“Dancing Forth” is published three times annually. The copy date for the next edition is 1st July 2015 and

contributions should be sent to: dancingforth@rscdsedinburgh.org

Dancing Forth ISSUE 1 www.rscdsedinburgh.org April—July

Classes restart 21st and 23rd April

The Joint Lothian’s Dance, this

year at the Community Centre in

Port Seaton, was again a great

success, with fantastic music from

Alastair Wood and his band.

Branch Members Susan Ross,

Stewart Adam and Daniel Hinter-

mann (pictured left) lead us up the

middle in the Highland Rambler

(Top Right) Iain McNeill

and his partner take to

the floor

(adjacent left) Anne

Wood, Stewart Adam,

Margaret Harris and

Ian Auld enjoy the

music and lovely venue

which was ideal for

dancing.

(Bottom Right) Glen

Bramley enjoys The Earl

of Mansfield with friends

from East Lothian

Find us online

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (Edinburgh

Branch) is a charity registered in Scotland No SC016958, also

known as RSCDS Edinburgh. Promoting the fun, fitness and

friendship of Scottish Country dancing since 1924.

Honorary President: The Rt Hon. Donald W ilson,

Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh

Honorary Vice Presidents:

The Duke of Buccleuch KBE, Mrs Vera Davidson,

Norman Irons and Robbie Shepherd

Chairman: Stew art Adam -

chairman@rscdsedinburgh.org

Secretary: secretary@rscdsedinburgh.org,

Treasurer: Elizabeth Harry -

treasurer@rscdsedinburgh.org

Demonstrations Coordinator: Brian G Harry -

demonstrations@rscdsedinburgh.org

Committee members (dates of retiral):

Faye Mather (2016), David Watson (2016), Margo Priestley

(2015), Rena Mulholland (2015).

Non-executive roles

Dancing Forth Editor: dancingforth@rscdsedinburgh.org

Webmaster: John Watkins - webmaster@rscdsedinburgh.org

Youth coordinator: Grant Bulloch-youth@rscdsedinburgh.org

Child protection coordinators: Margo Priestley/Brian G Harry

Branch Information

Website: www.rscdsedinburgh.org Youtube: www.youtube.com/RSCDSEdinburgh Facebook: www.facebook.com/RSCDSEdinburgh Twitter: #dancingforth

Please inform us if you have moved or if any of your contact details have changed

RSCDS Edinburgh does not accept any liability for goods and services advertised within our pages

Pictures are taken at Branch events and may be used for publicity purposes; if you do not wish to appear, please opt out by contacting the Secretary

Please contact us if you are a Life member and need a membership card to ensure your Dancewear discount

Like us on

Facebook

From Headquarters 2

The inaugural meeting of the new Company Limited by Guarantee has been held and the resolution was passed for the transfer to take place. It was a strange feeling sitting in the Board room of Headquarters formalising this change, and I was aware of the considerable history of this organisation and wondering how our ancestors will view this decision in years to come.

At the same meeting the Management Board agreed that a full review of our strategy is required. The current model where the majority of our funding comes from you, our members, is unlikely to be sustainable in the longer term. Jim Healy, the Chairman of the RSCDS will provide a fuller update in the next edition of the Scottish Country Dancer magazine In the short term, there may be a slight increase in the membership fee.

There have been changes of personnel at HQ, Elspeth Gray retired at Christmas time and Mike Greenwood has taken over a lot of Elspeth’s work. Mike’s main role is Digital Marketing Communications Officer, and you will periodically get communications directly from him. Elizabeth Foster, our Secretary, retires in June and plans are being put in place to find a suitable replacement.

Work to digitalise the archive collection and make it available online is ongoing, and further financial support has been given to this.

New books continue to be produced with Book 49 available in the summer, with an accompanying CD recorded by Jim Lindsay. This CD will also include a selection of dances from the Miscellany Collection.

Work continues on Dance Trad, a sister pack to Jigs and Reels, and it is hoped that this will also be available later this summer.

A full update of the Management Board along with Membership Services, Education and Training and Youth committees is available online if you wish more information.

https://www.rscds.org/document/841

Alternatively please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Elizabeth Harry

Management Board Member

Summer School takes place in St Andrew’s for 4weeks every summer.

