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President’sReport
DearMembers,
As I start towrite this, theNZGovernmentannounceda total lock-downforeveryone, except essenAal services, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19virus.
It is important that we all adhere to the recommendaAons of the NZGovernment.Itisalsoimportantthatwekeepintouchwithfamily,friendsanddancersweknowwholiveontheirown,asitcanbeverylonelywhenyouareisolatedathomeonyourown.ThisistheAmewhenIsaymoderntechnologycomesinhandy—emails,facebook,twiKer,messenger,texAngandgoodoldphonecalls.
Astheworldisdealingwiththisvirus,wehavenoideahowlongitwillbeunAllifegoesbacktonormal.Icanonlyrepeat:staysafeandfollowtheMinistryofHealthguidelines.AllRegionsandclubswilladvisetheirmemberswhentheyfeelitissafetoresumedancingintheirareas.
LindaGlavin,RSCDSNZBranchPresident
**************************
BluePages(NZDancer)
Correc:onsandAddi:ons
Ngaio – New secretary: Moira ScoK,[email protected]
Rangiora–Newsecretaryandvenue:BobDevlin,033130980.Venue:StJohn’sAnglicanChurchHall
Richmond – Correct start Ame: 7:30 pm; Tutor:NoleenHarper
AssumingweareallowedtoholddancesagainbyAugust,herearesomeaddiAonstotheCalendar.Ifindoubt,checkthecalendaronline,orcontacttheclubsecretary.
RememberdetailsforeventscanbechangedusingtheformavailableontheBranchwebsite.
Nelson–1August,67thBirthdaySocial!
Burnside–15August, 8.00pm,IsleworthSchool,Christchurch
Picton–22August,58thBirthdaySocial
Motueka–19September,14thBirthdaySocial
Note:InviewofthecurrentCovid-19lockdown,itislikelythatthisKiwiNewswillbeanemailediAononly.
StopPress!
Inviewof the imminent cancella:onof SummerSchool 2020/21, the next two items will bereviewedinthenextissueofKiwiNews.
MicheleMillerRSCDSNZBranchSecretary
Kiwi NewsRSCDS NZ Branch Inc. Volume 25 No 1 April 2020
From the Branch
KiwiNews—April2020
RSCDSTeachingCer:ficate
Are you interested in beginning the process oftraining to be a teacher? Or perhaps you wouldsimply like to increase your knowledge aboutdancing? Then consider taking the New ZealandBranch course for Unit 1 of the RSCDS TeachingCerAficate. This is a nine-week online course,based solely on the Manual of Scoesh CountryDancing. The course begins in early August andfinishesjustpriortotheUnit1wriKenexaminaAonon 17th October. Apply for the course bycompleAng theTeacherTrainingRegistraAon formfound on this page: hKp://dancescoesh.org.nz/cerAficate-nz/.
ApplicaAonsaredueby30thJune2020.
SAllnotsure,orwouldlikefurtherinformaAon?Sendyourquestionsto:[email protected]
DebbieRoxburgh
ApplyforaScholarshiptoSummerSchool
Justaremindertoeveryonethatevenifyou’renotdancingnow, there is sAll dancing to come.Everyyear, there are Branch-funded scholarships whichpay for you to aKend the NZ Branch SummerSchool.
These have changed a bit from previous years.There is a scholarship for a trainee teacher toaKend the Teachers’ CerAficate class, one for amusician, and two for general dancers – one fordancerswith lessthan6yearsdancingexperienceandonefordancerswith6yearsormoredancing.
The applicaAon process and selecAon criteria forthe dancers’ scholarships have been simplified tomake it clear that these scholarships are there toencourage RSCDS membership and regularparAcipaAonindancing.
If you’re interested, details of the applicaAonprocess and the applicaAon forms are on the NZbranch website hKp://dancescoesh.org.nz/scholarships/–andtherestofthewebsiteisworthavisittoo.
RememberthatforyourapplicaAontobeconsidered,ithastobewiththeNZBranchSecretary,[email protected],by30June2020.
LeeMillerEducaAonandTrainingCo-ordinator
NZBranchEmails
Asyouknow,NZBranchhassetupstandardemailsforcommunicaAngwithmanagement,[email protected],[email protected].
[email protected] which have not been in usefor several years (although they may someAmeshave worked). These obsolete emails will bedeletedover thenext fewweeksand, if yousendan email to such an address, you will receive amessage on the lines of: ‘Undelivered MailReturnedtoSender’.
It might be a good idea to review your addressbookandcorrectanyobsoleteemails.
AndrewPaFersonInformaAonTechnologyCo-ordinator
Youth
WeneedyourhelptoreachourgoalofincreasingthenumberofregisteredJAMs.
Allclubs/groupsweresentregistraAoninformaAonin early March. If you have misplaced theinformaAon, or we somehow missed you off thelist, or you have discovered some young dancerswho are not registered, you can find theregistraAonformintheJAMsecAonofthewebsitehKp://www.rscdsnzb.org.nz/youth.php or [email protected].
DebbieRoxburghYouthCo-ordinator
RSCDSNZBranchShop
As most of you will be aware the BranchBookshop and Branch Recordshop have beenmerged.
At present the shop has stocks of the followingrecentreleases:
ThirtyPopularDancesVol.2Bookand2CDsreleasedinNovember,thereisabookof30dancesand two CDs to go with it – Part 1, a newrecording;andPart2,are-releaseofRSCDSarchiverecordings.
