Editorial

Welcome to your Autumn magazine. Although most of us north of the Equator have had a break for the summer, there has still been a tremendous amount of dance activity. Events such as our own Summer School, TAC Summer School, Pinewoods, and Australian Winter School are testament to the energy and vitality of the RSCDS. In June Annie and I welcomed 80 dancers from all over the world to Lews Castle in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides for a magical weekend of dance with Gary Coull, Mo Rutherford and Neil Copland. I kept thinking that if it weren’t for the RSCDS, this would never have happened – and the same goes for almost all Scottish country dancing activity worldwide.

Our magazine is the only direct communication we have with all members. It is a newsletter, a source of information, a way of educating members about country dance and music history, and a forum for members’ views, as well as a good read! The Editorial Board was delighted by the overwhelmingly positive response to the recent magazine survey. Our magazine is also partly archival – a snapshot of the RSCDS twice a year – for posterity, taking its place with past Bulletins, Executive Council Reports etc in the Society Archive as a resource for future research. As a firm believer in the power of the printed word, I believe the magazine is an excellent branch recruiting tool, something concrete to hand to beginners and to friends and family.

As part of my research for the article on our first five years, I looked at how we had been reported in the Scottish Press in the 1920s. The surprising answer was – a lot! Branch and Society AGMs were reported; there was a tremendous amount of goodwill towards what the SCDS was trying to achieve for Scottish culture and identity. It was seen as something positive and noble. The most striking aspect of the press reports was their coverage of the annual Music Festivals where, more often than not, Jean Milligan was the adjudicator for the country dance sections. In Scotland, to this day, the adjudicator does not only address his or her remarks to the children competing but to their parents, teachers, and the local community. This gave Miss Milligan a captive audience of thousands each year to whom she could ‘sell’ the benefits of country dancing, which she did – with a vengeance!

There are few people better qualified to speak about all the different forms of dancing in Scotland than Lorn Macintyre of St Andrews: country, ceilidh, ballroom and reeling. It was a great privilege to interview him for this issue. Lorn makes a most telling point about our growing repertoire of dances. He regrets that the great dances of the past are now rarely danced today. His comment that this is a ‘way of discarding’ them is a very sobering thought.

One of the best things about being editor is reading the letters which come in from members and this issue has a fair number, covering a wide range of issues, some small, some serious. As ever, keep them coming!

Jimmie Hill, Edinburgh