There is something for all; dancers, musicians

both residential and non-residents.

Check out HQs website for more information

www.rscds.org

From the Chairman 3 Spring is in the air and as I write this I have been watching

the spectacle of the eclipse of the sun.

Since the last issue of Dancing Forth we have had a busy

few months. Our popular Winter Workshops restarted in

January and we were delighted to welcome back Bill Zobel

and Muriel Johnstone in February and Deb Lees and

Andrew Nolan in March. The teaching was fun and

informative and, of course, the music was exceptional. If

you’ve not tried our Winter Workshops before then look out

for more of this type of event next winter, it’s a fun way to

spend a dreary Sunday afternoon.

Our Nice and Easy dance was another successful evening.

We were fortunate to have ongoing sponsorship from

Findlays of Portobello who supplied us with the haggis. The

committee excelled themselves in the kitchen that evening,

and especially thanks to my wife, Chris, for ensuring we had

a piping hot Burns Supper ready for everyone to enjoy at

the interval, and to Elaine Greenslade and Margo Priestley

for their patience in calling the dances and making sure

everyone knew exactly where they should be in the set. We

were also treated to a display of dancing from some of the

children in our Children’s class, and it was heartening to see

future generations of dancers having such fun.

The Joint Lothian’s dance was a good time to catch up with

friends from East and West Lothian Branches. The music

from Alastair Wood was excellent, and he was joined by

Graeme Munro and Shauna Flockhart making it a mini-

reunion of the band from our 90th Anniversary book and

CD. Sales continue to be brisk and our new dances are now

being danced around the world, including New Zealand, the

USA and Japan.

Classes continue to progress well and I am sorry I was not

able to attend the classes’ party as I was on holiday. I also

missed our Children’s Ball, but am told it was a great

success, and the children had a thoroughly good time. I’d

especially like to thank Grant Bulloch and Faye Mather for

their work coordinating this annual event.

Our next event is the Old Favourites Dance on the 18th

April, dancing to Gary Donaldson and his band with a

programme, devised by Dale Gray, which lets your feet lead

you around the floor whilst you give your brain a rest. Our

Annual Ball returns to Greyfriars Kirk and I’m delighted

that once again so many of you will be joining us.

Plans are in place to run a Unit 2 / 3 course in May and

June to allow us to continue to train new Teachers for the

future. If you would like to be involved in this, whether as a

candidate or as a volunteer dancer at the classes and final

exam then please get in touch.

I retire as Chairman at the Annual General Meeting in June

and am concerned about the future of the Branch. Rena

Mulholland and Margo Priestley have recently stepped in to

allow us to continue to function in accordance with our

constitution since the resignation of two Trustees, and they

along with David, Faye, Brian and Elizabeth have continued

to support and help me and ensure that the Branch

continues to operate seamlessly during what have been

difficult and challenging times. Elizabeth continues to carry

out her Treasurer duties to the usual high standard and has

covered most of the Secretarial duties as well. David and

Faye have a further year to serve, however both the

Treasurer and Demonstration Coordinator roles undertaken

by Elizabeth and Brian are annual appointments, and Rena

and Margo have been appointed until the AGM but are

eligible to stand for election for a further period.

For the future existence of the Branch it is essential that you,

our members support the Branch and stand for election so

that the full quorum is achieved. It is not fair to expect a few

to continue running the Branch for the many. Please contact

me or anyone on the committee if you would like to know

more about what this would involve.

I would like to finish by thanking you all for your support

during my term in office, and I hope that we have continued

to offer classes and events which you have participated in

and enjoyed.

Stewart

Stewart Adam, Chairman

Do you think you have what it takes to join our Demonstration Team?

We are looking to recruit new members to join our Demonstration team and are opening up the class during the Spring term to anyone who thinks they have potential to join us.

We don't expect your dancing to be perfect already but we are looking for dancers with potential and enthusiasm to improve, and more importantly, we are looking for dancers to fit into the team in both style and commitment.

You will receive individual criticism which is aimed at improving your dancing, and will be assessed over the six week term.

