the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, which has 25,000 members and is headquartered in Edinburgh. It is one of three branches promoting Scottish country dancing in France, alongside Paris and Brittany.

The association completed its 2025-26 season with a mini-ball on June 19 and a barbecue on June 27.

It is already looking forward to the next season.

An annual membership including all classes (Monday and Friday), two Saturday workshops and membership costs €100 for adults, €75 for those under 25s and €50 for those under 18. Membership alone costs €37 for adults, €31 for those under 25 and €18 for those under 18. All ages are welcome.

“Very few members have left the association once they joined,” Ms Gardelle said.

Learn more about the RSCDS Lyon Branch on Facebook or the website.