OtherRecentArrivals
MelbourneBranch50thAnniversarybook
2
KiwiNews—April2020
• AMelbourneMiscellany
IainBoyd’sbooks:
• MayIHavethePleasure• ViveLaDanse• TheCrowdedHall
ThreebooksbyGayeCollin:
• FromPapertoPearl• ScoeshCountryDancingIsAllAroundTheWorld
• TheMusicians’Wedding–BookandCD
MaureenRobson’sbook:• FromNorthtoSouth
RSCDSpublicaAonsincluding:• Book50–BookandCD• Book51–BookandCD• Book52–BookandCD• TheCollinsLiKleBookofSCD• ScoeshCountryDancinginDiagrams9thEdiAon(Pillings)
CDbyJamesGrayandSusiePetrov• OpusDance
CDbyIanRobertson/MurielJohnstone• Robertson:aMusicalHeritage
ForallenquiriespleasecontactSuePearson:
Email:[email protected]
NZBranchWebsite
Snailmail:C/-21StaffordStreet,Wanganui4501
TeAwamutuClub
The Queen’s Birthday Weekend School has beencancelled.
We had three weeks of dancing before Covid-19intervened and we were very grateful to havewelcomed a few new members. We are sendingoutaweeklyexercisetoallmembersplusoneforthe newmembers to keep up interest in ScoeshdancingoverthisAme.
TokoroaSCDClub
ThankyoufromTokoroa:TheyoungdancersoftheTokoroa Scoesh Country Dance Club are gratefulto all thosewho supported thembybuying raffleAcketsatSummerSchool.
TheoilpainAngbySonneKOllswaswonbyDebraHopkins, a Tokoroa resident, with Acket number240.
JoyMorgan,Secretary,TokoroaSCDClub
PaeroaHighlandGamesandTa[oo
PeoplecameagaintodanceinpublicattheTaKooandHighlandGamesinPaeroa,on8February.
Wayne and I got up early and with Mary andEmma,drovetoPaeroa.Arrivingat10.30toputupthegazebo.
As arranged, we met with Andy and JeaneKe,Lyndaand Jim,andDouglasandFiona, toget theregiongazeboup.Withabitofdebateupitwent–in themiddle of the paddockwherewe could beseen.RegionbannerandKaAKaAbannersflying.
The Ametable had come forward so we werepleased to seepeoplearrivingearly.Averaquickwalk-through, our team gave a wobblydemonstraAon of Shene Gate, but everyone keptsmiling. This was followed by The Kingston FlyerandTheCumberlandReel,withaboutadozennon-dancers joining in. This went rather well, witheveryone enjoying themselves, including a good-sized crowd. A couple of people said they wereinterested in coming to a club (one has aKendedourbeginner’sclassatHamiltonScoesh).
Weadjournedto thegazebo,ateour lunchesandchaKed. Itriedtofindoutwhenweweredancingagain. The programmewas running late… Soundsystemset-upproblems.Imustsay,notassmoothlyrunasaScoeshcountrydanceevent.
ThroughtheavernoonweenjoyedlisteningtotheTopp Twins, and some fabulous Scotsmen: AlexHodgson, folk singer and David Vernon,accordionist. Once again, I lamented that if therehad beenmore communicaAon before the event,wecouldhavedancedwhiletheyplayed.Timewaspassing,sowebeganwalkingtheeveningdances,then put on our music and again drew a crowd.These dances were too complicated for non-dancers, so unfortunately there was no secondchanceforaudienceparAcipaAon.
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News from around the Regions
KiwiNews—April2020
Fromthere,WaynegottheawfuljobofmakingupthreesetsfortheeveningdemonstraAon.Withnotquiteenoughadvanceddancerstomakefoursets,it was disappoinAng to leave some enthusiasAcdancersintheaudience.
WhilethreesetswereputthroughtheirpacesanddrilledonprogressionbetweendancesbyWayne,therestofourteamwerebusyarrangingforallofus to have seats together in the evening, clotheswere draped across seats in the mini-stand anddeckchairs set up in front. It was quite anachievementtogetsomanyseats,butitmadeforgreat fun in the evening, watching theentertainmentandsharingafewlaughstogether.
The demonstraAon consisted of three dances,carefully choreographed as a square set jig, alongwisestrathspeyandaround-the-roomreel,allwith audience-friendly music. Behind the “gate”NatalieGarciaGillgaveusathoroughwarmup inthe style of the recent summer school’s highenergyclass.AbitofachallengebutveryeffecAve.Then the nerves set in, eventually the gate wentup,wemarchedontothemusicanddanced!
It was magic when the dancing started perfectlywith energy and enthusiasm. This year ’sunexpected challenge was geeng off the groundwhiledancing in thick sovgrass. Itwasa treat tobemetbackstagebyLindaCarter,whohadabagof small glasses and somewhisky, a perfect Ameforacelebratorydram.
Some years, videos of the demo have beencirculated,but Ihaven’tseenanythisyear.Whichisashamebecauseitfeltverypolished.
Aswellasdancing,wealsodistributedtheHaggis,marching out onto the lawn andmaking ourwayaround the edge of the paddock, looking veryofficial.