Any decision to invite you to join the team will be made in consultation with the Class Teacher, the Branch Chairman and the Demonstration Co-ordinator, and no discussion will be entered into regarding the decision.

It would be great if you are able to make all 6 classes but if you can only make one or two, that's fine.

If you would like more information, and would like to give this a try then please contact me before attending any class.

Brian G Harry, Demonstrations Co-ordinator

07908 865291 demonstrations@rscdsedinburgh.org

Come and Dance with us 4

Forthcoming Events

Branch AGM Sunday

14th June

Murrayfield Church Hall,

Ormidale Terrace,

Edinburgh, EH12 6EQ

at 7.30pm

SAVE THE DATE

Old Favourites Dance

Saturday 18th April 7.30—10.30pm

North Merchiston Club, Watson Crescent, Edinburgh,

EH11 1EP

Dancing to Gary Donaldson and his Scottish Dance Band

Tickets £7 / £9 (RSCDS Members / Non-Members)

Summer Dance

Saturday 8th August 7.30—10.30pm

North Merchiston Club, Watson Crescent, Edinburgh,

EH11 1EP

Dancing to James Coutts and his Scottish Dance Band

Tickets £7 / £9 (RSCDS Members / Non-Members)

Our Nice’n’Easy dance on 7th February was once again

supported by Findlays of Portobello who supplied us with

their award winning haggis.

It was lovely to see so many of our Beginners and Improvers

at this event, dancing to fantastic music from Iain MacPhail.

See page 12 for photographs from this event.

Looking for new shoes?

Branch members qualify for a 10% discount in Dancewear

on production of your membership card or this advert.

We are grateful to both Walker’s Shortbread and Tunnock’s

for their ongoing support of our events.

Dancers Diary 5

Dates for your Diary

Spring Term : w/c 20th April 2015 for 6 weeks

As this is a 6 week term the cost of this term will be £30 for a member and £65 for a non-member.

Improvers Once you have a reasonable grasp of the basics, this class helps you build your knowledge of the steps and most common

formations. Many stay in this class until they feel ready to progress upward. You might sample your first social dance

while in this class.

General A general class suitable for intermediate dancers and above. Confident in the basics, a wider range of formations will be

introduced although steps will continue to be covered. Selected dances from upcoming events may be taught as many in

this class enjoy going to Branch dances and dancing socially in general.

Very Advanced For dancers who are confident with all formations and want to perfect their dancing with others of a similar level. Steps

and formations are covered in depth with individual comments given to help dancers attain a high level of technique.

Demonstration The corporate arm of the classes which promotes the Branch and its aims. Invited members will accept individual

criticism and undertake demonstrations for the Branch. Think you’re up to the challenge? - contact the Demonstrations

Coordinator for more information (demonstrations@rscdsedinburgh.org)

Class Descriptions

Come and Buy

Our new 90th Anniversary Book and CD is now available to purchase.

The book contains 12 new dances written by Branch members and friends and most of

the dances have had new tunes written especially for them by some of our Branch

musicians.

This collection of dances, in celebration of our

90th Anniversary, is a fine testament to the

composing, arranging and devising talent that

exists within the Branch, its members and

friends.

The twelve very different dances come togeth-

er to produce a book with something for every

dancer - from traditional to modern, simple

to complex and longwise to square and even triangular.

The accompanying CD, recorded by Graeme Munro and his Band, is a delight to

listen to and really lifts the words off the page and onto the dance floor.

Contact us for more information: shop@rscdsedinburgh.org

Class Day Time Venue Teacher Musician

Beginners /

Improvers

Tuesday 8.10—9.40 pm Calton Centre 121 Montgomery St,

EH7 5EP

Ian Brockbank/

Rachel Shankland

Gary Donaldson/

Seonaid Lynn

General Tuesday 8.00—9.30 pm Cluny Centre (Upper Hall), Cluny

Drive, EH10 6DN

Elizabeth Harry Rodger McAndrew

Very Advanced Thursday 7:45—9.15 pm Murrayfield Parish Church,

Ormindale Terrace, EH12 6EQ

Margo Priestley Doreen McKerron

Demonstration Thursday 8.00—9.30 pm St Anne’s Church, Kaimes Road,

EH12 6JR

John Wilkinson Moira Reekie

Classes 6

Download an application form from our website or pay online now—www.rscdsedinburgh.org

On this day… 14th March 1952 7 We take a dip into our archive from 1952 when on

the 14th March the first live TV programme was

broadcast from Scotland and featured dancers

from our Demonstration team dancing the

recently written dance The Duke and Duchess of

Edinburgh (now published in RSCDS Book 39) as

part of a 10 minute programme of Scottish

country dancing.

