RSCDS Winter School

Heather Hodgson (Cape Town Branch) reports on the RSCDS Winter School

Andrew and I were among the thirty-six first-timers who attended the RSCDS Winter School in Pitlochry in February. The base for this residential school was the Atholl Palace Hotel which nestles high on a hill overlooking the town and is surrounded by extensive gardens and forests with red squirrels. It was originally a Victorian hydropathic spa hotel and made a comfortable and relaxing venue. The co-ordinator was Sue Porter, who was also one of the teachers. She was superorganized and even included snow on her checklist. Our other teachers were Alasdair Brown and Eric Finley and our trio of musicians were Bill Ewan, George Meikle and Frank Thomson. Registration was efficiently handled by Gordon Porter and we were soon mingling with dancers from all over the world (Australia, Canada, France, South Africa, Spain, England and Scotland) at the opening wine reception.The opportunity to meet dancers continued during dinner, as careful thought had been given to the seating arrangements with pre-assigned tables named after Scottish Isles. Each morning for four days there were two classes which we were required to attend. The teaching was excellent and we were worked hard and encouraged to do better than our best. I revelled in the chance to get expert teaching and innovative ideas for warm-ups, and it was a great treat to have musicians play for the classes. Afternoons were free to explore the surrounding area or take part in optional classes and activities. This year these included an illustrated and entertaining talk on Gaelic music by Johan MacLean, featuring a lively performance of mouth music, and a class on Highland steps for country dancing taken by Alasdair Brown. Evenings comprised a fine three course meal followed by social dancing. This was quite relaxed with dances recapped. The evenings ended with a soirée from the musicians in the hotel lounge. The music thrilled us and we tumbled happy and tired into bed. Wednesday night was ceilidh night, ably

Dancers enjoying a socialevening at Winter School. Photo by Gordon Porter.

The AthollPalace Hotel, the venue for Winter School, andmusicians(left to right)George Meikle, BillEwan andFrankThomson. Photos by Andrew Hodgson.

MC’d by Eric Finley, with a mixture of turns from the dancers on the course and ceilidh dancing for all. The ceilidh dances were quite simple and were expertly demonstrated by Sue and Gordon Porter before we were encouraged to join in. The highlight of the dancing was the ball in the grand ballroom of Blair Castle, the ancient seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl. This was indeed a magnificent setting for a dance and provided an opportunity for a Highland fashion fair with ladies wearing satin and silk ball gowns and men dapper in formal evening dress. It seemed most apt that there was a portrait of Niel Gow, celebrated fiddler and composer of Scottish country dance tunes, displayed above the stage. The course also provided opportunities for retail therapy: In addition to the RSCDS shop, Janet Washington of Claire Charles Designs and St Andrews Shoemakers had small stores on site. Beautiful scenery, excellent teachers and musicians, lots of happy social dancing, fine dining and snow made the lengthy journey worthwhile. Andrew and I returned home with many happy memories and a dream of attending Winter School again in the future.