In summary, there were about 40 dancers at theevent, the dancing during the day was wellreceived and the evening demo looked good.ScoeshcountrydancershaveahighprofileattheTaKoo,andwehavealotofsummerfundoingit.
For thosewho came, thank you for your posiAvecontribuAonofAmeandgoodspirit.
Ngamihi.ShelleyMcConnel,HamiltonScoQshClub
GlendarrochSCDClub
Weinviteyoutoourdanceon
26 September 2020, 7:00-10:00pm,
Carlton School Hall, CarltonAvenue,Wanganui
MusicbyScoeshSalAreBand
Hawke’sBay/EastCoastRegion
The Hawke's Bay/East Coast Region sadlyacknowledge the passing of Brian CoKle fromNapierandDorothyWilsonfromHasAngs.
Brianhadbeenamemberof theNapierClubandalsoRegionPresidentsomeAmeago.
DorothywasanacAvelifememberoftheHasAngsClub.ShehadalsobeenaHighlanddancer.
Condolencestotheirfamilies.
JeannieWright,RegionSecretary
BlenheimSCDClub
The commiKee of the Blenheim SCDC havedecided to cancel the Day School and BirthdayDanceduetotheescalaAngCovid-19pandemic.
ThanksinthisverydifficultAmeandkeepsafeoutthere.
HeatherLamb,Secretary,BlenheimSCDClub
StrathallanSCDClub(Christchurch)
Beforeour club commenced for the year,wehadanunusualrequest–totutorabridalpartyofninefortwosessions,sothattheycoulddoacoupleofdances at their evening celebraAons. They didhope to includeMairi’s Wedding, but when theysawthat,theychangetheirminds!
They picked up the steps reasonably well, butwhen it came to the dancing on the night, theirmemories were a bit vague, as the hall was veryhot and noisy, and refreshments had beenconsumed–allofwhichmadethingsabitdifficult.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the dancing, and theclubwaswellrewardedwithadonaAon.
DorisWilson,Secretary/Treasurer,StrathallanSCDClub
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KiwiNews—April2020
OtagoRegion
Lachlan Ross, a loyalmember of the Ceilidh Clubfor several years, died on 25March aver a shortillness. We extend sympathy to his wife Jan andtheir family. Fellow club members were able tovisit him at home and to perform his favouritedance,PelorusJack,on12March.
The Covid-19 lockdown has of course brought anabrupt end to all ‘proper’ dancing for theforeseeable future. However, ‘virtual’ dancingconAnues. Tutors for the Ceilidh Club’s Mondaynights, Lawrence's Wednesday nights, and theRegion’s monthly Friday nights have beguncirculaAng by email a warm-up rouAne (withmusic)toencouragesomegentleexerciseathometogetherwithdetailsofafewdancessomemberscan look at them online using YouTube and theScoesh Country Dance DicAonary to keep theirdancingbrainsacAve.AndDanceScoQshatHome,emailed from Edinburgh, is another usefulresource.
The Otago Region Easter School has had to bepostponed and is now to be held at Easter 2021withthesameprogrammeandvenues.
GregorMacaulay
SouthlandRegionThe Southland Region has started a class forformerScoeshCountrydancerswhocannolongerdance at regular classes because of injury,disabilityorage.TheclassistakenbyRegionTutor,Margaret Bailey Allison, who teaches membershow to "dance" their favouritedancesbywalkingthesteps.
Aver a small noAce in the local communitynewspaper,asetturneduptothefirstclass.Somehadnotdanced formany yearsbutwere keen tobe able to enjoy themusic and paKerns of whathadoncebeenafavouritepasAme.ItwasgreattoseepeoplequicklyadapAngtowalkingthestepsinthestyledemonstratedbyMargaret.
Unfortunately,theclasshadtogointorecesswiththe lock-down, but enough people for two setshaveregisteredtheirinterestincomingalongoncedancing resumes. It includesone formerHighlanddancer.
MargaretBaileyAllison,RegionTutor
RespectandSupportaswellasFunandFriendship
GreeAngs to all our new friends, made atCambridge, and to those from our own verysupporAveregion,AucklandandNorthland.InJuly2018,westartedanewclubinKaiwaka,adayAmeclass with nearly all beginners of more matureyears, many struggling with failing or painfulbodies.Wenowhaveamembershipof29dancers.I have oven heard it said that Scoesh countrydancingisdyingandthatweneednewdancers.ItisgreatwhenweseeyoungbeauAfuldancersandhopefullytheywillencourageotherstodancetoo.However,itistherealityof2020thatmanyofournew dancers are older and looking for ways tokeep mind, body and social life acAve in, and astheyreach,reArement.
Learninganythingatamoreadvancedageismoredifficult and Scoesh country dancing is noexcepAon. It is harder tomakemistakes in publicandeasierwhenamongst friends. Iknowthroughour club, the enjoyment and levels of fun beingaKainedbyjustthisagegroup.Wehaveamemberinourgroup, inhis70s,whotookmetoonesideaver our first Annual Dance and said, “Wow!mywife and I can’t believe the way our lives havebeen changed through Scoesh country dancing.Wearemovingmorefreely,feelmoreinchargeofourbrainsandhaveawholenewcircleof friendsgivingusahappyandwonderfulsocial life.Thankyou.”