This day would be beginning of television as we

now know it in Scotland, and seems like a lifetime

ago for some of us.

The programme was broadcast from the Kirk

o’Shotts transmitter, using the 405-line television

system.

The filming took place in the BBC Studios in

Queens Street, Edinburgh. This photograph looks

as though the team were having an earlier

practice and Tim Wrights Band can be seen in the

background. Do you know what other dances

were included in the 10 minute programme?

Back: Hamish Glen, unknown, Doris Adamson, Kevin Connolly

Front: Iain Stuart Robertson, Moira Bryce, Sheila Cameron, Bill Hamilton

Watching the team dance from the platform were Mr James Stuart MP, Secretary of State for Scotland; Mr James Miller, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Lord

Tedder, Vice-Chairman of the BBC and the Very Rev. Dr Charles L Warr, Dean of the Thistle and Chapel Royal, along with presenters Mary Malcolm and

Alastair MacIntye.

Tim Wright’s Band were a popular Edinburgh dance

band associated with the Cavendish ballroom in the city.

The band was formed in the 1930s and broadcast on the

early Scottish dance Music programme on BBC radio.

They recorded for the Scottish Country Dance Society

and became popular at Hunt and Highland Balls, and

featured on the first programme televised from Scotland.

The band’s unique sound came from having several

fiddlers (and no accordion) and their adherence to scored

arrangements (by Frank Moy) of rare tunes sourced from

the old collections.

Tim Wright provided piano accompaniment and the

band also featured Andy Bathgate on clarinet. Wright

retired in 1959 but the band continued under pianist

Jimmy McIntosh. The band was revived in the 1970s un-

der the leadership of Andy Bathgate and the name The

Cavendish Dance Band

#throwbackthursday

Have you visited our Facebook page? Are you a social media guru? Then you will know that #throwbackthursday or #tbt is when you post a picture from sometime ago on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Our Facebook page has something for everyone – reminders of forthcoming events, pictures of our recent dances and reminisces from our archive, whether something that happened last week or in 1923.

We’ve recently been given a treasure trove of photographs and documents belonging to one of our founding members, Miss Allie Anderson, and little snippets from this are being released occasionally on Thursdays.

We have over 420 followers on Facebook and a healthy Twitter following as well as YouTube and Instagram. Most of our followers are from the UK but we have a smatter-ing of followers from the USA, Australia, Germany, Canada and as far afield as Japan, Malaysia and Columbia. Within moments of us sharing our news it has literally spread to every corner of the world.

Why not check out our Facebook page and join in the fun?

https://www.facebook.com/RSCDSEdinburgh

XXX 8

And it's no use putting on a show without an audience, so

please come along to see us. All the performances are free

except the main show at Church Hill - tickets for this will be

available nearer the time. There will also be ceilidhs during

the week and chances to learn dances from the other coun-

tries, which anyone can join for a small donation.

If you would like more information about any of the above,

please contact enquiries@dunedindancers.org.uk, or watch

out for the flyers advertising our performances.

Dunedin Dancers Festival 19th -25th July 2015

Dunedin Dancers are a group formed to run dance festivals

to return the hospitality their members had received when

dancing with EU New Scotland SCDS. Our first festival was

in 1973 and it has run continuously every two years since

then.

Our festival will be

held again at George

Watsons College

where the visiting

teams and ourselves

will be fed and

entertained as well as

entertaining us.

This year we have

groups joining us from France "le Point d'Alençon ,

Thüringen Folklore Tanzensemble Rudolstadt, from

Germany and A Pacchianeddra Sansustisa Gruppofolk from

Italy. We'll be performing in Falkland Palace, Perth and at

Stirling Castle, as well as in Edinburgh at the Mound, the

Parliament, the National Museum and Church Hill Theatre .

