Young Dancers’ Page
Young People’s Day of Dance In January 2015, around 30 dancers braved the wintry conditions to attend the fifth workshop facilitated by the RSCDS at the University of Leeds. The workshop was organised jointly by the Leeds University Union SCD Society and RSCDS Leeds Branch. The workshop had two classes: intermediate and advanced. The morning’s advanced class was led by Craig Houston with accordionist Adam Brady. Alasdair Brown led the intermediate class with violinist Christina Hood. After a delicious buffet lunch, the teachers and musicians swapped over for another hour of dancing. The final session of the workshop offered a choice between Highland and ceilidh. In the evening, the group joined the Leeds Branch for their monthly branch dance to Ian Slater’s music. Local members were delighted to have such a strong turnout of ‘youngsters’ in their midst, and the energy and standard of dancing were high.
As if that wasn’t enough, for the evening dance the workshop dancers were joined by hundreds more students from all over Scotland. The dances were interspersed by original choreographed displays, with groups dancing to The Beatles and Disney’s Frozen. After the success of this event we hope to support many more like it. Rachel Shankland
Lyon Branch Kids Go to Newcastle On February 13, eleven children from Lyon travelled to Newcastle to join the Newcastle RSCDS International Festival. None had been to Britain before, and few had been on a plane. They discovered fish and chips on the Friday night and had a very busy Saturday, performing four dances in the festival and also dancing in the Lyon Branch display. They were very proud to be given badges and certificates to take home. It was a weekend they will remember for a long time. They would like to thank RSCDS Newcastle for organising such a child-friendly festival and the RSCDS for the grant they received to help them with travelling expenses. Raphaëlle Orgeret
Future Days of Dance will be held on October 3 in Perth with Luke Brady’s SCD Band and on November 21 in Oxford with teachers Alice Stainer and Raphaëlle Orgeret and musicians Chris Oxtoby and Jeremy Hill.
North Ayrshire Day of Dance Photo: Irvine Times, Ayrshire Weekly Press, Romanes Media Ltd
Kilmarnock & District Branch’s Children’s Day of Dance Kilmarnock & District Branch held its first Children’s Day of Dance in the Grand Hall Kilmarnock on 19 November 2014. Two sessions, each lasting approximately two hours, were held and a total of over 500 primary children from 18 East Ayrshire schools participated. They danced a mixed programme of Scottish country dances and ceilidh dances to music provided by George Meikle. David Pinkerton, Chairman
Dancing with Brownies Brownies in Hexham and Roker have had a taste of SCD this term in working towards a new badge developed by Girl Guiding Scotland. The SCD badge requires the girls to carry out two, three, or four challenges, depending on their age, from a choice of fourteen. The 3rd Hexham Brownies chose: l
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Heather Cook Lyon dancers
North Ayrshire Children’s Day of Dance
Leeds workshop
Scottish Universities Scottish Country Dance Festival (SUSCDF) The RSCDS has supported SUSCDF for a number of years now. This year the Festival was held in St Andrews and we decided to offer a workshop for those keen to do even more dancing. During the day, 23 young dancers were put through their paces by Helen Russell and Luke Brady. It was a fantastic class with all dancers mixing very well and enjoying a high level of dancing.
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www.rscds.org
On 28 November, 543 children from 22 primary schools in North Ayrshire participated in a Children’s Day of Dance in the Magnum Sports Centre, Irvine. The day was spread over two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Susan and Shona Macfadyen provided fabulous live music. For each school, the day represented a culmination of weeks of practice, aided in some cases by twelve volunteer instructors from the North Ayrshire Branch. The schools had also been provided with DVDs showing all eleven dances, CDs of the music, and instructions for each dance. Overall, 39 Branch members, including some from East Ayrshire, helped on the day. As a result of this successful day, one of the schools now hopes to enter the dance section in the Ayr Music Festival in 2015. John Coy
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To make up a poster to promote the fun, fitness and friendship you can gain from SCD; To find out about your family’s own tartan or design a tartan for your unit; To learn dances.
They learned two dances, the Clydeside Reel and Wheels around the World, then demonstrated them to their parents. About 20 girls gained the badge, including one wheelchair dancer, and all seemed to enjoy the experience. This badge has allowed us to bring SCD to a new audience, and we hope to be involved in a larger Guiding event in February. Rebecca Foxon
Tweedbank and Hawick Ceilidh Following six weeks of lessons from Lyn Bruce and Margaret Pritchard, students from Tweedbank and Hawick Schools took part in a St Andrew’s Day ceilidh on 26 and 28 November respectively. All pupils enjoyed themselves together with parents, grandparents and family friends who danced along with the children and made their day all the more enjoyable. Margaret Pritchard, Youth Co-ordinator Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles Branch
