Volume 23 #6

The Scottish Country Dancer

May/June 2007

Articles in This Issue

Say, Why is this Newsletter Late?
Have Ghillies, Will Travel ...to Bohemia!
Our Dinner Dance is this Month!
Calendar of Events

Say, Why is this Newsletter Late? by John Shaw

And why do Angels dance in Seattle?

As you may know, four members of Vancouver USA Scottish Country Dancers have been preparing for teaching certificates in Scottish Country Dance. Since October, Linda Mae Dennis, Liza Halpenny, John Shaw [newsletter editor], and Geri Stuart have been spending one weekend each month in Seattle, studying, dancing, and practice-teaching with 4 other candidates from around the northwest, all under the tutelage of Irene Patterson. The four Vancouverites have been accompanied on these trips by their teacher, Marge Van Nus -- and Fred Van Nus did almost all the driving!

Hopeful candidates

All the preparation came to a head on the last weekend in April, when the candidates "stood for their exam", each teaching a class of three sets before the watchful eyes of two examiners from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Christine Mair and Francis Gray.

John was first on the schedule, and spent the remainder of the day resting, eating, and generally savoring the relief that comes from "having it over with". By about 3 in the afternoon, Liza, Geri, and Linda Mae had finished their exams as well, and the group headed over to the nearby home of Elizabeth Miller, one of the candidates, who graciously provided a place to decompress, sample some lovely beverages, and relax a bit before dinner.

And Who, you might ask, were the angels dancing in Seattle that day? Remember the three sets of dancers each of the eight candidates had to teach? The dancers were volunteers -- "Angels", we call them -- from the local SCD community who gave up their Saturday to provide us candidates with students to teach. Imagine being introduced to and drilled with the pas de Basque step, over, and over, and over... Oh, yeah, they're angels!

Have Ghillies, Will Travel ...to Bohemia!

Visiting Bohemia

The Dvorana Dance School is hosting a "Scottish Dance Week 2007" in August. Ron Wallace will be the teacher at the dance workshop in Prague, Czech Republic, during the week of August 18-25. If you can stay an additional week, Dvorana has arranged a weeklong tour of southern Bohemia, with visits to castles, bakeries, breweries, and other attractions of the countryside. (Quoting from the website, "This part of the Czech republic is very attractive with its soft and mellow countryside and historical towns.")

According to the website, Dvorana Dance is a dance school located in Prague, which has been organizing international dance workshops and tours all over Europe since 1985 for those interested in:

Czech, Moravian and Slovak folk dancing
Vintage dances
New England contra dances
Scottish country dances

All the information is on their website, www.dvorana.cz. Click on "Dvorana Dance" under the "English" combined US and British flags to see the English version; or you can email them at: dvorana@mbox.vol.cz. You can also enquire by paper mail, to:

      DVORANA
      Spanielova 38 / 1275
      163 00 Praha 6
      Czech Republic

Our Dinner Dance is this Month!

The annual Dinner Dance hosted by the Vancouver USA Scottish Country Dancers will be held the evening of May 19th. You can find the details in the Calendar below, but please note these "changes" from past years:

the dinner will be at Hidden House Restaurant (get your reservations in!)
the dance will be at the Columbia Dance Studio, just a few blocks up the street
the diners will become dancers as we are piped from the restaurant to the studio!

See you there!