If this sounds interesting, there are several ways you can get

involved.

All our guests stay

with host families

while they're here, so

we would warmly

welcome anyone will-

ing to give a home to

two dancers or

musicians for the

week. We're also still recruiting dancers to the Scottish

group, so would be interested to hear from anyone who is

keen to join us.

Want to advertise in Dancing Forth—contact us at

dancingforth@rscdsedinburgh.org

What’s on this summer 9

Give it a try?

Scottish Country Dancing at the Ross Bandstand has been

part of an Edinburgh Summer for over 50 years. The City

of Edinburgh, RSCDS Edinburgh and local dancers have all

supported this over many years.

All of the local clubs and groups submit programmes of

dances, provide demonstration teams and arrange stewards

to help every night. We rely on your support to keep this

event running, and, of course, some dry warm weather for

the outdoor evenings. A weather forecast is on the website

for Princes St Gardens Dancers and there is a link for the

Branch home page.

Come along and join in this summer.

We welcome dancers from beginners to advanced level and there is always someone on hand to help. All our venues offer live music.

At the Ross Bandstand we have a demonstration team to show how the dances should be done then everyone is invited to get up and give it a try.

At our indoor evenings we have an experienced MC who calls the dances and dancers are able to have a quick walk through.

Venues as follows:-

Monday Nights 1st June – 3rd August (except 22nd June) (weather permitting) at the Ross Bandstand

Tuesday Nights 2nd June – 28th July at the Thomas Morton Hall, Ferry Road, Leith

Monday Nights in August at Stockbridge House, Cheyne Street

All evenings begin at 7.30 pm – 9.30pm and the admission price is the same at all venues - £4.00 for Adults and £1 for Children.

These evenings provide an opportunity to meet and dance with dancers from home and abroad and remind us we are part of a large international family.

If you’ve not joined us before please come along and give it a try. Programmes and crib sheets are available on our website www.PrincesStreetGardensDancing.org

Margaret Burns, Chairperson,

Gardens Scottish Country Dancers

The Gardens Scottish Country Dancers

Arrangements are now underway for our summer dance

evenings. This is a chance for you to continue dancing when

all the classes and clubs have stopped.

Are you looking for a new challenge?

We are running a Unit 2/3

candidate course in May and

June, with the examination on

20th & 21st June.

The venue—Cramond Kirk Halls, Edinburgh, EH4 6NS are easily accessible from both the City By-pass, M8 and M9 along with the airport. There is a regular bus service from the city centre.

54 hours of tutoring are being offered, of which you must attend a minimum of 40 hours.

Leading the course is Elizabeth Harry and she is being assisted by Atsuko Clement. Moira Reekie will be the musician for the course.

If you would like more information about the course then contact us on 07041 323155 or email classes@rscdsedinburgh.org

Are you willing to help as a volunteer dancer

both during the course and especially over the

exam weekend of 20th / 21st June?

We’d love your assistance, even if you can only

spare an hour or so.

Local Groups 10

Looking for that missing book?

The Branch shop has a variety of books,

CDs and other SCD related material,

Whether it is the latest new edition of

Book 48 and the accompanying CD by

Susan MacFadyen, or

something much more

obscure, we can help you find it.

Contact us - shop@rscdsedinburgh.org

or call 07041 323155

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society

12 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, EH13 7AF

Tel: 0131 225 3854 Fax: 0131 225 7783

Email: info@rscds.org

Web: www.rscds.org—see here for details of local branches in the Lothians and Fife

Atholl SCD Club

Secretary: David Ballantyne—

Ballantyne@clark@yahoo.com

Venue: Inverleith Church Hall, Ferry Road, EH3 5PR

Dates: Tuesdays until 19th May 2015

Time: 7.30pm

Music: Iain MacPhail

Cost: Members £4. Visitors very welcome £6

Only new and difficult dances are called, but the programmes are available via the Branch website

Edinburgh Ladies’ Club

President: Christina France 0131 664 8467

Secretary: Anne Hackland 0131 441 5108

Venue: St John’s Church, Princes Street, EH2 4BJ

Dates: Club nights restart in September

Time: 7.30—9.30pm

Music: CDs, All dances are called. Programme for the session is available at the door

Cost: Members £42 for the full year. Visitors very welcome £5

New members are always welcome.

