Classes for everyone 7

Adult Classes Autumn Term: w/c 25 September for 10 weeks

Monday 8.00 9.30 pm

Intermediate Tuesday 8.00 9.30 pm

Advanced Thursday 8.00 9.30 pm

What does it cost?

Murrayfield Parish Church, Ormidale Terrace, EH12 6EQ

Barclay Viewforth, 1 Wrights Houses, EH10 4HR

Murrayfield Parish Church, Ormidale Terrace, EH12 6EQ

RSCDS Edinburgh Members Non-Members

10 week term £75.00* £90.00*

Beginners & Advanced £48.00

Yoshi Shibasaki Ewan Galloway

Rachel Shankland/ Andrew Nolan Seonaid Lynn

Elizabeth Harry Various

“Everything that is advertised like ‘fitness and fun, and make new friends’ is so true, I look forward to my class every week. I love it!”

* Dancers in our Intermediate and Advanced classes are welcome to purchase a “class pass”. This is for a minimum of 5 weeks, and must be used within one 10 week term. Please ask at your first class.

Pay online for the term or at your first class

Class

Descriptions

If you are unsure which class is best for you please speak with any of our teachers or contact us for advice. Our teachers will be able to suggest which of our classes would be most suitable and give you the most enjoyment. We are happy for you to transfer between classes to find the right level for you.

Beginners

Open to all who have little or no experience of Scottish country dancing You will learn basic steps and simple formations including reels and some corner formations. By the end of the term you will be able to dance many Scottish country and ceilidh dances.

Advanced Beginners

Aimed at Dancers who have previously completed a Beginners class, or who are returning to dancing after a long period, and have limited footwork and knowledge of formations. You will want to improve your technique, learn more complex formations and increase your own ability.

Intermediate This energetic class is designed for dancers who are already familiar with core movements of Scottish country dancing and who have attended at least one Advanced Beginner class or been dancing regularly for over two years. You should be able to dance the steps and many of the key formations such as Allemande, Promenade and Ladies chain.

Advanced This class will improve your footwork, rhythm, phrasing and technique so that your dancing will be of a high standard; this will involve some constructive critiquing of your dancing.

Our Autumn term classes restart during the week commencing 25 September. Full details will be available on our website www.rscdsedinburgh.org/classes

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'New Scotland' celebrates 75 years

On Friday 17 March at Lauriston Halls in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh University New Scotland Country Dance Society (known affectionately as 'New Scotland') celebrated its 75th anniversary, with a black tie ball to the wonderful music of Iain MacPhail.

Formed in May 1947 as the ‘New Scotland Society’, aiming ‘to examine and arouse interest in the political and cultural renaissance in Scotland’, the society included Scottish country dancing among its other interests which covered the arts and politics of Scotland. However, by 1951 it had become clear that most of the members were only interested in dancing! The society was therefore reconstituted with the name changed to the ‘Edinburgh University New Scotland Country Dance Society’. The society has remained in this form ever since, although our dancing repertoire has now expanded to include ceilidh, Highland and Scottish step dancing as well as country dancing.

Dunedin Festival 2023

For a long weekend at the start of July, Belgian and Spanish visitors descended on Edinburgh for the Dunedin Dancers’ 26th International Folk Dance Festival.

The Festival was based at Edinburgh Academy Junior School, where we and the visiting groups shared our traditions with daytime workshops and evening ceilidhs. Our visitors were mostly hosted in members’ homes and we all ate together at the school, treating our guests to a Burns Supper on the final night, complete with entertainment.

Our visiting dancers this year were Agrupaciàn Folklàrica Celme from Pontevedra, in the Galician region of Spain. Their energetic dancing was accompanied by exuberant singing, tambourines, and sometimes by accordion and Galician bagpipes. They wore their Gala dress - by far the most elaborate of their costumes, as worn by the upper classes, with each of their thirty crystal-encrusted gala costumes coming from a different Galician region.

Our Belgian guests were not dancers but flag wavers - Vendeliersgilde en tamboerkorps Gelmelzwaaiers from Hoogstraten in the Flanders region of Belgium. Vendelzwaaien - loosely translated as Flag Waving - is an old traditional artform originating from the medieval guilds and town militias, and still practiced in Flanders. Large flags with weighted handles are used in a stunning, synchronised display accompanied by their drum corps. The sight of the performers flinging their huge red and white flags into the air and catching them again was spectacular indeed.

