Registered Charity No. 1072052 ISSUE 31 August 2003 The Leeds … Newsletter 31.pdf · 2012-02-02 · ISSUE 31 August 2003 The Leeds BranchNewsletter Registered Charity No. 1072052

ISSUE 31 August 2003

The Leeds Branch NewsletterRegistered Charity No. 1072052

Subscription to this Newsletter can be taken out at £3.00 for 4 issues for non Leeds Branch Members. Contact Brenda Burnell for details and form.

The Branch web site is www.rscdsleeds.org.uk Why not give it a try.

First of all, as this is the lastNewsletter before the BranchAGM, and therefore towardsthe end of my first year ‘inthe chair’, I would like tothank all those who havebeen such a help to me. Notonly the committee members,of whom more later, but theteachers, the event organisers,and all those whoseenthusiasm for Scottishdancing has been soinfectious.

Welcome back, too, to thosewho have spent some part ofthe summer at St Andrew’s.No doubt they enjoyedthemselves, and I hope theywill ‘cascade’ their newlyextended skills andknowledge to the rest of us asthe opportunity arises.

I would also thank those whogave us such a good dance,and a good supper, at thesummer ‘strawberries andcream’ dance in June. This isa regular feature of the LeedsBranch year, and long may itcontinue.

A number of stalwarts will beretiring from the committeeat the AGM in October, and Iwould like to thank them, oneverybody’s behalf, for theircontribution. Alan Carr hascompleted five years on the

committee, three of them aschairman, and I must say Iwould have struggled a goodhad it not been for hisconstant support, advice, andencouragement. DerekKendall has been an excellenttreasurer, and has pointed outto the committee what needsto be done financially. AdrianMcDonald and Val Hall havealways done more than theirshare and will be hard toreplace.

Colleagues may wonder whythe Branch’s constitution issuch that good committeemembers are required toleave after a set period.When the constitution wasfirst drafted, it was felt that itshould be written in such away that there is a measuredbut regular turn-over ofofficers and committeemembers so that the Branchdoes not get stuck in a rut.When the constitutionworking party recently putforward a revision forconsideration at the AGM thisyear, it agreed with this basicprinciple, while making someadjustments to meet withcurrent requirements.

Regarding finances, thecommittee is concerned thatexpenditure is far ahead ofincome. It is clear that over

recent years the Branch hasbeen using up its reserves,and that steps need to betaken to redress the balance.In the short term, theproblem will be addressed byputting up fees for classes anddances, though by quite smallamounts. All our dances willcontinue to use ‘live’ music,but with a higher proportionof smaller bands and singlemusicians, thus reducingexpenditure. But in thelonger term the balance willbe redressed most effectivelyby getting more people totake part in both classes anddances, and all members areasked to do what they can toencourage this.

Now for a few noteworthyfuture events. No doubtPeter Clarke’s half day schoolon 20th September will beexcellent – to be held at AdelMethodist Church Hall owingto the non-availability of WestPark on that afternoon. TheAGM on 18th October will bein all your diaries, not onlybecause of the AGM but alsobecause of the ‘new music’ ofKeith Smith and James Gray,two rising stars on violin andpiano/keyboard, and AlanHorsfall’s first stint as MC for aBranch dance. TheNovember Ball at the

University Great Hall, DerekKendall’s programme, isanother event to look forwardto.

Finally, looking well into thefuture, plans are movingahead for the re-instatementof the White Rose Festival inJuly 2004 as a jointBranch/Leeds SCD Clubventure. Not that everythinghas run smoothly. Thatwould be just too easy.. Wehad it all booked for BeckettPark, its original home, on10th July, George Meikle toplay. Then Beckett Park gaveback word. (Surprise,surprise, remarked one of theorganisers from an earlierfestival!). I made a fewthreatening noises, and itnow looks as if we are backon track for BP on 10/7, butat the moment I can’t beabsolutely positive. Wealready have a good numberof volunteers offering helpfrom both the Branch and theClub, but others are alwayswelcome. Let me know if youare available.

I’ll keep you all informed howthings develop.

A good dancing season toyou all. Don

The Branch welcomes your news,

stories, views, questions etc...

please contact me, Catherine

Livsey Editor, 6 Woodlands

Avenue, Lepton, Huddersfield,

West Yorkshire HD8 0HZ.