Harrison SCD Club

Secretary: Fiona Winton 0131 453 5624

Venue: Polwarth Parish Church Hall, 36—38 Polwarth Terrace, EH11 1LU

Dates: Club nights restart in September

Time: 7.30—9.30pm

Music: CDs

Cost: £7 enrolment + £3 per night for members

£3.50 for non-members

New members and visitors welcome.

Dunedin Dancers

Meet most Wednesdays , from 7.30—9.30pm, in

Morningside Parish Church Hall, Cluny Gardens, for

Scottish country dancing in a relaxed atmosphere. New dancers are always

welcome.

Exact dates are given on our website: www.dunedindancers.org.uk

For additional information, email the secretary at

enquiries@dunedindancers.org.uk of ring 07966 881630.

Dunedin Dancers run a bi-annual Folk Dance Festival, to which we invite

various foreign dance groups, and regularly visit festivals abroad. This

years Festival is 19—25th July. In addition, we run two informal dances and

a formal ball each year—again details are on the website.

Gay Gordons Edinburgh

The Gay Gordons, Edinburgh’s LGBT SCD Group, welcomes all dancers to our friendly ses-sions.

Mondays 7.30pm. See our website for venue.

Teacher: Tim Bolton-Maggs

Contact : info@gaygordonsedinburgh.co.uk

Website: www.gaygordonsedinburgh.co.uk

We also attend other events with groups in London, Manchester and Dum-

fries. Open to all regardless of experience.

Morningside Club

Secretary: Sandra Shaw 0131 440 1558

secretary@morningsidescdclub.com

Venue: Upper Hall, Cluny Centre, Cluny Drive, EH10 6DN

Dates: Mondays October—March

Time: 7.40—9.40pm

Music: Calum Marwick

Cost: £50 per session or £30 per term

Visitors: £5 per evening and £6 for parties

New members always welcome. See our website for more information

www.morningsidescdclub.com

Children’s Class

Our ever popular Children’s class meets every Thursday in

term time. This is a fun way for children to make new

friends and keep healthy and active, whilst learning many

new skills from an early age. Our class teaches the concept

of teamwork and cooperation in a fun and safe environment.

The children enjoy dancing together and are always striving

to learn more.

Are you at primary school? Why don't you come and join

us?

Youth 11

The Children took over the dance floor on Friday 27th March. They truly had a ball at the Edinburgh Academy Junior School

and enjoyed dancing together, some of them for the first time to live music. Iain MacPhail was playing for this event for the

first time and he was amazed at the high standard of dancing and their manners on the dance floor. We hope these pictures

give you a flavour of the evening.

With thanks to S Luca

for their ongoing

sponsorship

Our Flying Scotsman nearly broke a speed

record!

One of the country’s leading

sports injury centres

Centre for Sport and Exercise

The University of Edinburgh

46 Pleasance

Edinburgh EH8 8TL

0131 650 2578

For all sports related injuries, including Scottish country dancing. Facilities open to all members of RSCDS Edinburgh Branch at reduced rates.

Children’s

Class first

demonstration

at the Nice’n’

Easy Dance

(see also over-

leaf)

Front: XX & XX

Back: XX, XX, Faye Mather, Kirsten & XX

Thanks to our many members and friends who

have contributed photographs and articles to

make this issue of Dancing Forth possible. All

photographs are © RSCDS Edinburgh unless

otherwise noted.

A selection of photographs from recent events

Children’s Demonstration at the Nice’n’Easy Dance February 2015

Deb Lees ensures warm ups are fun—February’15 Winter Workshop

Bill Zobel and Deb Lees ensured the Winter

Workshops were enjoyable for all and

Muriel Johnstone and Andrew Nolan kept

a spring in our step with fantastic music.

Nice’n’Easy Dance—February 2015 February 2015 Winter Workshop

January 2015—Winter Workshop

Classes Party—March 2015