I aKended Summer School this year for the firstAme. The registraAon was warm and welcoming,and the general running of the school was welldone. CongratulaAons to theWaikato region andespecially toAntanas, for all theirhardwork. Thevenue was lovely, and the good floors werewelcomeforelderlysorefeet!
I was therefore disappointed by the effect that afewexperienceddancershadonourhesitantandinexperienceddancers. It is hardnot to gowrongwhen people look down their noses at you andcommentbecauseofthestandardofyourdancing.Itsapsyourconfidencequickerthanabrokendam.Unfortunatelyithappensatclublevelaswell.
MissMilliganstated inWon’tyouJointheDance,“The greatest object now for the RSCDS is to
5
Other Interesting Stuff
KiwiNews—April2020
spreadfriendshipandhappinesswhereveritgoes”.Thatstatementisastruetodayasitwaswhenshewrote it; doing that requires mutual respect andsupportwithin thedance.Let’sensurethat this isthe case in every club in New Zealand. At thebeginning of a new dancing year, could teachersplease remind all dancers of how to give non-verbal cues to newer dancers and to pracAcetoleranceofthemandsupportforthem.
Thankyou.
ElaineGoldthorpeRSCDSTeacher,Kaiwaka,Northland
[Editor’s note: Elaine’s email started with “I have fournewerdancerswhowillnolongeraFendlongerschoolsandaregeQnglukewarmabouttheirdancingbecauseofcommentsandgesturesmade.Pleaseprint”.]
Reeling
There is Highland dancing, Royal Scoesh Countrydancing,CeilidhdancingandthenthereisReeling.Reeling?Ihearyouask.
“OncethepreserveoftheHighlandaristocracyandthemilitaryelite,ScoQshreelingisnowamainstayoftheBriAshsocialcalendar.”
The acAvity itself appears to sit somewherebetweenScoeshcountrydancing,salsaandswing.The steps are a less elaborate version of SCD,involving more glide than liv, and mulAtudinoustwirlsand(iftheyarelucky)untwirls,performedbythewomen.Themenguidethetwirls,usingthemto show their partners off to great effect. It is allvery laid back and cool, allowing individuals torelate to their partners in their own style, ovendoing different moves from those around them.The youngsters perform more extreme andrandomsteps,muchtothedisapproval (orenvy?)of their elders. They dance with even morecontrolled abandon than we as Scoesh CountryDancersallowourselves.
The Schiehallion Ceilidh Band, comprising LynneScoK(leader),JohnJoweK,AlastairMcCarthy, IainMatcham, Liz Langham, DuncanMcDonald, MaryMcDonald (caller)and JamesScoK (sound),whichplays for events such as weddings and birthdays,was hired to play for two Reeling events inFebruary: one in the MarAnborough Town Hall;and one in the ballroom at Larnach Castle inDunedin.
The parAcipants were a group of mainly Scots(alongwithAmericans,Canadians,AustraliansandNewZealanders),whodanceinInverness,Londonand around theworld, takingReeling to locaAonswhere ithasbeenhithertounknown.Thedancersrangedinagefromyoungstersintheir20sand30suptoan80-year-old.
Theprogrammewasthesameforeachofthetwonights.ItstartedwithTheDashingWhiteSergeantand included The Duke of Perth,Mairi’sWedding(oneoftheslower,moresedatedances!),andTheDukeandDuchessofEdinburgh,finishingwithTheReelofthe51stDivision.Thereisalimitednumberof core dances from which the programmes arechosen, so the dancers know themby heart, andtheyarenotusuallybriefed.Thesedancesarethesame as for RSCDS but are danced in a moreexuberant fashion.Onthisoccasion thebandwasasked to teach one New Zealand dance. The NZGayGordons was chosen,much to the delight ofthevisitors.
Lynne assembled the band music using SCD andceilidh sets but with addiAonal tunes, thusallowingforfive-orsix-couplesetsonthefloor.Forfurther informaAonabout themusicanddancing,sheiniAallyturnedtowww.londonreels.co.ukwithits teaching videos. There followed severalconversaAonswith our hosts for advice on dancespeeds and Amings. It transpired that a fasterspeedthanRSCDSwasgenerallyexpected,andaseachdancewas completed, itwas repeated in itsenArety.AllthisresultedinseveralpracAcesfortheband!
Lilias and Johnny Bell were the hosts for thisSouthern MeeAng (the Northern MeeAng hastaken place in Inverness for over 200 years), andbecause locals were invited to join the fun, theyran some classes to teach the steps and dances.
6
TheSchiehallionCeilidhBand
KiwiNews—April2020
DuncanandMaryaKendedoneofthesesessions,togetabeKerunderstandingofthedancing.
ThepreludetothemaineventwasadanceintheMarAnborough Town Hall, where, because therewere somanynewerdancers,Marywasasked tobriefeachdance.JohnMunro(ex-JohnsonvilleSCDClub, now living in theWairarapa), aKended thisevent, adapAng quickly to the dancing style, andhadagreatAme.Thebandhadahugeamountoffun and amusement as the 80-strong throngtwirled, stamped and clapped their way throughfourandahalfhoursofdancing.Itwasahotnight,but they had all come to dance, and with filleddancecards,therewasnohangingback.
ThefollowingSaturdaynightsawtheenAreseven-piece band assemble in the Larnach Castleballroom in Dunedin. Most band members wereflown down, but one very laden staAon wagontransportedthefulldrumkit,violins,aguitarplusthe sound gear fromWellington, taking two daysoverthetrip.
