Dancing around the World All branches and affiliated groups are invited to send in their news (less than 200 words and photos over 500kB please) to Caroline Brockbank caroline@ceilidhkids.com We particularly like to read news from branches who have not featured recently, and those whose events are out of the ordinary!
Ayr Branch
A photo from our Branch Dance in the Walker Hall in November 2021 - our first Branch dance since January 2020. Super music from Sandy Nixon, Stuart Thomson and Gordon Young; a fantastic afternoon!
Wilma Brown, Ayr
Bristol Branch
Saturday and Sunday. Our teachers were Patrick Chamoin, Gábor Turi and Beatrix Wepner, with Silke Grosholz (piano), Matthias Rank (violin), and Thomas Naefe (recorder). We did not know until the last minute if it would be possible to hold the event. At times, the organisers felt it impossible, especially when people from the UK cancelled, but we were determined to go on with a ‘real’ dance event after such a long break. We usually have twice or three times as many foreign dancers as locals, but this year we had twice as many locals. We enjoyed a sunny picnic on Gellért hill, and dinner in the nearby garden restaurant in the oldest building of the Taban area. Check out YouTube to see pictures from our fun weekend. The BSTK dance regularly. In the autumn we had several Scottish ‘táncház’ (ceilidhs) with music from the Dagda Band. We celebrated Burns Night with a performance at the 25th Burns Supper in Budapest, the Scottish Brunch performance the next day, and the recording for the Moscow Branch Robert Burns Flash Mob Online.
Agnes Borbely, Budapest
Canterbury Region NZ
We were promised a surprise celebration at the start of our dancing year in September, following an interminable time away from the dancefloor. After intense speculation, it was revealed that Hugh Ferguson, our local musician and band leader, was to be awarded the RSCDS Scroll of Honour. Hugh has been the musical mainstay of Scottish country dancing in our area since he moved here in the late 1970s from Manchester, and before then, Bellshill in Glasgow. He has also played worldwide, for dance classes, balls, summer schools and at festivals in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. His band, Dalriada, has played many times for the Royal Family at Sandringham, Windsor Castle and Bagshot Park. A gifted composer of tunes, and musical arrangements, he has produced recordings and published The Langford Collection of Tunes for Scottish Dance. He was a regular workshop leader for SCD music weekends at Halsway Manor National Centre for Folk Arts. RSCDS Chair Elect William Williamson presented the scroll to Hugh, and took us through a very enjoyable class, dancing to the music of Ian Robertson. It was indeed an evening to remember.
Ruth Davies, Bristol
Budapest Scottish Dance Club Our weekend and ball in Budapest in September was fantastic: a welcome dance on Friday, a ball on Saturday and workshops on
2021 was a year we were more than ready to kiss goodbye, and the Canterbury Region’s Hogmanay did it with style, with many friends from across the region and further afield enjoying a fun, inclusive, gentle dance programme. After the disappointment of a postponed and then cancelled Summer School in Christchurch, and more disruptions to weekly classes, it was lovely to spend an evening dancing with friends. We had the undeniable musical talents of a group of friends who were dubbed ‘The One Night Stand Band’ for the evening. You cannot beat live music to really lift the atmosphere and encourage spirited dancing! After supper and more dances, we joined together (including the band) for the traditional sing-along as we counted down to midnight. Fun was had as we ‘redded the hoose’, and tradition received an update as our First Foot was a rather gorgeous, dark-haired woman, bearing the traditional gifts and sure to have brought good luck into the
www.rscds.org
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