At our anniversary celebration ball we were delighted to welcome nearly 90 current and former members and friends. The programme was full of fun easy dances and old favourites so that even our newest members could enjoy the evening, and also those who were maybe feeling a little rusty in their dancing! There were past members from every decade back to the 1960s and multiple dancing generations with lots of enthusiastic young dancers. Our youngest attendee was only 4 months old - a potential future member?! The atmosphere was lively and fun with some attending a ball for the first time while others were re-remembering again how much fun it is to dance. The music provided by Iain MacPhail, an Honorary President of the Society, and his talented band, was excellent. The traditional 'bring and share' buffet had a wonderful spread and was topped off by a specially commissioned 75th anniversary cake. Many thanks to everyone who attended and made the evening such a success!

Rachel Wignell

Membership of RSCDS Edinburgh allows you to be part of a community of dancers both locally and worldwide and supports Scottish country dancing in Edinburgh and beyond.

Members benefit from a range of discounts and exclusive deals, as well as helping the continuation of the Scottish country dance tradition.

Membership fees for 2023—2024 are now due and you can pay online via our website.

Adult £35 Joint £60 Youth £30

Meanwhile the ‘home team’ provided a contrast, as Dunedin and New Scotland treated our audiences to a display of all forms of Scottish dancing - predominantly Scottish Country dancing, but also Ceilidh, Highland and Step. Those of you who came to watch our performances will no doubt have spotted some favourite dances of your own among our eclectic selection.

We were delighted to see so many Branch members and friends in the audience at the Grassmarket on the Friday, the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens on Saturday, and at the Magnusson Centre in Edinburgh Academy on the Saturday evening. Those who were brave enough to stay for the short ceilidh session after the evening showcase performance no doubt enjoyed the music even if there wasn’t much space to dance. We were lucky to have an excellent lineup of musicians to play for us throughout the festival so a big thank you to them, and also to our very own pipe band who led the parades.

We were incredibly blessed with the weather – with most of our performances being outdoors we were anxiously watching the forecasts. On the Sunday we took our guests to perform with us at Stirling Castle. Dunedin tradition has it that the is weather always good at Stirling, and once again our prayers were answered. The audience lined the Queen Anne Lawn, or else climbed up for a bird’s eye view from the battlements, of the final Belgian, Spanish and Scottish performances in such a memorable setting.

Caroline Brockbank

Edinburgh Branch has sadly lost Ken Lawson, who not only danced in the branch Demonstration Group but was an exceptional Highland Dancer. He passed on his skills by teaching Highland to New Scotland and more recently Edinburgh Branch Highland Class. He has also been serving as a Trustee, and our Membership Secretary with his wife Christine.

At six years old Ken joined the Jean Reynolds School of Dance in Edinburgh, where he danced with her troupe for several years. His parents took him to various Highland Games where he competed, winning a number of cups and medals and coming second in the Under Sixteen group of the World Highland Dance Championship. When his family moved from Edinburgh to Linlithgow he joined the Harthill District Scottish Country Dance Club. He danced with Jimmy Shand and toured with The White Heather Club (much to his mother's dismay, as he left school to join them!)

As an adult, Ken joined the Edinburgh Branch Demonstration team, appearing in An Edinburgh Fancy at the Royal High School, along with Alec Black, Bob Grant and Stanley Wilkie. He partnered Sheila MacPherson, Kate Ross, Evelyn Wilson and many others. In the 1960s , he danced at Holyrood Palace for the late Queen, and later for King Hussain of Jordan in 1966 and the President of the Italian Republic in 1969. He also performed at Edinburgh City Chambers for Prime Minister Kosygin of Russia in 1967, as well as at the Kremlin on a trip to Russia. Ken represented Edinburgh Branch and Scotland in many other countries and festivals, including in Edinburgh at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in 1970. Highland Dancing was Ken’s passion.

“I will never forget Ken and his dancing. His highland dancing was wholly magical and I could hardly take my eyes off his feet. He seemed to have no nerves about anything he danced.’”

In his working life Ken sold commercial vehicles to haulage contractors. It was while working at Central Garage, Bathgate that he met his future wife Sharon and they were married in June 1972. They had one daughter, Leighanne, who has two children Elle and Dennis and now lives with her family in Tenerife. Sadly, Sharon was diagnosed with MS and to help care for her, Ken gave up his job and bought an Edinburgh black taxi so that he could suit his hours to fit in with family and the carers who looked after her. Sharon died in 1995.

