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2019

Autumn 2019

We have just completed another enjoyable term of dancing.

In September we were delighted to welcome several new members some already experienced dancers but also some completely new to Scottish Country Dancing.

Both general and beginners’ classes have been run on most teaching weeks. We’ve continued to have a social dance on the first Wednesday of each month allowing all members to dance together, with the more experienced dancers supporting the less experienced.

ADW has been popular again this term with the focus being on choosing a demonstration dance for next year’s ASCDS Festival.

Our September and November Saturday Social Dances were very well attended. Both were lively evenings with Ian Slater providing the music for the November event. Many members are now looking forward to the final social of the year on Hogmanay.

We ended the term with our usual Christmas party; plenty of dancing followed by a welcome cup of tea and a ‘bring and share’ supper.

We wish all our members a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas.

Demonstration Dance – July 2019

On Monday 15th July seven representatives of the branch provided a demonstration for those attending the Loughborough Baptist Church ‘Holidays at Home’ group. Before the demonstration we were treated to a delicious lunch so we were perhaps not as light on our feet as we would have liked!

Our audience were very appreciative and as we had a little time to spare some of them joined us for a walk through of our usual class warm-up dance to the tune of the British Grenadiers.

Thanks to David for the photographs.

60th Anniversary Dance – 18th May 2019

We’ve been planning and looking forward to our Diamond Jubilee Dance all year, and the day finally arrived and what a fantastic time we had!

It was lovely to welcome over 70 dancers from around our region to join us and dance to the uplifting music of George Meikle and the Lothian Band, which was a real treat.  There were even several people present who had been associated with the Branch from the inauguration.  It was an extremely enjoyable night amongst friends – dancing popular dances, with lots of smiling faces, and an excellent Bring and Share supper.

We were very honoured to be joined by Andrew Kellett, the Chairman of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society which was very special and very much appreciated.  With nearly 160 branches of the Society worldwide it was an honour indeed!  Andrew helped our Chairman, Elizabeth Gull, to cut the cake, decorated with the branch logo and he also proposed a toast to the Branch at the supper.  It was all very inspiring.

Everyone present was presented with a specially commissioned commemorative mug organised by Jimmy Livingston.  Margaret Livingston had compiled a wonderful display of archive photos and memorabilia going back over the 60 years, which created a lot of interest during the evening.

It was certainly a night to remember and we all had a very jolly time!

The photos of the evening were taken by David Page.

ASCDS Festival 2019

On Saturday 11th May, after a pub lunch at the Chequers Inn on the canal at Ranby, fourteen dancers represented the Branch in the massed dances at the Association of Scottish Country Dance Societies’ 39th Annual Festival held at the Retford Oaks Academy hosted by the Derby Scottish Association and Burns Club.  This year two of our dancers were joining us for the first time and they really enjoyed the four special practices we had, and the day itself.

Altogether there were around 200 dancers from the East Midlands and South Yorkshire all enjoying dancing to the music of Alan Ross and his Scottish Dance Band.  The kilts, white dresses and sashes looked magnificent en masse.  It was lovely to meet up with friends from other groups that we meet each year, all great fun.

There were five solo demonstration dances this year interspersed amongst the massed dance groups during the afternoon, and our Branch performed the Square Set Medley ‘The Rose of Glamis’ written by John Drewry to mark  the 90th birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1990.  (Glamis Castle was her childhood home). It was very well received!

Video: Roses of Glamis – ASCDS Festival 2019

In the evening, about 100+ of the most energetic dancers stayed on to a social dance, dancing to Alan Ross’s band again.  It was a full-on day, and all very enjoyable.  Next year is the 40th Festival, so plans are already in place to make it even more special.

Social Dance

It was lovely to welcome 56 dancers from our region to our second dance of the season to the Lutterell Hall in West Bridgford.  This season is our 60th anniversary year since the Branch was formed in 1959, and will culminate in a 60th Anniversary dance in May.

The wonderful music played by Ian Robertson and his Scottish Dance Band was an absolute joy to dance to, and inspired us to keep our feet reeling and setting until the very end of the night!  An excellent Bring and Share supper was enjoyed by everyone at the interval.

Thank you to David Page for the collage of photos taken during the dance.  There is also a link for a video taken during the evening by Mary Aitken of the dance Pirongia, which was on the programme.

Our next dance will be a Hogmanay dance on 31st December 2018, 8.00pm to just after midnight at Lowdham Village Hall (tickets £7 and £4 spectators, inc a wee tipple and cake for a toast).  Details on the Events page.

2018

November 2018 – National Events in 2019

It might see a long way off but it is time to start thinking about the big RSCDS events that are being held in 2019.
The RSCDS events website is the best place to find out about all their forthcoming events: RSCDS Events

There are three events that we thought you might be particularly interested in:

Winter School 2019:

This is held from the 17^th to the 22^nd February in Pitlochery. Full details can be found here: Winter School 2019

Summer School 2019:

Over a month in the summer the RSCDS organise four weeks of music and dancing. In 2019 Summer School will begin on the 14^th July and runs until the 11^th August. Lots of different classes, courses and events will be held and full details can be found here: Summer School 2019

Lots of our members have attended Summer School in the past so please get in touch if you would like any more information.

