Australian Winter School July 2009 by Bill Unger
169 dancers attended the 34th Australian Winter School hosted by Sydney Branch in Kiama, New South Wales. The headline musicians were David Cunningham, Neil Galloway and Scott Cunningham from Scotland, together with Chris Duncan and Catherine Strutt from Newcastle, NSW. It was fascinating to compare the two groups, with Scottish accordions in one, and local fiddle and piano in the other. I thoroughly enjoyed dancing to both ensembles, and, judging by the feel at socials and the ball, I was not alone. There were six classes, taught by NSW teachers plus Pat Houghton and Helen Russell from Scotland, who both gave excellent morning classes and afternoon sessions. The format of the morning classes was "technique" (all taught by ladies) before morning tea, with "dances" (all taught by men) afterwards. This format, new to the Australian Winter School, met with general approval from the dancers I spoke with. I took the chance to be student, then teacher, and had a great time. There were extra dance classes in the afternoons, plus a "Taste of Japan" organized by the Japanese at the school, and any number of possible excursions into Kiama and the surrounding area. Helen Russell's teaching skills were very interesting and useful. In the evenings there were socials, a
The Youth Class performs at the Winter School ball. formal dinner and ceilidh, the ball, and, on 14 July, a celebration of the Auld Alliance, hilariously executed by Sydney Branch and friends from a script by Margaret Sim. The only extra the ceilidh night needed was the guillotine... The youth class deserves a special mention. It was supported financially by a grant from the Jean Milligan Memorial Fund and fundraising by Sydney clubs Lower Mountains and Epping. Trish Nichols describes her experience teaching the class: “I had the opportunity to teach a most delightful, talented and cohesive group of young dancers. They brought with them a strong sense of discipline and enthusiasm so that, in spite of the age and height differences and gender imbalance, we were all open to enjoying Scottish country dancing as a social and physical activity. In addition to following the RSCDS teaching procedure in step, transition, formation and
dance development, emphasis was given to posture, body alignment, balance, turn-out and strong feet. “For me the highlight of Winter School was a demonstration given by the class at the ball on the last night. One of the class members, Oliver Miller, devised the dance which we named The Kiama Knot. As each young dancer had one or both parents at the School, we decided that the parents would join in the demonstration after the youth class had danced the initial 64 bars. Judging by the smiles on the faces of the audience and the loud applause, the performance was enjoyed and appreciated by all.” Congratulations to Anne Kennedy and her team for organising a most enjoyable event. The surroundings were beautiful, accommodation excellent, music fantastic, dancing great, closing ball fabulous, weather good, and the tsunami warning came to nothing. What more could one ask?
The Youth Class with Jennifer Foong on piano. The Grand March is led by the President of Sydney Branch, Anthony Simon, and the Winter School Convenor, Anne Kennedy.
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