During this time Ken lost touch with his country dancing friends but he was eventually persuaded to return a couple of years later. On his return to dancing he met up with Christine, whom he had known for a number of years, and eventually they became an ‘item’. In 2000 they decided to change careers and bought The Spindrift Guest House in Anstruther. They had 18 successful years there: it was hard work with long hours, but they still found time to make good friends with guests, staff and local people. Together they won several awards from Visit Scotland plus Les Routiers Guest House of the Year in 2013. Ken was awarded the Scots Porridge Oats Championship in 2003, the year they got married. He was also involved in organising the Anstruther Floral Displays, and in particular the Anstruther Harbour Festival, where he was Chairman. He made sure our Demonstration Team from Edinburgh was included in the Scottish Show held in the Scottish Fisheries Museum each year, a tradition which continues. Ken and Christine retired from The Spindrift in October 2018 and moved to Lundin Links, joining the local bowling club where they soon made new friends.

Ken had major heart surgery in December last year. He made a slow recovery, but by the end of February felt well enough to celebrate his 80th birthday at the beginning of March when he had a great day with family and friends. Ken died suddenly at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy on 17 April. The church service to celebrate his life was held in Anstruther, and was very well attended by family and friends from the country dancing world, along with his many friends from the East Neuk, Edinburgh, Lundin Links and West Lothian.

He will be hugely missed by everyone, and our thoughts are with Christine and their families. Thanks for the memories Ken!

Also, sadly missed is:

Ian Chuter a life member of Edinburgh Branch who danced in our Demonstration team and served on our committee.

Can you spare us some time?

Our Branch shop is looking for a volunteer to keep the stock and post it out to purchasers, and bring it along to some Branch events. You don’t need any previous experience; just a bit of space to store the stock and a willingness to help.

Please contact us to find out what is involved and how you can help us info@rscdsedinburgh.org

Dr Robbie Shepherd MBE was Edinburgh Branch’s longest serving Honorary Vice-President, having accepted this role over 25 years ago. He has been a fantastic ambassador for Scottish dance and its music and a great supporter of us in Edinburgh. He will be much missed. Here Iain MacPhail pays tribute to him.

Memories of Robbie Shepherd; A man o’ Pairts

Robbie Shepherd, who has died at the age of 87, played a significant part in keeping the Scottish music and dance flame burning brightly on the BBC Radio Scotland show ‘Take the Floor’.

Scottish dance music has had distinctive announcers over many years – from the formal voice of Bill Jack, the mellifluous tones of David Findlay to the Doric of Robbie Shepherd. Each had their own presentational styles to further the music and dance of Scotland.

Robbie was a chartered management accountant in addition to his broadcasting career of 35 years. Alongside ‘Take the Floor’, he worked on television with the ‘Beechgrove Garden’, presented sheepdog trials and provided commentary on highland games, particularly those at Braemar which were attended by the Royal Family. He was also a writer of ceilidh dances and contributed a newspaper column in Doric.

I first met Robbie in August 1980 when the band was broadcasting from Elgin Town Hall. We arrived at the venue, set up our musical equipment, did a sound check with the BBC Staff and watched the hall filling rapidly with the invited audience. There was no sign of producer Chris Worrall or announcer David Findlay who were travelling together by car from Glasgow. We were not to know that they had been involved in a road accident. With minutes to spare before going on air, in came Robbie Shepherd who had been summoned from Radio Aberdeen for his first ‘Take the Floor’.

We went on to do many outside broadcasts presented by Robbie with a wide geographical spread across the United Kingdom. We did several in Edinburgh – from Edinburgh University and Princes Street Gardens, to Holyroodhouse when celebrating the late Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

In any live broadcasting event, there is always potential for chaos. Throughout our times together, Robbie always presented as calm, unflustered and professional, testament to the diligent preparation he applied to every programme.

There was always a warmth about Robbie. He aimed to present traditional dance music and performers in the best possible light. He loved his North East culture his first album of bothy ballads was issued by EMI in 1973 and he was renowned for his distinctive Doric accent.

Robbie played his significant part in keeping Scottish dance and music to the forefront in the ever-changing times – across the world, wherever Scots congregate.

Iain MacPhail

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.

Want to advertise in Dancing Forth contact us at dancingforth@rscdsedinburgh.org

Demonstration News

Our team were thrilled to make a return visit to the Anstruther Harbour Festival celebrating 100 years of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society with a performance of Scottish dance and music.

Dances included The Reel of the 51st Division, The Jubilee Jig and The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh . We were delighted to be joined by Iain MacPhail and his Scottish dance band, Katie Moore (Highland dancer) and Jamie Crawford (Piper).

We were excited to have been part of the RSCDS Book 53 for 2023 project. It seemed to be a secret for a very long time, however the dance The Water of Leith has been included within the RSCDS Centenary publication.

Our team took on the challenge to record the dance beside the Water of Leith. We had to contend with people out running, walking dogs, the slope and tiny stones all over the road. We also had to be quick so that there was continuity with the setting sun!

We hope you enjoy these backstage shots, including when it all goes a wee bit wrong.