Highlanders dance their way to victory

Medal Tests were held on Thursday, Feb. 16 2023 at Expressive Dance with Crystal’s Studio in Minnedosa. The examiner was Lynne Hamilton, who travelled all the way from Scotland! She is an examiner with the Scottish Dance Teachers’ Alliance. Twenty-five of Crystal Scott’s Highland dancers completed a total of 74 exams. Seven dancers from Brandon School of Dance/ Dance Images Studio where Crystal teaches and 18 dancers from Crystal’s Minnedosa Studio. Some exams include four dances as well as demonstrating technique. Many dancers completed one to seven exams each.

There were Highland

Dance exams, Scottish Nationals, Irish Jig, Sailor’s Hornpipe, Choreographies and the Queen’s Platinum

Jubilee Award.

The marking system is as follows: Dance Stars up to Preliminary receive a Pass,

Curling a long-loved sport

Pre-Bronze up to Award 6 receive Pass, Pass Plus, Commended, Commended Plus and Highly Commended.

Everyone was successful with their exams and they’ll receive certificates and medals at a later date.

Crystal is so proud of her dancers as they continue to set goals and strive to keep improving.

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By the early 1900s, curling had become one of the most popular sports in Manitoba and almost every town had an arena.

In Neepawa, about 1893, there was one outdoor sheet for curling. Over the years, several new rinks were built to accommodate the needs of the curlers. There were men’s, mixed, farmers, veterans, school, women’s and many more leagues in Neepawa and surrounding small towns. Tanis Brown remembers how pumped she was at her first curling game at the age of eight. The Inkerman 4H group attended a Fun Day bonspiel at Helston, one sheet of ice and a very encouraging skip of Jim Deveson. In those days of natural ice, the curlers hoped there wasn’t a warm spell, as the game would be difficult to play or be cancelled. Bernie Ross, a long time curler remembers in the early 1970s, playing in an Arden bonspiel on a warm day with water on the ice. The opposition’s Gilbert Plett threw the only rock that made it down the house and beat them with a score of 1-0.

Curling was recreational, but it was also a social event. Farmers and the working man needed the break from all their hard work and the socialization helped them keep up morale during trying times. The ladies just enjoyed getting out. The old timers dropped by the rink to watch the curling and visit over a cup of coffee. The curling rink was a social center for both curlers and non-curlers.