The Larnach Castle Ballwas a black-Ae affair, andthebandmemberswere included in the sit-downdinner before dancing started at 8.30pm. Therewere no dance briefings on this occasion. Theguestswereastunningsight–ladiesinballgowns,andperhapsmorekiltsthanthisballroomhasseenbefore – a room full of eager Reelers revelling inthegrandsurroundings.
Quarter past onewas thewitching hour, and theevening concludedwith the tradiAonalAuld LangSyne. Another fabulously enjoyable evening wastopped off with compliments to the band –suggesAons that they were comparable with thebeKerScoeshbandswereverywellreceived.
DuncanandMary stayed inDunedin longenoughtoaKendtheCeilidhSCDClub’sclubnight,taught
by QuenAn Currall and Janet Favel. There was amind shiv required to perform the steps as perRSCDS:handsatelbowheightforhandsacross,notabove the head; circles round and back facinginward not walking around facing clockwise,camel-train fashion; seeng steps ending in a jetérather than a clap, but they think they got awaywithit.
The tr ip north involved overnighAng inChristchurch, on the very night that the ScoeshSocietySCDClubmeet,sotherewasanothernightofRSCDSdancingtohelpgetbackonthestraightandnarrow.Theyarrived inWellington inAme todance at “home” – Tawa Club’s first night of theseason.
TheReelingepisodeseemslikeadreamaway,withjust a few photos as a reminder of thework putinto discovering a new genre of dance thatcertainly gave many people a huge amount ofpleasure.Itwasasifamagicaldooropenedacracktogiveaglimpseofahithertounknownworld.Hasitshutagain?Whoknows?
MaryMcDonald
Celebra:ngtheExcellenceofTeachingInNewZealand
Former Wanganui dancer Liz Douglas celebrateddancingsuccesswithherNewcastleFesAvaldanceteaminFebruary,whereshedanceswiththeEastScotlandDancers.Herladies’teamwontheLadies’SecAon,withLordElgin’sReel(Lizis3rdlady)andwithMonica’sWay(Lizis1stlady).Her group, combining with the Edinburgh danceteam, won the Display SecAon, doing a MaryPoppins display. Such superb dancing and music.SheisdancingasoneoftheChimneysweeps.Thechoreographer was Rachel Shankland, and themusicwasbyLukeBrady.It saysa lot for thestandardof teachingshehad:from starAng as a four-year-old at Glendarroch,Wanganui, under Debbie Roxburgh and DeanneCorps, she then conAnued to dance at Aucklandand many summer schools, before moving toLondonin2014.SheconAnuestoenjoydancingatSt Andrews Summer School each year, as well asweekend schools in various locationsaroundEuropeandtheUK.Check out all the dances on YouTube: NewcastleFesAval2020.Wellworthalook.KarenDouglas
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ReelersdoingaTullochturnduringtheFoursomeReelattheLarnachCastleBall
KiwiNews—April2020
RaisingyourphrasingtoLevel4
Clubsaresuspended,socialdancingoffthehorizon– what good canwe find in this? Here are somethoughtstohelpyouwhileawaytheselongdaysofisolaAon,keepyour legmuscles inoperaAon,andimproveyourdancing.
Oneofthehardestthingsforsomenewerdancerstomasterisphrasing:theartofgeengtotherightplace in a dance at exactly the right Ame.Whenyou’reinasetofeightdancers,theirownphrasinghelps keep you on the straight and narrow. Butgeeng there by yourself is so much moresaAsfying!
SoherearesomeideasfornailingthephrasingofFigures of eight and Reels of three (no otherdancersrequired!)
You will need music to pracAse with. The bestmusictochooseiswhereyoucanclearlyheareachtwo-barphrase.Ifyoudon’thaveasuitablemusicathome,tryusingthemusiconthesevideos(justdon’tlookattheirdancing!):
Reel:hKps://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/5080/
Jig:hKps://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/845/
Strathspey:https://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/2544/
IfyouneedsomeexpertstoremindyouhowtheseformaAons go, check out the Lower HuK videos(linksbelow).
Startbylayingoutasetof“dancers”onyourlivingroom floor. Use (perhaps) small sov toys for theother seven dancers, and reserve a top place foryourself.
Here is the phrasing you are trying to achieve –rememberthateachbartakesonewholetravellingstep(stepclosestep):
FigureofEightAcross(aroundthesecondcouple)(hKps://youtu.be/0RG3VWOlMB0)
2bars(i.e.2travellingsteps)diagonally;2barsonthe side; 2barsdiagonally; 2barson the side, tofinishwhereyoustarted,justonAme.
Figure of Eight on the side (hKps://youtu.be/Run7sMLtN2I)
2bars to reach the spacebetweendancers in2ndand3rdplace;2barstogobehind3rdplace;2barstoreachthesamespaceasbefore;2barstoreachhome. Try starAng bymoving to the lev the firstAme,thentotherightthesecondAme.
ReelsofThree:(hKps://youtu.be/1LanKzTOCLg)(youmightneedtomoveTeddyasideforthis)
Imagine a fat figure eight on the floor, spanningfrom1stplaceto3rdplace.Youneedtwobarstocover each of the four segments. Once you havemastered it from first place, try starAng in themiddle. It’s sAll two bars (2 travelling steps) persegment.TrystarAngbymovingtothelev,thentotheright.
