Healing Arts Scotland Opening Celebration

The Healing Arts Scotland Opening Celebration event takes place outside the Scottish Parliament at 16:00 on Monday the 19th of August as part of Edinburgh International Festival, featuring over 250 performers and participants from across Scotland in an energetic celebration of music and dance that captures the spirit and healing power of coming together through the performing arts. Ensembles featured include a Scottish Ballet community cast, National Youth Pipe Band, TRYST, Oi Musica and Samba Ya Bamba. Scottish Ballet will present a specially commissioned dance piece featuring an ensemble cast of community performers, including Scottish Ballet's Youth Exchange company, NHS staff, Dance for Parkinson’s Scotland dancers and Dance Base’s PRIME Elders Dance Company. The work will be performed to Mackay’s Memoirs by the late Scottish Celtic fusion artist Martyn Bennett, which celebrates its 25th anniversary – it was originally commissioned for the opening of the Scottish Parliament building on 1 July 1999.