Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Delaware Valley Branch

Dancing for Newcomers

Lively music! Aerobic exercise! Good company! Cool dance patterns! Kilts!

Anyway you look at it, Scottish Country Dancing is great fun. It's *social* dance, which means there's no audience, just the pleasure of dancing together to the best of our various abilities. Most of us aren't of Scottish ancestry. We love the music and the dance form -- and hope you will too!

Curious about Scottish Country Dancing?

Check out online videos for a sense of the dancing & music. Some day we'll post video of our local dancers, but until then, search for "RSCDS". Two on YouTube that we like are a teaching segment with Angela Young and an information video from Louisville, KY which shows both quick and slow time dances, and how the dances are taught.

Now's the time to start!

• Lansdowne (Mondays)
• Newark (Mondays)
• Chestnut Hill (Tuesdays)
• Cherry Hill (Wednesdays)
• Crosslands (Chester County -- Thursdays)

To learn what to wear, what to bring, and details about the classes, check our Class description page.

We look forward to dancing with you!

Chairman's Corner: Summer, 2010

Summer is a time when the Branch seems deceptively quiet. The heat limits our dancing inclinations but don't be fooled by the paucity of events (Yeah for the Newark and Crosslands classes which keep going!!)

A sizeable contingent of Branch members attended English/Scottish session at Pinewoods, or one of the Scottish sessions or a combination of both. Branch members should be proud to know that both of the primary teachers at English/Scottish Pinewoods were Del. Val. Teachers: Joanna Reiner teaching the English and Terry Harvey teaching the Scottish dancing. As I write this, Kim Boice and Jane Roberts are attending the RSCDS Summer School in St. Andrews, Scotland: Kim visiting Scotland for the first time and Jane returning to take yet another Musicians' Course. In late July, I led the induction (Scottish for training) of two new North American examiners into the RSCDS's examiner pool. Both Elaine Brunken (Northern Virginia Branch) and Ron Wallace (San Francisco Branch) are no strangers to the Delaware Valley. They spent a weekend here being trained and will be an asset to the Society in future examinations. Additionally, I will be examining candidates for Units 2, 3 and 5 at the TAC Summer School in early August and conducting a master class in teaching beginners . Cecily will also be at TAC Summer School.

Nor has the Branch Executive been idle. Venues have been reserved for next year and classes, dances and special events are now scheduled. A thoughtful and cautious budget was put together under the guidance of Jill Emery, Branch treasurer. The Publicity Committee, under Morgan MacMillan's capable leadership, has selected a website designer and with the support of knowledgeable Branch members, has been refining the details of the new website. The Morstein Labor Day dance will kick off the season, soon to be followed by the Delaware Ball (Oct. 30th) with Hogmanay not far behind. Both Delaware Ball and Hogmanay fliers and cheat sheets will available shortly. We are purchasing some new sound equipment and developing a long-range plan for sound system upgrades. Even the by-laws will get a review and possible update in late summer.

Nov. 13th will bring Elaine Brunken to our Branch for an afternoon ceildih dance workshop for area teachers and dance leaders and an evening ceilidh dance for everyone.

As you can see, summer may seem like a quiet time for Scottish dancers, but in fact, many dance actively and the Executive does most of the year's planning and organization during this time.

Please remember that we are a Branch of volunteers and offer to help out in whatever ways you can. There are formal tasks such as committee chairs at balls etc. but there are also chairs to be stacked, tables moved, food brought and equipment carried etc. It all works so much better when everyone helps. Enjoy summer's end and get those ghillies ready for September.