If you’re geeng there too late, stretch out a bitmore with your steps (and check whether you’reclosingproperlyinthemiddleofthestep).Ifyou’realways arriving early, pracAse doing the smalleststeps you can, then try the figure of eight againusingthosesmallersteps,andmaybedoaslightlyfaKerfigureofeight!
Extraforexperts:canyoudancethefirst16barsofThe Flowers of Edinburgh with great phrasing?Hint: listen to themusic. You can easily hear thetwo-bar phrases, and youneed to beback at thetopaver three 2-barphrases, ready to set. If youdon’t have a recording at home, the fourth videoonthiswebpageisuseful:
hKps://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/2250/
GoodluckwithyourpracAce!Andifyou’dlikeanyhelp with finding music, do get in touch:[email protected].
LynneScoF,BranchMusicAdviserJeaneFeWatson,CapitalCitySCDCTutor
Digitalmp3music.
WhilereadingthearAcleintheApril2020ScoeshCountryDancermagazine, inwhich thewriter onpage16referstoGrahamColes’methodofplayingSCDmusicandAlbumArtfeatures, Iwasstruckbythe similarity with what I have been doing since2011,andinsomerespectsmuchearlier.
Aver transcribing most of the club’s music fromrecordsandCDs intomp3format forthe laptop, IgottothinkingthatclubtutorsweresAllfacedwiththe hassle of carrying around books of danceinstrucAons (aver selecAng those needed fromtheirsomeAmeslargecollecAontoavoidtakingallthebooks toClubnight).Theconundrumwas:dowewant to have amusic playerwith instrucAonsaKached to each mp3 file, or a device (Kindle?)withinstrucAonslistedandmusicfilesaKached?
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KiwiNews—April2020
Through a process of eliminaAon to get to the“best” opAon for club tutors, I seKled on thefollowing:
- mp3 music format (because one can aKach apictureofinstrucAonstothefileTag).
- MediaMonkeyplayer (becausethe instrucAonsare scaled automaAcally to fill most of thescreeninsteadofbeingathumbnailas inWMPandiTunes).
- MediaMonkeyalsohasstrongfilteringmethodstoenable tune subsAtuAon, creaAng clubnightplaylists,aseengthatallowsthemusictostopaver the end chord withoutmoving on to thenexttrack,andmanyotherfeatures.
- Media Monkey can have a clear and intuiAveskintomakeiteasyforanoviceuser.
Theonlydownsideis,itdoesn’thavetempo-adjustfacilityanditamazesmethatclubtutorssAllthinkthey need this facility when the “correct” tempocanbesetbeforethemp3file iscreated(andif itneedsadjusAng,thefilecaneasilyberecreated).
Withthisset-up,thetutorcanstandinfrontoftheclasswithtabletinhand,readtheinstrucAonsandstop/start the music at will (connected viaBluetoothtothespeakersofcourse).Arefinementis having a remote control. In terms of a dance:EasyPeasy!
The use of music files ripped from CDs ordownloaded, etc, sAll means that you are at themercy of tracks that have incorrect tempos fordancing and you will forever be Ankering, like intheolddaysofvariablespeedrecordplayers,etc.
If anyone would like to know more please [email protected].
BillJacob
Fascina:ngfactsaboutPelorusJack
PelorusJackwasaninternaAonally-renowndolphinfamous for escorAng ships through part of CookStraitnearPelorusSoundbetween1888and1912. Hewas so famous that he appearedon the frontcoveroftheIllustratedLondonNewsinDecember1910.
Whatwenowknowaboutdolphins,thatmaynothavebeenknownin1910:
• Dolphins oven appear to be leading a ship –when in fact they are “hitching a ride”. Aninvisiblepressurewaveissentoutbythebowof
amoving ship,which can be used to support afloaAngbodyandcarry itforward.Anddolphinsknowthis!
• Dolphins have special powers of hearing (wellbeyond the range of the human ear) that canpick up a sound like a ship’s engine from somedistance.That’showtheyseemtoget toaspotbeforetheshipdoes.
• Dolphins live for an average of about 25 to 30years – a considerably shorter Ame than wasbelieved in the days of Pelorus Jack. Hisdisappearancewasmorethanlikelyduetooldage.
• Whywashewhite?Most likelybecausehewasold.Hehada roundwhitehead.Therestofhisbodywaspalecolourwithgreylinesorshading.HispaleappearancewasanindicaAonofhisage.
• AnActofParliamentwasdravedtoprotect thespecies of dolphin to which Pelorus Jack wasthought to belong. IniAally it protected Belugadolphins–butJackwasaRissodolphin.Partwaythroughtheprocess,theactwaschangedbeforeitwaspassed. (Belugadolphinsdon’thaveafinontheirback,asJackdid.)
• How common are Risso dolphins in NewZealand?Theyareveryrare.
• WhywerepeopleiniAallyabitafraidofhim?Hewasbigandwhite.Hewasknownas“thegreatwhite fish”. He was not iniAally idenAfied as adolphin.Hewasthesizeofasmallwhale.
• Do we know that PJ was male? No, we don’t!Thesexofthedolphinwasneverdetermined!