Tel 01484 432270 day

or 01484 306637 evenings.

Email [email protected]

If for some reason you don’t

receive any copy of the Branch

newsletter please contact

Alan Carr on 01943 466702.

From the chair

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June Dance 2003

It seemed very early in Julywhen Summer Schoolstarted this year. Thenumbers were low for thefirst week but this madesocial dancing morecomfortable. As the weeksprogressed the numbersgradually increased andthe fourth week was full.This year there was anoticeable lack of NorthAmericans and far fewerJapanese attending thanlast year when they madeup almost a third of theattendees.

Week 1Avis and Brenda wereteaching, Brenda Pattisonand Jean Nuttall weredancing and they werejoined for their first visit byChristina Quirke andAngela Welsh.

Apart from the usualmorning classes andevening social dancingthere were ‘walk throughs’and technique sessions inthe afternoons – hardlytime to go to the beachunless you were an earlymorning swimmer (andthere were at least two).

On the first Monday thedancing was to Fiddlers 3+ 2 and they were pure

magic. The recordingsthey made for the Societygive a pale impression ofwhat they produced onthat first evening. Thethree fiddlers play inunison backed by anaccordion and piano.Don’t ever miss the chanceto dance to them as theyare wonderful.

New additional sessionswere introduced thissummer. Derek Haynestook a very interestingcouple of hours ondevising dances. He talkeda lot of sense about usingtraditional figures. Theclass was divided into twosets and were asked todevise a danceincorporating a reel ofthree or four, a wheel orcircle and rights and lefts(half figures could be usedif desired). It was amazinghow two very differentdances emerged and theywere duly danced at theCeilidh on Friday night.

David Cunningham alsogave us an insight intohow a CD is made fromthe very first letter ofenquiry through to thefinished CD ready for sale.No wonder they cost somuch to produce initially –none of us realised the

amount of time and workthat follows a recording.

Week 2There was a big changeover of dancers and thisbrought Betty Sumpton,Sandra Webber andJennifer Edmondson to jointhe two Brendas and Aviswho were already there.

The musicians’ course ledby Mo Rutherford ranparallel to the dancingone. There wasanother session ondevising dances andAlistair MacFadyencame to give anotherof his fascinating talksabout the style anddevelopment ofScottish Countrydancing. His talks arefull of historical factsplus many amusing

anecdotes and his sense oftiming is perfect. He musthave been a wonderfullecturer to have had atuniversity!

Jennifer was able to takepart in the ladies’ stepdemonstration onThursday night in theYounger Hall. Five youngladies danced The Lilt andit looked very good.

St Andrews 2003

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Sat 20th September 2003 7.30pm SOCIAL DANCE

West Park Centre, Spen LaneMusic: John Renton Quartet M.C : Donald Andrews

Admission: RSCDS Members £6.00, Non Members £7.00,Students £2, Children £1

ProgrammeVintage ‘62 J 4x32 Goldring 2002Reel of the Royal Scots R 8x32 LeafletMiss Milligan’s Strathspey S 8x32 LeafletFraser’s Favourite R 8x32 LeafletThe Gentle Shepherd Slow J 4x32 Book 17Instructor’s Choice Strathspey Book 43Summer Assembly R 88 Book 35Tribute to the Borders J 8x32 Leaflet

The Frisky J 8x32 Book 26Milton’s Welcome R 8x32 Book 33James Senior of St Andrew’s S 4x32 Book 42Instructor’s Choice Reel or Jig Book 43College Hornpipe R 8x32 Book 20Autumn in Appin S 4x32 Book 31Highland Rambler R 8x40 Leeds 25Follow Me Home J 8x32 Book 38

ExtrasMrs Stewart’s Jig J 8x32 Book 35Seann Truibhas Willichan S 8x32 Book 27Cumbrae Reel R 8x32 Book 28Maxwell’s Rant R 8x32 Book 18

Younger Hall - St Andrews

Jennifer Edmondson taking part in theladies' step demonstration.

