The number of couple dances depends on the caller and the band, for example Token Women do a lot of continental style bourees. Typically the dances are done without letup. Usually there is one break in the middle of the evening just to let everyone cool off a little. At one point there was a very definite split between the two scenes, however a number of people from the dance scene have started going to ceilidhs as well. The bands It is difficult to generalise about ceilidh bands because they are extremely varied.
Piano accordions are rare, melodeons are much more common.
On the whole the bands tend to work without music and have a smaller repertoire than the average dance band. They also tend to have more members. Sometimes the same band and caller perform at all events, sometimes there are a mixture of bands and callers. The dances Generally 17th and 18th century dances, or modern dances written in that style. Modern composers such as Pat Shaw, Fried de Metz Herman, Gary Roodman and Colin Hume are popular.