• Arthur Ransome (English children’s author)menAons Pelorus Jack in his 1932 novel PeterDuck, but incorrectly ascribes him to living inSydney Harbour. (Australia borrowing anotherNewZealandicon!)(ThisfactisfromWikipedia–somaybewegivetheAustraliansthebenefitofthedoubt.)
• Will Pelorus Jack ever die? Not according toMāorilegend.
“InMāori legend, Jack is said tobea taniwha–afabulouscreaturesentbythegodstobeourguideandhelper.Becausehe ismagic,hecanneverdieand has merely been asleep for all this Ame,resAng in his ocean cave between spells ofduty”(Atkinson,1995,p.48).
OrunAlScoeshcountrydancersawakenhisspirit.
By Katharine Hoskyn, a\er reading Tania Atkinson’s1995 book “Pelorus Jack: The story of New Zealand’sfamousdolphin”.
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KiwiNews—April2020
Kiltandsporranfreetoagoodhome
HunAngMacLean tartan.Alsoavailable,Montrosedoubletinbrownvelvetwithlacejabotandcuffs.
Igotthiskiltatage16(nearly60yearsago)anditisnowmuchtoosmall.Suitslimteenagerorman5v8”(173cm).Minorwearfromsporranbeltandsmallholefromkiltpin,otherwisegoodcondiAon.
[email protected] ,Ph.063770322,Mob021535897
KiltsforSale
Almostasnew.MadebyprofessionalNZKiltmaker,EdwardH.Newman(nowdeceased).
These kilts have not been worn, but they havebeen in storage for some Ame, and the liningsshow a liKle discolouraAon. They are part of theDeceased’sEstate.
Therearefivemen’skiltsandonelady’skilt.
Men’s:Allsimilarmeasurements–Wapprox80to94cms,L59cms• 1Innes(McInnes)Red• IMacIntyreHunAngAncient• 2BuchananModern• 1BuchananAncient(?)withmatchingsocks
Lady’s:Small–W70to84cms,L57cms.
Buchanan Ancient (?). Sadly this has one or twomothholesbutcouldeasilyberepaired.
For further informaAon and/or photos, [email protected],orphone0211855747
Dancebookstogiveaway
TheBranchreceivedthisletterfromDianeYoung:
My mother, who is 83 and now in a demenAaunit,wasquiteinvolvedindoingScoeshcountrydancinginher60s/70s.
Wehave18liKlePocketEdiAonScoeshcountrydance books (seems to be Books 1-35 plusothers), with an Index book. Also three A4-sizemusic books with piano and dance instrucAonspublishedbytheRSCDSinScotland.
Iguesseverythingthesedaysisonline,butIjustthought I should check if anyone would wanttheseresourcesfromyourend.
I must say, looking at them, I had no idea mymother was involved in such skilled and brain-requiringdancing!
Anyway, ifyouareabletoletmeknowwhetherthey would be of any use to you or not, thatwouldbegreat.
Ifinterested,[email protected]
“TaeaVirus”
Twamonthsago,wedidnaken,yernameorochtabootyeButlotsofthingshavechangedsincethen,Ireallymustsaluteye.
Yerspreadingrateisquiteintense,yerfeedinglikeagannetDisrupAoncaused,issoimmense,ye’veshakenoorweeplanet.
Coronausedtaebeabeer,theygarnisheditwaelimesButnooit’sfilledusawewaefearThesedays,arescaryAmes.
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Just for Fun …
For Sale or Give Away
KiwiNews—April2020
Naeshakinhawns,orpeckinlips,it’swhittheyaweadviseButscrubthemweel,richttaetheAps,that’showwe’llawesurvive.
Juststayinside,thehoose,yebideNaesneakinootforstrollsJustcheckthelavvyeveryhoorAndstock-take,your,loorolls.
OurholidayshavebeenpitaffNoothat’stheJet2paKerPitoanyerthermals,havealaughAndpaddle‘doonthewaKer‘
CanaryIsles,noforawhileNaeneedforsuntancreamAndawebecauseothisweebugWekentaebe..19
Theboredomsurelywillsetin,Buthavearead,ordoodleOrplanyermenuforthemonthWi95potnoodles.
Whentheserunoot,justlookabootAchange,itwouldbeniceWe’vebeansandpastabythetonandtwentystaneorice.
SodinnythinkyellwipeusootAyetrue,afewhavediedBubonic,birdflu,andTbTheycame,theylev,theytried
YemightbegallusnoomafreenAsyejumpfaecuptaecupButwhenwegetoorvaccinemadeYernumberwillbeup.
Poet:Unknown,possiblyBurnshimself?!
We got sent this in by a customer and thoughtwe’dshare.Wethinkit’sgreat!
Thanks,TheRobertsonTeam
P.S we just found out the poet is called WillieSinclair. What a talented man and thank you formakingusallsmile.CopiedfromFacebook/RobertsonsofKinbuck,posted18March2020
Sent in by Maureen Jacob, Secretary, Waikato/Bay ofPlentyRegion
TheScobshGic
I've got abrandnewboy friend, his name is JockMcPherson,
He'stallandbroadandwearsthekilt,he'sreallyawonderfulperson.