Spring Fling & Spring Fringe 2019:

Spring Fling is an annual event for 12-35 year olds who have a basic grasp of Scottish Country Dancing. This year the event is being hosted by the Paris Branch of the RSCDS on behalf of the RSCDS Youth Services Committee. It is being held on the 19^th-21^nd April. Like Summer School a range of classes and social events are arranged over the weekend, but ultimately it is a designed to be a weekend that is fun and full of dancing!

More information about Spring Fling can be found here: Spring Fling 2019

Alongside this there is a parallel event called the Spring Fringe for everyone else who would like to be involved in a fun weekend of dancing. Some of the social dancing is shared with attendees at the Spring Fling but there are also dedicated Spring Fringe classes.

More information about Spring Fringe can be found here: Spring Fringe 2019

October 2018 – New Season Update

Classes have now been underway for a few weeks and it’s been lovely to catch up with everyone after the long summer break.

We’ve welcomed some new starters and been re-joined by others whose careers have taken them away for a period of time.

The class for new starters and the class for those who are more experienced are both progressing well, helping us all to learn new techniques or to brush up on those skills that might have become rusty! Additionally, those of us who didn’t get in much dancing over the summer are well on the way to regaining our previous fitness levels.

June 2018 – East Bridgford Village Show – Demonstration

Our demonstration team danced at the East Bridgford Village Show on Saturday 30th June. They danced several dances in the sunshine and below are some photographs from the Show. There is a video of one of dances, called  Nottingham Lace, available here.

May 2018 – Annual Dance 2018

On the evening of the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, while their guests partied at Windsor Castle, 45 dancers from our region met at Lowdham Village Hall and enjoyed dancing to the music of Neil Barron and his Scottish Dance Band.

An excellent Bring and Share Supper fortified the dancers after the challenges of Mrs Stewart of Fasnacloich and The Dancing Master in the first half and kept everyone going until Auld Lang Syne at the end of the evening!  It was a great dance at the end of our season and the lovely photos were taken by Lucy Tyler, Elizabeth’s granddaughter who came to help with the refreshments.

May 2018 – ASCDS Festival 2018

On Saturday 12th May, after a pub lunch, fourteen dancers represented the Branch in the massed dances at the Association of Scottish Country Dance Societies’ 58th Annual Festival held at the Retford Oaks Academy hosted by the Chesterfield group.  Altogether there were 200+ dancers from the East Midlands and South Yorkshire all enjoying dancing to the music of Chris Dewhurst and his Band.  It was lovely to meet up with friends from other groups that we meet each year, all great fun.

Some of the groups performed demonstration dances during the afternoon, and Nottingham’s team danced a 3 couple Strathspey Twenty-three Two Ninety which was very well received.  Check out the video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_y5-jhLpAE

A fish and chip supper was on offer before a hundred or so dancers stayed on for yet more dancing at an evening social dance to Chris’s music hosted by Retford RSCDS.  Altogether it was a most enjoyable day…here’s to next year!

May 2018 – Celebration Social Dance

The Nottingham Branch had a lot to celebrate recently.  At the end of a very successful year which saw us launch a new website, had 11 beginners join our group this season, ran five very well-attended and enjoyable Saturday dances during the year and to top it all, classes no longer running at a loss.  This enabled us to reduce our weekly class fees much to everyone’s delight!

But there was another reason for our celebration night, which had been a closely guarded secret up until then and in fact was the original idea for the evening.  We were recognising milestones for three of our RSCDS teachers for their contribution to Scottish Country dancing at the branch and elsewhere.  It was exactly 50 years since Tony Payne passed his full certificate, 45 years for Margaret Livingston and an amazing 55 years for Eleanor Balfour, a total of 150 years between them!  That is an incredible achievement.

After extended social dancing, our chairman Elizabeth Gull made a short speech and presented each of them with a specially prepared certificate in gratitude for their work and then they were invited to cut a celebration cake, complete with the Branch logo.  Everyone then enjoyed chatting over tea, coffee and a piece of cake in an extended break.   It was a really lovely evening enjoyed by everyone and David Page took these lovely photos.

February 2018 – Burns Night Demonstration

Eight members of the branch demonstration team were invited to give a display of Scottish dances to entertain over 60 guests at a Charity Burns Supper held by the Thoresby Masonic Lodge at Chilwell on Friday 2nd Feb.

It was a splendid evening and we were piped into the hall by piper Colin McAlpine. All the guests were seated to watch the dancing of a mix of jigs, reels and strathspeys before their traditional Burns Supper of haggis, neeps and tatties. The kilts and sashes swung to the lively tunes and it was a pleasure to dance for such an appreciative audience!

Thanks to the team for a great performance.

