Branch News
MOST RECENT NEWS
April 2024 Friday 5th was the date of the final branch dance of the 2023/2024 season. The spring picnic dance was held in the Corn Exchange Melrose and 60+ dancers attended. The evening began with a bring your own two course supper and this was followed by a programme of 16 dances - all recapped and some walked through. This was the second year for such an event and it is currently proving to be more popular than the formal ball which was the predecessor.
March 2024 A Scottish country dance festival organised by youth coordinators Margaret Pritchard & Maureen Buckley took place in Galashiels on 27th March. Details are on the youth page and the photo gallery.
January 2024 All classes have resumed and are working through dances on the programmes for the Committee Dance and Gala Club Dance both to be held in February. Selkirk Childrens class entertained the residents of Riverside Care home where they performed a programme of 4 dances and were warmly received.
November 2023 A new day school format was introduced - 2 morning classes each of 1hr 15 mins followed by an afternoon dance. The teacher, Margo Priestley, was faced with a class of 50 mixed ability dancers but her wealth of experience enabled her to cope admirably. She was accompanied by Stuart Anderson and they played a huge part in making the day a great success.
A group of 8 dancers from the branch attended the Autumn Gathering in Glasgow. Margaret Pritchard represented the branch on the Sunday morning panel session where the topic was "Ideas and Best Practice for Branches in encouraging membership" She ably reported on her experience with youth dancing.
October 2023 During Selkirk Childrens Day School, a video was taken of a dance and this would be submitted to HQ as an entry to Festival of Dance through the Decades.
A group of people who dance throughout the Borders have recently posted videos of their performances in Melrose Parish Church on Thursday afternoons of dances not previously available on-line.
A well attended Scottish Country Dance with music by Ewan Galloway was held at the Corn Exchange, Melrose on 13th October to celebrate 25 years since the BGH class was founded by Dr Ian Shepherd.Originally held every week in the BGH gym as a way of encouraging fitness, the class had to move when the gym became part of the outpatients area and went initially to Tweedbank Community centre. Over these 25 years the class has also been proud to have made donations of several thousand pounds to local charities. It is now held weekly throughout the year at Melrose Parish Church Hall on Tuesday afternoons from 2 pm and is open to all. Report by John Smith
August / September Classes 2023 Prior to the resumption of local classes, the Branch held 4 Tuesday evening classes to cover a selection of dances from Book 53. These classes were aimed at dancers with some experience rather than beginners and were well attended by dancers from throughout the Borders.
July2023 "Come and Try" session was held on Sunday 23rd July in Wilton Park Hawick. Anne Bell organised the event and she was well supported by Hawick dancers and a few from further afield. The bandstand provided shelter for the dancers and the spectators were seated in gazebos - so the inclement weather was not too much of a problem. Annes programme of simple dances encouraged several spectators to join in and hopefully some of them will join a class in the autumn. A worthwhile exercise which could be repeated!
BGH1 hosting Finnish students. RS&P Branch were contacted by HQ regarding a group of 23 Finnish students and their 3 teachers who were spending time in Scottish Borders with their Summer High School from Helsinki learning about Scottish culture. They were looking for an opportunity during their visit to participate in Scottish dancing and we were pleased to organise an afternoon of ceilidh / easy Scottish country dancing which they joined in with enthusiastically. The students demonstrated a variation of a conga which everyone joined and finished with a demonstration of the Macarena.
May 2023 Coronation Celebrations Selkirk Childrens class held a ball in Selkirk Rugby Club on Friday 5th May ( details on Youth page) and then took part in the Coronation afternoon tea party held in the Victoria Hall on Sunday 7th. The young dancers were delighted that Rowan, the RSCDS youth mascot, included Selkirk in his world wide tour during the RSCDS centenary year, his visit coinciding with these 2 events Photographs of the tea party are in the gallery
April 2023 On Friday 14th April we held the last branch dance of the season. This was a picnic dance to celebrate the establishment of the society 100 years ago. The dance, attended by over 60, was held in the Corn Exchange Melrose. The band was Marian Anderson Scottish Country Dance Band and the programme included the dances recommended by the society for their " dance through the decades" theme. The centenary cake, kindly donated by Alex Dalgetty & Sons, was cut by Marion Stirling. Marion began dancing in Galashiels in 1956, joined the society and the local branch in 1957 and has been a continuous member and supporter of both ever since. A few photos are on our photo gallery.