He'sgoingtohaveabirthdayonthe14thofJuly,
Ihadna'gothimapresentfor Ididna'knowwhattobuy;
I couldna' get him a leather belt for he doesna'wearanytrousers,
And I couldna' buy him a dram or two, hewon'ttakemetopublichouses,
But I think I've solved the problem andmy heartwithjoyisfilled,
I've made him a dear wee peecoat to wearunderneathhiskilt.
Authorunknown.SentinbyAudreyMaQnson
DancingataDistance
Here we are with our club night cancelled unAlfurthernoAcebecauseoftheCovid-19virus.The only alternaAve is to do some DistanceDancing—VirtualDancing inmyheadwhile I sitonthecouchathome.ThegoodthingaboutthisisthatIcanhaveaglassofwineinmyhandwhileIdoit.Let’ssee!WhatshallIdo?J.B.Milne!In real life IhaveactuallyabandoneddanceswithPas de Basque in them as my joints complainbiKerly,butinthiscaseitisokay.Igivemypartnerasmileonthechord.Howdoesitstart?That’sright!Seeng!…tothesecondLady–andturn–oooooops!Twohandsnotone!Thenwehaveto…Set...…toeachotherandturntwohands–whoseideawasittomakethisatwo-barturninsteadoffour?AbitofastaggerasItrytocastoff–balancenotwhatitusedtobe!Secondplace!WhatdoIdonow?That’sit!Petronellaturnand….
11
KiwiNews—April2020
…Set.ThankGodthisisjustinmyhead.Igotthere!Nowwhat?Ahyes!Themeanwhilebit.Second and third couples are doing their bitchangingplacesandseengwhilewe…???Seniormoment!Oooops!Mypartnerislookingatmeexpectantly.Irisetotheoccasionand...Set...…thenwecrossandcasttotheright–right?Yeah!Nah!“Nah!” Yell the rest of my virtual set. “That’sAustralianLadies!”My partner’s look says it all, “I thought that youknewwhatyouweredoing?”“Bugger!”I only just manage to scramble back to secondplace,inmyhead,justinAmeforthesecondAmethrough.ThankGodit’sonlymesiengathomeandno-oneelseknows!
Anonymous,Waikato-BayofPlenty
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KiwiNews—April2020
On4April2020,Waikato/BayofPlentydancers JeanSmithson, JillLiKlewood,KateCorfield,HowardandGlenyslinkedupby“WhatsApp”topresentHowardMcNallywithhis"BranchAward".
Hewasverysurprised,overcome,almostspeechless,butveryhappy.Jean’spresentaAonspeechisbelow:
“GoodmorningHoward,
It ismy privilege to preside over this officialmeeAng in the onlyway possible these days.We are JeanSmithson,PresidentofWaikato/BayofPlentySCD,JillLiKlewood,PresidentofLochielSCDClub,andKateCorfield,SecretaryofLochielSCDClub,andofcourseyouandyourlovelyladyGlenys.
Therearemanypeoplewhowantedtobehere.LindaGlavin,NZBranchPresident,wouldnormallyhavepresentedthisaward.ShesendsyouhergreeAngs.HeatherJohnston,whonominatedyouforthisaward,because she knows the quality of the man she was nominaAng. Maureen and Bill Jacob, our presentSecretaryandTreasureroftheregion,alsosendtheirgreeAngs.Andtherewouldbemany,manymoreindifferentcircumstances.
Howard,youhavebeenhonouredwithaBranchAward.Glenyshasittheretogivetoyou.
Youhavecontributedgreatly toScoeshCountryDancing intheWaikato/BayofPlentyandNewZealand.Weallthankyouforthat.Youhavealwaysdoneitwithgenerosityofspiritandasmile.Youareatruegentleman and a gentleman.As a newer dancer Iwas thrilled to be askedby you to dance – you, theRegionPresident!Ineverforgotit.
ItissostrangeanddifficulttonotbewithyouatthisAmetocelebrateinthewaywewouldprefer–butwewillallraiseaglasstoHowardtoday.WellDoneandThankYouHoward.”
Cita:onHowardMcNallystartedhisSCdancingaround1967/1968,firstlyasamember of the Hamilton Scoesh Club. Aver about 10 years ofdancing,andbythenamemberof theLochielClub,hewaselectedontoLochiel’scommiKee,firstlyasSecretary/Treasurer,aposiAonheheldfor7years,andthenwhentheroleswereeventuallyseparated,Howard stayed on as Treasurer from 1979 unAl 1992. Howard wasalso theLochielClub’sVicePresident from1994unAl1996. Duringthe 1970s, Howard became acAve in theWaiBOP Region, firstly asSecretary from1973 to1974, thenasPresident from1981 to1982,andagainfrom2006to2007.
Howard was the NZ Branch Vice President in 1997, 1998 andPresident in 1999, 2000 during the “Reasons for Change” era. Hepromoted these changes strongly and successfully and this had aprofoundeffectonthewaythattheNZBranchwasrun.
HowardplayedabigpartinthesuccessfulrunningoftheNZBranchSummerSchoolsthatwereheldintheWaikato.Hewasco-organiserforthe1977/1978SchoolheldattheHamiltonTeachers’College,andorganiserofthe1981/1982Schoolatthesamevenue.HewasonthecommiKeeforthe1989/1990SchoolheldatWaikatoUniversity,andwas once again organiser for the 1997/1998 School held at theDiocesanSchoolforGirls.
13
And something special from the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Region
HowardMcNallyandhisRSCDSBranchAward
