Valley Scottish Country Dance Society

From Rob:
Hello Dancers,

We have completed 10 classes now and mastered several formations.
For the next two weeks we will review several of the dances we have
learned (especially the ones we have enjoyed most), to be ready for
our final fling on 3 December.

Our new “difficult dance” last week, the Glasgow Highlanders, went
off well enough that it was requested to be on the final dance
program, but we’ll give it a break in the next class, with plans to
run it on the last class before the final dance. As I mentioned in the
class this week, I was very impressed how well you managed it,
complete with the fancy twirls you saw some people doing in the video
recording!

The specific dances I plan to do this week for the final dance are
Mairi’s Wedding, Loon Mountain Reel, and Catch the Wind. Loon Mountain
Reel doesn’t have a video on the Scottish Country Dance Dictionary,
but you can see the diagrammatic crib at
https://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/krdiagram/loon-mountain-reel.html.
I discovered it was composed for Gov. Shennan Adams, host to the New
Hampshire Gathering of the Scottish Clans at Loon Mountain Resort.

The full program for the final dance is pasted below. Finally we
had a brief discussion about the Burns event - in 2025, his day (25th
January) will be a Saturday, and we agreed to arrange a low-key event,
details to be confirmed.

All Mixed Up - 6 x 32 J circle
Lobster in the Pot - 8 x 32 J
Lea Rig 6 x 32 S
Reel of 51st Division 8 x 32 R
Clatterin Brig 3 (4) x 32 J
Glasgow Highlanders 8 x 32 S
Mairi’s Wedding 8 x 40 R
Loon Mountain Reel 4 x 32 R
Dunedin Festival Dance or 6 x 32 R mixer or Up a Notch 6 x 32 J

I hope to see you on Tuesday!

A note from Rob.
Next Tuesday will be the sixth class of the term – halfway through! Last time we consolidated the petronella figure and the reel of four and people seemed to manage it with a minimum of chaos! Actually most of the time everyone was in the right place at the right time – if only I can remember that a 40-bar reel has 8 more bars of dancing than a 32-bar reel! Mairi’s Wedding was enjoyed so much, the dancers requested we do it again next week, so it’s on the program, but not as the “difficult dance” this time – you are getting too good for that, so I found something tougher!

The focus of our next class, however, will be the poussette. I sneaked in a half-poussette the past couple of weeks without any complaints, so it’s time to “step it up” a bit. We’ll tackle it in a strathspey and then a reel, leading up to the “difficult dance” which will be Summer Wooing. Repeat dances will be Mairi’s Wedding and Spark o’ Water. You might want to review the videos for Kingussie Flower too – that has both a reel of four and a poussette in it – for our final teaching dance.

Instructions for most of our dances are available at the Scottish Country Dance Dictionary (click on the ‘A-Z Dance Cribs’).

We wrapped up this season of dance on Tuesday evening with some great dancing and a social. Thanks Sue and Rob for teaching us the dances.

Hello, VSCDS dancers,

Just a quick reminder that the VSCDS spring term begins on Tuesday, March 19.
Classes will again be held in Bishop Hall, 10032 Highway #1, Greenwich NS, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

The Highland Rambler.
Another dance we were asked to look at is this one.
Link: https://youtu.be/YxIW5HHHHAs

Mary Erskine
Here is a demonstration of what this dance looks like. Note the double triangle and how the swivel works. Notice also how far apart the dancers are and how they use the space.
The link: https://youtu.be/JjbX3Ydl3EA

Some photos from the 1st class of 23/24 Season. We had 3 new members.

STARTS TONIGHT -7:30PM
Fun for all ages. Bishop Hall, 10032 Nova Scotia Trunk 1, Wolfville
Photo taken at a past event.

LOOKING FOR GREAT EXERCISE AND FUN?
Fall term classes will resume on 10 October, running until 5 December. Classes are taught by Sue Van Horne with assistance from Rob Raeside. Classes run from 7:30 – 9:30 pm at Bishop Hall, 10032 Hwy # 1, in Greenwich, Nova Scotia. Each class costs $10, or $72 for the 9-week term.