February 2023 The Committee Dance was held on Friday 10th in the Corn Exchange Melrose. What a delight to see the hall filled with dancers - taking us back to precovid days! The aim of the programme - to encourage new, inexperienced dancers to come along to a social event - was clearly met. Helpful hands and smiling faces was the order of the night.
January 2023 On Friday 20th a team of 8 dancers entertained the residents of Gala Hill residential home in Galashiels. One of the residents who had danced in the past at Bowden and had recently celebrated her 100th birthday was especially enthusiastic and led the applause. The following week a team of 6 dancers entertained at the Bield Sheltered Housing complex at Priorwood Melrose. This was part of the Burns lunch celebrations and the dancers were ably accompanied by one of the residents on his accordian
November 2022 Autumn Gathering in Glasgow. Unfortunartely Chairman Bill and his wife Patricia were victims of covid and so had to pull out of this event at the last minute. However the branch was represented by secretary Eleanor.
October 2022
In October Gattonside Scottish Country Dance Club held a memorial dance for Anna Walker who taught the class for 20 years. Anna, who died in August, gained her teaching certificate in Glasgow in 1953. The evening was attended by current and past members who danced a programme of Anna's favourite dances accompanied by Stuart Anderson on his accordian. The evening hosted by Anna's family was a great successand a collection of £210 will be sent to Anna's favourite charity The Scottish Wildlife Trust
St Andrews Day Ceilidhs 2022 After a break of 2 years plans are in place to resurrect the St Andrews Days Ceilidhs for primary schools. Volunteers will be going into various schools to support the class teachers in the teaching of the dances and the ceilidhs will take place at the end of November in Hawick and Galashiels
September 2022 The Selkirk Class is holding a beginners class from September 22nd. It will be held in Selkirk Parish Church hall from 6.45pm immediately before the main class at 7.30. The beginners would have their own class until about 7.30 and will then join in with the other dancers until 8.00 when they will have the chance to stay on to watch the regular/more experienced dancers.
Congratulations to Lyn Bryce who received the Branch Award at the Branch Ball in Victoria Hall in Selkirk on Friday 22nd April 2022. She was presented with her award by Chairman Bill Murray
SPRING FLING 2022
Earlier in the year Margaret applied to headquarters for funding to hold a Spring Fling. Her application was successful along with 9 others- 5 overseas and 5 in the UK - Cambridge, Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh & Selkirk. With help from Iona, a recent member of the Selkirk Childrens Country Dance Group, Margaret contacted past members, aged 12 to 35 with details of the event. It took place in Selkirk on the 6th May when the "girls" enjoyed a fun filled evening. Those who hadn't danced for some time soon remembered the dances and were helped and encouraged by Margaret, Maureen, Patricia and some of the girls still at the high school. Stuart Anderson provided the music and a finger buffet gave the dancers a chance to catch their breath
Left to right Patricia, Margaret, Iona, and Maureen More photos in the gallery
Sunday 26th June 2022 Gattonside Village Hall 17 dancers spent an exhausting Sunday afternoon dancing 10 dances which may or may not end up in Book 53. It took almost 4 hours to cover these new dances as they had to be taught and then scored under various headings such as difficulty, enjoyment and music tempo. The variety of dances created enthusiastic discussion on the merits of each dance but there was a clear winner and an obvious childrens dance. Our musician Stuart Anderson did a wonderful job having learned all the new tunes and showing great patience as we struggled with some of the instructions. A great joy to have a live musician! Now we wait to see if any of the dances are included in the next book.
