NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE AND DISTRICT RSCDS
NEWSLETTER
Autumn 2011
Welcome to a new season of dancing
Children from the Gosforth and Hexham Children’s Classes dancing
at the Northumberland County Show held at Corbridge
MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN
I would like to wish you all the best for the new dancing year in this our sixty second
year. Our Diamond Jubilee year was, I feel, a big success with our normal
programme supplemented by additional events. It began with the Jubilee Ball at the
Lancastrian Suite in Dunston and, by popular demand, we will be using that
excellent venue for the Highland Ball on the 11th November. I hope many of you
who came to the Jubilee Ball will support this year’s ball. Another new venture was
the coffee mornings and afternoon teas. These have proved very popular with our
older members and so we have now included them in our programme. Please put
the dates in your diaries. If you have not been yet, do come along. It is a great way
to chat to old friends and make new friends. As you know, we produced a book of
dances, the Geordie Diamond, for the Jubilee and have been promising you a CD of
the music. There have been some logistical problems in producing it but I am
pleased to say they have nearly all been solved and the CD should be available from
September.
Our ‘Simply Social’ dances of straightforward dances that are walked though have
proved very popular with inexperienced dancers but can be great fun for
experienced dancers who can enjoy an evening’s dancing without having to spend
a lot of time pouring over a cribsheet! The first of the year in on the 24th
September in Heddon on the Wall. The October dance will be in Harraton as in
the last few years but the December dance has a new venue in Monkseaton. We
very much hope you will support this new excellent venue. Instructions on
how to get there will be included with tickets and will be on the website. The last
two years we have unfortunately had to cancel a dance due to the severe winter
weather with inevitable financial losses as certain costs have to be paid whether
the function happens or not. We have also found that more people buy tickets
on the door and thus if the weather is uncertain there is a tendency not to go. This
has led to declining numbers and is one of the reasons we have had to raise ticket
prices this year. At the AGM it was suggested that those buying in advance
should have a discount. This is an attractive idea to encourage more advance
purchasers. However, in a scenario of lower numbers of people attending dances,
we don’t want to discourage attendance. We would very much like to hear your
view on this idea. Please pass on any comments on this or any other dancing
matters to me or any member of the Committee.
More information on all our events is on the Branch website (http://www.rscds-
plethora of useful information on it: dates, cribsheets, maps, etc. The large
print cribsheets are particularly recommended for those whose sight is not as good
as it used to be.
In conclusion, I hope you all enjoy the new dancing year and I look forward to dancing and chatting with many of you throughout the year.
Peter Avery (Chairman)
PROGRAMME UNTIL JANUARY 2012
SATURDAY 24th SEPTEMBER -
Knott Memorial Hall, Heddon on the Wall 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.
Music by Robert Whitehead Convenor -
These dances are an opportunity for the young dancers to come along and experience an evening’s dancing to live music, please do come and support them.
SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER at HARRATON
Music by Stewart Anderson Convenor -
FRIDAY 11th NOVEMBER AT THE LANCASTRIAN SUITE, DUNSTON
HIGHLAND BALL
Music by Robert Whitehead and the Danelaw Band Convenor -
Details and an application form are enclosed with this Newsletter.
The Committee would urge members to support this year’s Ball as otherwise they
may be left with no alternative but to cancel the event and move to an informal dance
in its place which would be a great shame.
SATURDAY 19th NOVEMBER -
A FAMILY DANCE in the KNOTT MEMORIAL HALL, HEDDON ON THE WALL
4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Music by Gillian Stewart Convenor -
Dances will be simple and will include some ceilidh dances. Please encourage any
families, whether they already dance or not, to come along. It is a lot of fun, as well
as raising money for Children in Need.
SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER at VALLEY GARDENS MIDDLE SCHOOL, WHITLEY BAY
Music by Nicol McLaren and the Glencraig Band Convenor -
Tel. No. 0191 2526457
Programme tbc.
In 2010 the December dance was cancelled because of the snow. The programme,
however, has been retained for 2012, with Michael Philip booked to play once
again. The December 2011 programme is new, as is the venue, so hopefully there
will be a good level of support from dancers for this event. The music provided
by Nichol McLaren and the Glencraig Band should be excellent.
NON DANCING SOCIAL EVENTS -
Following the success of our coffee mornings and afternoon teas many members have requested that we continue to have more of these events because they enjoy them so much. We have a lot of members who no longer dance for various reasons but enjoy meeting for a chat and would like to do this on a regular basis.
Some members have been to all of these functions so far and it is so good to see them catching up with what is going on; they also like to meet those who do attend our
dances. I don’t normally like to pick out anyone in particular but this time I feel I
must say how good it was to see Mary Cooper (our ex. ex. Secretary, now aged 95)
at our coffee morning in June.
Do check the dates of future events on the back of your new membership calendar and try to come along. All are welcome, dancers and non dancers. No need to let us
know, just turn up at South Gosforth Parish Hall. Cost £2 to cover hall and food.
Hope to see you on Tuesday 25th October between 10.30 and noon at our next coffee morning.
Sheila Trafford
DEMONSTRATIONS
This year the Branch has provided demonstration teams at a number of events. As
always, we were at Burns’ Night celebrations – in Gateshead, East Herrington and
Whitburn -
for a fund raising event at Newbottle and entertainment one evening at Ponteland
Manor Care Home, receiving the approval of Mary Cooper for our performance. At
the Northumberland County Show we accompanied Carol Sanderson’s children’s
team and later that week danced at the Brierdene Show in Whitley Bay. Branch members also provided well received entertainment at the Simonburn Village Fete.
Why do we do this?
It is an important way of publicising the Branch and its activities, raising our profile
and recruiting new members.
We all enjoy taking part in these demonstrations.
Often the Branch receives a donation to funds as a result of our efforts.
However, the number of dancers prepared and available to demonstrate has been steadily falling over the years. It has become increasingly difficult to get teams together, particularly when a lot of demonstrations come up at the same time, for instance around Burns’ Night, or during holiday times. Would you like to join us?
We have had two practice sessions for teams going out to demonstrate, on Sundays
in May and June, one in Sunderland, the other in Newcastle. More are planned for
the Autumn, although dates are not fixed yet. If you would like to come along, spend
a Sunday afternoon practising the demonstration dances, finding out more and having fun, please get in touch with me and I will let you know dates and locations.
Roger Hall
CLASSES
OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERMEDIATE DANCERS
The Thursday night Branch Class starts again at Westfield School on the 15th September
at 7.15 p.m. Last season the first part of the class was aimed largely at intermediate
dancers who wished to improve their dancing technique and extend the range of figures
and dances in their repertoire. Certainly up until Christmas this was a great success
and although the numbers of intermediate dancers decreased in the run up to the Festival,
the Committee felt that this opportunity should continue with the agreement of the
teacher -
Deb has agreed to the continuation of the class as it was run last season -
AFTER SCHOOL CLASS AT NEWCASTLE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
Marion Peutherer (Teacher) and Gillian Stewart (Pianist) have been invited back to Newcastle Central High School to teach a second term of Scottish Country Dancing.
At first the girls were more interested in the ceilidh type of dancing but have now realised that once they have the basic steps and formations that Scottish Country Dancing is just as much fun.
Marion is hoping that some of the girls may also like to come along to Miss Fidler’s class in Gosforth on a Saturday morning.
THREE GENERATIONS AND A TEACHER
I started SCD almost 50 years ago at an evening class in Whitley Bay run by
Mrs MacLeod and quickly became so enthusiastic I even danced at the Panama Dip on that dreadful concrete which had small bits of grit all over it! Many of you may remember! From there I had the privilege of joining the Branch Demonstration
Class and found myself being taught by Rene Fidler and dancing to Stanley
Hutchinson's music. Rene also ran a Ladies Step Class at Mountfield which I
quickly joined and enjoyed hugely. Little did I think that, 50 years on, Rene would
still be teaching Ladies Step Dancing and I would be providing the music.
(NB This class will resume at Trinity Church Centre, Freeman Road in Sept.).
It was Brian Scallon who introduced John to Rene's Mountfield SCD Class which
was, I believe, a class about 80 strong. Fast forward about 15-
Now it is Peter's turn to attend Rene's Saturday Class accompanying his daughter
who, in her turn, is learning to dance and making friends as she does so. Long may it continue!
Watching our Granddaughter and her parents dancing at the Corbridge Show I
realised how fortunate we are to have a pastime which three generations of a
family can enjoy together. That is why I am so grateful to all those who teach
children to dance and enable families to dance together.
Patricia Cass
DANCE SCOTTISH 2011
Dance Scottish Week will now be known as Dance Scottish 2011
and run from Friday 4th November to Saturday 3rd December. This is as a result of
feedback from other Branches, affiliated groups and clubs worldwide.
The Committee have agreed not to organise any additional events during this period as the Highland Ball falls within this period. However under the banner of Dance Scottish Sheila Trafford will host a Taster Session at MORPETH – St. George’s Church Hall on SATURDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2 – 4 p.m. Admission Free.
Carol Sanderson will host a Taster Session at HEXHAM – Lockhart Room, Moot Hall (just off the Market Place) on WEDNESDAY 14th SEPTEMBER 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Admission Free.
Many of the other classes available offer a free evening for someone coming along for the first time.
The Hexham Abbey Dancers are also holding a Ceilidh with a Scottish flavour in Queen Elizabeth High School, Hexham on SATURDAY 26th NOVEMBER from 7 p.m. to 11.00 p.m., in aid of the Hexham Abbey Project Appeal. The project involves the development of the former monastic buildings to provide an exhibition area and concert space as well as a cafe, education and meeting rooms. More information will be available at the September and October dances.
R.S.C.D.S. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AT GLASGOW
4th to 6th NOVEMBER 2011
John Cass, Veronica Thomson and Jean Wright will be representing the Branch.
They will give brief reports from the various sessions in the next newsletter.
“All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill in dancing” Moliere (1670)
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Congratulations and Best Wishes for the future to Shona Harper and John Wilkes on their marriage.
Congratulations and Best Wishes for the future to David Ashbridge and
Catherine Wilbert on their marriage.
For those that may not know, David is the drummer in Robert Whitehead’s Band.
(Both Weddings took place on the same date -
Congratulations to Roger and Marjorie Hall on becoming grandparents for
the first time.
Best wishes to James Dowson, Robert and Jennifer Hudson and
Johan Loberg for speedy recoveries.
Best wishes to our young people who have taken examinations or who are
moving Schools.
Belated birthday wishes to Deb Lees (June) and Happy Birthday and best
Wishes to Marion Peutherer (December).
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions for the 2011/12 season became due on the 1st July. If you have not
yet paid can you please send your subscription (£20) to -
Mrs. Jane Ferguson,
Assistant Treasurer,
102 Alston Crescent,
Fulwell,
SUNDERLAND SR6 8NF
Jane replaced Roger Malton on the Committee with effect from the AGM held
in May.