Calendar of Events


May 3: Camas Classes Start Be sure to sign up for the next session! Family Basic Scottish Country Dance, partners are not necessary, and all are welcome. Soft soled shoes, please. Thursdays, Fee: $20.00. 7:00 to 8:30 PM. James David Zellerbach Elementary School Cafeteria, 841 NE 22nd Avenue, Camas. Instructor: Geri Stuart Dates: May 3 - June 7 (6 weeks).
May 9: Vancouver Classes Start Wednesdays, 8:00 - 9:30pm at the Luepke Center Multipurpose room, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver, May 9th to June 27th; $35; Beginning #41247, John Shaw instructor; and Intermediate #41259, Linda Mae Dennis instructor; call 696-8236 to register; Fridays 7:30-8:55pm at the Firstenburg Community Center, 700 NE 136th Ave, Vancouver, May 11th to June 29th; $38, Basic #40130, Geri Stuart instructor; call 487-7001 to register.
May 12: Portland Dance Party Tigard Grange 13770 SW Pacific Hwy., Tigard, OR. 7:30PM $4 at the door. The Program: Miss Allie Anderson BJ Leaflet The Dream Catcher IS RSCDS Bk 45, #9 Lady Drumfries BR MMMI, #26 Starry-Eyed Lassie IJ RSCDS Bk 23, #11 Susanne's Strathspey BS Goldring The Dancing Master IR Drewry Craven Jig IJ 3 Dances for 2006, #1 Donald Bane BS RSCDS Bk 17, #12 Invermeill House IR RSCDS Bk 35, #2 Kendall's Hornpipe BJ RSCDS Graded Bk, #22 John McAlpin IS Foss Kiss Me Quick' BR RSCDS Bk 12, #6
May 19: A-May-Zing Dance An *A-May-Zing Night!* Dinner at 6pm at the historic Hidden House in Downtown Vancouver (limited seating, reservations required by May 9th!) Then a piper will lead us in a Grand March a few blocks from the restaurant to the Dance at 8pm at The Columbia Dance Center, 1700 Broadway. Live music provided by Lisa Scott, piano; Linda Danielson, fiddle; and Fred Wilson. Click here to download the reservation form in PDF format, or call Marge McLeod van Nus 360-892-4366. The Program: Good Hearted Glasgow (J) leaflet Miss Isabella McLeod (S) RSCDS Bk 25 Kiss Me Quick Me Mither's Coming (R) RSCDS Bk 12 Two and Two (J) RSCDS Bk 19 Wedding At Roche Harbor (S) WA State Centennial Davy Nick Nack (R) Glasgow Assembly C'est L' Amour (J) RSCDS Bk 34 Mrs. Hamilton of Wishaw (S) RSCDS Bk 23 Mrs. MacLeod (R) RSCDS Bk 6 Starry Eyed Lassie (J) RSCDS Bk 23 Balquidder Strathspey (S) RSCDS Bk 24 Ha! Ha! The Wooin O'It (R) RSCDS Miss Milligan's Miscellany Vol. 1 The Frisky (J) RSCDS Bk 26 The Star (S) RSCDS Bk 28 De'il Amang the Tailors (R) RSCDS Bk 14 Waltz
June 9: Portland Hike and/or Dance Location and other details, to be announced. Keep checking back!
July 8: Summer Potluck Picnic Potluck Picnic hosted by VancouverUSA Scottish Country Dancers. Lewisville Park, north of Battle Ground. More details coming soon. Keep checking back.
Sep 21-23: Fort Worden Weekend RSCDS Seattle Branch's Annual Weekend Workshop and Ball Musicians Deby Grosjean (fiddle), Calumn MacKinnon (fiddle), Andy Imbrie (piano), Ralph Gordon (cello, bass) Teachers Helen Frame (Ayrshire, Scotland), Irene Paterson (Mukilteo, WA), Fred DeMarse (Alameda, CA), Arthur McNair (Pittsburgh, PA) Watch for your Fort Worden application in April, or check the website for an online application: www.rscds-seattle.org

7 days without dancing makes one weak.
Keep dancing!


	Do you have an item of Celtic interest you would like to see in print?
	You can contact me in any of the following ways:
	By mail:


	John Shaw
	PO Box 2438
	Battle Ground, WA 98604


	By email:

The Scottish Country Dancer is a bi-monthly publication of the Vancouver USA Scottish Country Dancers, a non-profit educational organization. For changes of address, please contact John Shaw, PO Box 2438 Battle Ground, WA 98604, . The editor reserves the right to alter or edit any material submitted for publication for reasons of taste, style, or clarity. All materials for publication should be sent by email to the editor at the address above, preferably in straight text. Deadline is one week before the end of the month prior to publication date. Editors of other newsletters may use or adapt any materials in the Scottish Country Dancer unless a specific copyright notice is included. Please credit author and original source.

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