Youth From the Youth Director
During spring and summer many of the now established events for younger dancers have taken place very successfully, including the Intervarsity Folk Dance Festival in Bristol and Spring Fling in Edinburgh. The energy levels at both were amazing – on remarkably little sleep! It was particularly good to welcome dancers from all over Europe to Spring Fling this year, including a group from Gdansk University. Spring Fling 2012 will be held in Dundee and St Andrews over the last weekend in April and planning is well under way. Youth Weekend West was hosted in Bellingham USA this year and was as ever a very enjoyable event. The Dunedin Dancers held their Biennial Festival in Edinburgh in conjunction with Edinburgh University New Scotland Scottish Country Dancers – again younger dancers and musicians were very much involved in all aspects of the event. This is good for the future of SCD and I am sure, looking at some of the other reports in the magazine, the same story is repeated all over the world. It would be great to hear about even more events for or including younger dancers. What have you found works in your area? I have had several enquiries about the role of a youth coordinator on a branch committee, and a query from a newly appointed ‘youth ambassador’ – a young dancer aiming to interest and involve other people in the hobby which gives us all so much enjoyment. Is there anyone else out there doing the same? It would be good to share ideas. I am hoping to work on a role description for a branch youth coordinator. Any thoughts from those of you who are already doing the job would be welcome.
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Dumfries Branch held its first Children’s Day of Dance in May at Troqueer Primary School. Guest teacher Louise Macdougall from Darlington impressed on the children the importance of smiling and being aware of all the dancers around them, as well of course as doing their very best dancing. A new dance called The Day of Dance was written by Sue Petyt especially for the occasion and George Meikle played lively tunes for the morning class and the afternoon dance. A picnic lunch was provided by parents and Branch committee members. The photograph (taken by Iain Hale) shows Louise (back row left) with the children.
CPD Workshop Seventeen teachers attended a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) Workshop in University Hall, St Andrews on 31 July. This was the third workshop that has been held to enable RSCDS teachers from an education and training background to train primary and secondary teachers to deliver SCD in schools. Since the previous workshop in November 2010 a working group has been developing a syllabus of very simple dances for use in primary schools by non-specialist class teachers. A complete lesson plan has been drawn up for each dance. The lesson plans were discussed and approved, with minor amendments, by those attending the workshop. The lesson plans, which correspond with many of the requirements of the new ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ in Scottish schools, will now be piloted by class teachers in schools already selected by the working group. When the results of the pilot scheme are known the working group will complete the syllabus. The package will include a CD and should be available next year. Irene Bennett
Spring Fling 2011 In March Edinburgh played host to another fantastic weekend of Scottish country dancing for those under 35, and the dancers that wee bit older who joined us for the evening festivities. Dancers from all over Europe came together to renew old friendships and form many new ones From the semi-serious business of improving your technique in the classes on Saturday to the slightly sillier Sunday morning challenge, where dances were choreographed to depict famous Scottish stories and performed, complete with costume, to the other Spring Flingers, the Edinburgh Spring Fling was a rip-roaring success. The highlight of the weekend was the joint RSCDS Spring Fling and Dunedin Dancers ball which drew together dance groups from all over Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife alongside the Spring Flingers in George Watson’s College to dance the night away. The repetition of the line, 'We need to do this again,' is evidence enough for the success of the evening.
Remember: SCD for fun and learning new skills at the same time
As always, good things come to an end and the last few bars of the final polka of the weekend seemed like a lament as it pronounced the end of Spring Fling 2011. All we can do now is wait for next year!
Deb Lees
Michelle Meany
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