This demonstration is featured in the West Bridgford Wire: http://westbridgfordwire.com/scottish-country-dancing-west-bridgford/

2017

November 2017 – National Events in 2018

It might see a long way off but it is time to start thinking about the big RSCDS events that are being held in 2018.
The RSCDS events website is the best place to find out about all their forthcoming events: https://www.rscds.org/article/events-holding-url

There are two events that we thought you might be particularly interested in:

Summer School 2018:

Over a month in the summer the RSCDS organise four weeks of music and dancing. In 2018 Summer School will begin on the 15^th July and runs until the 12^th August. Lots of different classes, courses and events will be held and full details can be found here: https://www.rscds.org/article/summer-school-2018
Lots of our members have attended Summer School in the past so please get in touch if you would like any more information.

Spring Fling & Spring Fringe 2018:

Spring Fling is an annual event for 12-35 year olds who have a basic grasp of Scottish Country Dancing. This year the event is being hosted by local groups in Glasgow on behalf of the RSCDS Youth Services Committee. It is being held on the 20^th-22^nd April. Like Summer School a range of classes and social events are arranged over the weekend, but ultimately it is a designed to be a weekend that is fun and full of dancing!

More information about Spring Fling can be found here: https://www.springfling2018.com/

Alongside this there is a parallel event called the Spring Fringe for everyone else who would like to be involved in a fun weekend of dancing. Some of the social dancing is shared with attendees at the Spring Fling but there are also dedicated Spring Fringe classes.

More information about Spring Fringe can be found here: https://www.springfringe2018.com/

November 2017 – RSCDS Conference and AGM Weekend

I have just come back from the beautiful city of Perth in Scotland where I was a delegate for our Branch at the Annual General Meeting which was held on Saturday 4^th November.  These meetings have a reputation for lasting getting on for 3 hours, but this year, much to everyone’s delight it was over in 45 minutes due to a different format over the weekend.  Open forums were held on Saturday morning where reports and updates from the various committees were given, which very much shortened the agenda!  The only motion, which was not contentious, was to keep the annual membership subscription for next year (2018-2019) at £20, so this went through without any difficulty!

There was an open teaching conference held on Friday, archive displays, RSCDS shop stalls, a talk on Scottish dance music, two dance classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings with live music and a display of dancing in the town on Saturday morning.  There was also a Civic Reception with presentations before the ball.

The highlights and the fun of the weekend were undoubtedly the two nights of wonderful enthusiastic dancing with 500 or more dancers from all over the world in the main arena in the Bell’s Sports Centre.  All the dances were fully re-capped and Friday night’s music was provided by Scott Band and his Scottish Dance band  and Saturday night’s formal ball was danced to the music of Colin Dewar and his band.  The music was amazing, wonderful wide sets and everyone looking their best!  It was lovely to meet up with people that I have met at Summer School, dancing holidays and festivals and dance with them again.  I am sure that video clips of the dancing will soon be appearing on the HQ website and Youtube.  There was for the first time this year an alternative ceilidh held on the Friday night.

Elizabeth Gull

October 2017 – Thoughts from a New Dancer

At the start of the dance season in September we welcomed several new members to the branch. One of our new dancers, Liz, provided us with her thoughts on her first weeks:

“I’ve recently joined the RSCDS at their meetings in West Bridgford on Wednesday evenings. Along with two other new starters we’ve had the benefit of really useful classes with a very experienced dance teacher, showing all the basic steps and movements needed to join in the dances with the other members.

We’ve managed now to join in several different dances and been helped and encouraged by everyone. It’s a friendly group and a very enjoyable two hours which is not only good exercise but also needs concentration to remember the patterns of the dance movements. It’s a step up from casual ceilidh dancing and takes a bit more concentration, but just as much fun, if not better!”

May 2017 – Annual Dance

Saturday 20th May was our Annual Dance, an event which is held at the end of every dancing season. The dance was well attended by our members along with visitors from lots of nearby branches. Held at Lowdham Village Hall, everyone enjoyed participating in dances such as Nottingham Lace, Major Ian Stewart and the Saltire Society Reel, which were all accompanied by the music of Chris Dewhurst and his Band. A selection of pictures from this event can be seen here.

May 2017 – ASCDS Festival

The ASCDS Festival in May was a very enjoyable event, with dancers attending from many Scottish Country Dancing groups in the region. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and enjoy the tradition of Scottish Country Dancing. Much work had gone into learning the dances for this occasion, and our group was well prepared by Tony in the practice sessions beforehand. There was a mixture of experienced and less experienced dancers in our group, and this is an enjoyable way of encouraging people to increase their experience of dancing. The hall looked wonderful with the men in their kilts and the ladies in their white dresses and tartan sashes, with a parade at first, followed by the dancing. It was really enjoyable dancing to the live music of Neil Barron and his Band. The massed dances were interspersed with demonstrations by teams from the various regional groups. Our Nottingham team gave an excellent demonstration of ‘Double Trouble Triangles’ and received wonderful, spontaneous applause.

This Annual Festival is a wonderful way of bringing dancers together from around the region, and of simply enjoying Scottish dancing, and I would encourage as many people as possible to become involved in the Festival, (the enjoyment of the afternoon far outweighs any apprehension)! Much hard work goes into the organisation of an event like this, so many thanks are due to all those who contribute to the organisation, preparation and smooth running of the whole event.

A video of the Nottingham RSCDS demonstration dance can be seen here: