The Ghillie Gazette

President’s Corner

by Martin Mac​Kenzie

Happy New Year!

We look forward to dancing starting again Monday, January 4, 2016 so that we can try to strip off the effects of “The Most Caloric Time of The Year.” Coming up, in addition to classes and second Saturday dances in Portland, we have events outside of our area. Don’t forget our very own Portland Workshop and Ball which is coming up March 12th. There will be more publicity for that as time progresses. If you navigate to http://www.rscds-swws.org/events.html, the details of events outside Portland are recorded there. For those who want to have an international experience in SCD without leaving the North American continent, TAC Summer School is coming up in Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The details for that are here: http://www.tac-rscds.org/summer-school. Eunice and I had a wonderful experience with these folks in Farmville, VA at the University of Longwood last summer. They were extra ordinarily nice and helpful to us. If you want to read Eunice’s article about that event, please navigate to navigate to http://www.rscds-swws.org/news/201509/vol32-2.htm. To view this, the username is guest772 and the password is belfast.

Though our AGM (Annual General Meeting) is a ways off (May 2016), please think ahead and consider volunteering to run for office as at least myself and others will be time limited out. For myself, I thank the officers for their hard, skillful, and focused work making it possible for all of us to skip the “Scottish” light fantastic on the dance floor. I’m also profoundly thankful for Lisa Scott whose contact with the Portland Country Dance Community made possible the new venue which we’re enjoyed this (past) year.

I look forward dancing with all y’all this coming 2016!

Burns Dance January 16, 2016, Eugene

by Robert and Leone Burger and Kalindi Devi-Dasi

The Eugene Scottish Country Dancers will be holding our annual Robert Burns Night Dance on Saturday, January 16, 2016. The location is the Santa Clara Grange on 295 Azalea Drive, Eugene, OR 97404 (same as last year). The event will begin at 7p.m. We will also be hosting a workshop that same afternoon (3-5pm) to walk through as many dances as possible. The afternoon walk through is free.

Payment Options

Mail check payable to Kalindi Devi-Dasi (2873 Quiet Lane, Eugene, OR 97404) Send email that you will pay at the door: casaelya at gmail dot com Registration (by check or email notification) after 12/31/15 is $25 per person

When registering, please indicate if you will be attending the pre-dance workshop from 3-5 pm For more information, call Robert or Leone: 541 935 6051

RSCDS Strategy

by Tom Halpenny

RSCDS Headquarters is evaluating its strategy for the coming three years. The continuing decline in membership and rising costs to provide services have stimulated the need to widen the options and evaluate priorities. The discussion is based on five strategic objectives in order to accomplish the RSCDS Mission: To grow a vibrant worldwide community of Scottish Dance and Music.

1. To promote Scottish Country Dance and related dance forms as inclusive and exciting activities
2. To build the number, capacity and networking of branches and other dance groups who share our objectives, to help them grow and deliver SCD activity
3. To maintain and develop high standards of teaching of Scottish Country Dance and music, including the development of the dance and music repertoire for all ages and abilities
4. To enable enjoyable and high quality Scottish Country Dance opportunities for all ages and abilities worldwide
5. Strengthen and improve the RSCDS, including its governance and long term financial viability, to enable it to deliver on the above objectives

The AGM 2015 Open Forum group of 80 members evaluated the strategic objectives and provided input. We can read a summary of the results. The report lists what has been good / works well and what needs doing better / more, for each objective.

https://www.rscds.org/document/1143

The RSCDS Management Board and Committees will use this valuable feedback from the Open Forum to help shape their next step in developing a Strategic Business Plan for the next 3 years. The Management Board, Committees and staff of RSCDS will be meeting on 9 January 2016 to put more flesh on to the 5 Strategic Objectives which will set the framework for producing a more detailed plan of action for the next three years. HQ welcomes your comments and feedback both through the Branch Secretaries Facebook Group and through email before then. For example, branches might want to weigh in on high priority factors, or identify factors missing from the Open Forum notes.

I perused past Scottish Country Dancer magazine editions and found articles in the 2009 issues 8 and 9, related to the previous strategic plan, that might stimulate ideas for the current effort. We are considering many of the same issues that were discussed six years ago. What progress has been made? We can continue with methods that were successful, while less-successful methods might suggest considering new options for improvement.

http://www.rscds-swws.org/news/stories/SCD-Magazine-2009-Articles.pdf

Asilomar 2015 – Sunshine in November

by Holly Gibson

Last year three dancers from the Portland/SW Washington branches made the trek south to the Asilomar Conference Center located on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula in Pacific Grove, California for the San Francisco Branch’s annual workshop and ball. We had so much fun we decided we had to go back, and so Linda Mae Dennis, Darrick Wong, and I found ourselves once again flying to San Jose and being chauffeured to the venue by fellow dancer Geoffrey Wood.

Compared to last year, traffic to Monterey was nonexistent. We arrived around sunset, checked in (a process in itself), and spent time catching up with friends, getting ready for dancing, and preparing for soon-to-be-tired feet. After a quick walk along the boardwalk and dinner, we headed to the welcome dance. This year’s event was a sell out and finding any part of the floor in Merrill Hall that wasn’t occupied by a pair of ghillies was a challenge. With music by Andy Imbrie and Judi Nicholson, it was also a challenge to find anyone sitting out. After the dance, which seemed to be over in 10 minutes, there was a ceilidh with several original dances, musical performances, and a rousing version of what Scottish Country Dancing must have looked like in the 1970s, complete with polyester, tie-dyed t-shirts, and Dancing Queen by ABBA.

Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny (and cold). The teachers this year were Jimmie Hill, Elaine Brunken, Jeff Corrigan, Allan Twhigg, and Ruth Jappy, hailing from Scotland, Missouri (by way of Scotland), California, and Canada. Dancers also came from various parts of the globe with France, England, Canada, and Denmark being represented. For the morning classes, dancers were divided by their activity preferences (as in barely moving or barely contained). The first class was quicktime and then strathspey. After lunch there were several electives to choose from. I’m sure they were terrific, some of us sort of played hooky.

Linda Mae and I walked to Cannery Row, investigated a sock shop (although the chocolate shop next door proved more interesting), took note of a Labradoodle wearing sunglasses, and then walked back along the shoreline to the conference center. After a break and a review of the dances, we were ready for the ball. Unfortunately, we were a little off on the time the grand march started and arrived just as the pipes started playing. The hall was packed with people eager to dance to the music of Fiddlesticks & Ivory and, with 18 dances on the program, there was ample opportunity. One of the largest musical surprises was the last dance, the Reel of the 51st Division, with a local piper accompanying the band, putting a large exclamation point on the end of the evening.

Being too excited after all the dancing to go to sleep, we went in search of the musicians’ after party. Unfortunately, it didn’t get started until about 1:00 a.m., 30 minutes after we left. The weather was still clear at that time but for once the forecast was accurate and the rain started early in the morning. While walking back from the beach, in an effort to see if there was any semblance of a sunrise, I noticed folks with umbrellas and thought it seemed out of place, until I realized I wasn’t in Oregon anymore where everyone owns a raincoat.

The morning dance class started around 9:30 and the floor was just as crowded as the night before (although there were more pairs of Nikes than ghillies by this time). Each teacher taught a dance, with the last one being Pulling Bracken, which has a reel across the dance with first couple in allemande hold into a grand chain, not the easiest thing to do when everyone’s brain is running on a few hours’ sleep.

After checking out, lunch, and goodbyes, Geoffrey, Linda Mae, Darrick, and I headed to Point Lobos State Park. The wind had blown away the rain, leaving stormy skies with flashes of blue in its wake and gigantic crashing waves. Point Lobos was amazing and I’m surprised we walked as far as we did since it was so tempting to stop every few steps and just gape. Fortunately, our plane didn’t leave until late evening so there was plenty of time for that. We had dinner (and met Darrick’s dad) in Sunnyvale, and then Geoffrey dropped Linda Mae and I at the airport while Darrick returned with his dad. A few quick hours later it was back to real life, and rain. Next year, Asilomar will be in late October so there’s plenty of time for everyone to start planning a trip to the California coast.

Antonya and Brian’s Party

by Stephen Hui

We were treated to attend Antonya and Brian’s party at their quaint and cozy home in NE Portland. We saw a lot of friends, neighbors, and a few Portland RSCDS dance class members – enough to make a four-couple dance set. It was a festive evening with delicious food and by 7:30 the whole house was filled with conversations and the sweet aroma of food.

Cynthia and Nathaniel provided the music with selections from Alasdair Fraser and Natalie’s Fire and Grace album and Hanneke Cassel’s mesmerizing melodies. The music drew a few people to the living room which was beautifully decorated and warmed by the cracking flame of the fireplace. At the request of Antonya, the dancers obliged to perform a reel “Black Donald” and a strathspey “Neidpath Castle”. The reel was performed at the entry way which, even though a tight space, the dancers were able to negotiate the turns and allemande fine. Graceful rendition of the strathspey was done in the living room and show-cased the beautiful diamond poussette. It was a delightful evening for all who attended.

January 9, 2016 Dance Program

February 13, 2015 Dance Program

March Ball Program

Registration Open for the 37th Workshop and Ball

by Darrick Wong

Hi folks! This is a quick update to the January/February Ghillie Gazette. Registration for the 37th annual workshop and ball is now open! Hope to see you all there on March 12th.

Upcoming Events

Here's a list of events coming up in the next ninety days. This calendar is kept up to date at http://portlandscottishdancers.org/events.html.

Membership

If you want to vote in the Annual General Meeting (AGM), your membership must be renewed before the Meeting, which is the second Monday in May.