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Friday gave us a sessionwith Jennifer Wilsonplaying and advising someof the musicians in a classsituation. It meant doingmost things three timesthrough to give differentmusicians the chance toplay. The volunteer classwas patient and learnt thatplaying for ScottishCountry dancing is not justplaying the black dots! Toround off the afternoon wewere treated to Jennifer’splaying of a set ofhornpipes for The Sailor.The session went soquickly that there was notime to deal withstrathspeys – hopefullynext time.

The music for the Saturdayevening was the icing onthe cake for the firstfortnight. With bandleaders David

Cunningham, GeorgeMeikle and Neil Coplandplaying alongside classmusicians Judith Linton,Sheena Sturrock and FredMoyes plus more from themusicians’ course, themusic had to be good.Along with the wonderfulsprung floor of theYounger Hall (and if you’venever experienced thatyou should) and lots ofencores for the special‘band’ to play their tunesagain it was a fitting endto the first fortnight.

Weeks 3 & 4Derek Kendall and YvonneTredgett became the Leedsrepresentatives for week 3and were joined by JeanMorrison and Alice Stainerfor the last one. It wasgood to see Alice backdancing again and looking

so well. She hopes to beback with us again in theautumn. She was chosenfor the mixed teamdemonstration on the lastThursday and danced TheThistle with the ladies’ stepclass. Both the mixed andladies’ dances went verywell but it was sad to seeonly two men and eightwomen in the men’shighland dancing.

The end of the course sawthe exams as the finale tothe Prelim and Teacher’sCertificate classes duringthe second fortnight. ThePrelim class was trulyinternational with 1Russian, 1 Japanese, 1Chinese, 3 Germans, 2North Americans and theremaining 7 from the UKrepresenting the world-wide spread of ScottishCountry dancing.

Both fortnights had a spateof fire alarms this year.Week 1 had several butluckily during the day.Week 3 was less fortunatewith one of theirs goingoff just after midnight.

The end of the month

brought the end of JohanMacLean’s four years asDirector of SummerSchool. She has changedthe format graduallyduring her directorship byintroducing new afternoonsessions and this year someinteresting talks along withspecial extras to celebratethe 80th year of thesociety. We wish her wellin her retirement and lookforward to seeing her backteaching when Linda Gaultakes over next year.

FootnoteBook 43 arrived early (wellactually on time) this yearbut as with most thingssomething else didn’tarrive. The CD is not yetavailable but should any ofyou play the music, thecorrection of the barringfor some of the 40 bardances is available fromBrenda Burnell.

The dances in Book 43 inbulk are confusing anddifficult to learn andremember but taken oneat a time they willprobably, in time, becomepopular.

Sat 18th October 2003 8pm (following AGM Meeting at 7pm)

SOCIAL DANCEWest Park Centre, Spen Lane

Music: Keith Smith and James Gray M.C : Alan HorsfallAdmission: RSCDS Members £6.00, Non Members £7.00,

Students £2, Children £1

ProgrammeMachine Without Horses J 8x32 Book 12The deil amang the tailors R 8x32 Book 14Capetown Wedding S 8x32 Book 39Tribute to the Borders J 8x32 LeafletBratach Bana R 8x32 Drewry Bon AccordAnna Holden’s Strathspey S 6x32 Book 42JB Milne R 8x32 FossThe Chequered Court J 8x32 Book 42

Hooper’s Jig J 8x32 MMM2Swiss Lassie R 8x32 Book 39Minister on the Loch S 3x32 Goldring:GradedThe Hazel Tree J 8x32 Drewry LeafletMaxwell’s Rant R 8x32 Book 18Butterscotch and Honey S 4x32 AttwoodMajor Ian Stewart J 8x32 Book 35Montgomeries’ Rant R 8x32 Book 10

ExtrasMairi’s Wedding R 8x40 CoshThe Lea Rig S 6x32 Book 21Duke of Perth R 8x32 Book 1The Last of the Lairds J 8x32 Book 22

Alice Stainer in The Thistle with the ladies, step class.

OTLEY CHARITY DANCEDoreen and Roy wish to thank all the people whobought tickets or who kindly made donations.Over £300 was sent to Marie Curie.

We have booked the hall for 3 July 2004.

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A group of qualified, partiallyqualified and would beteachers gathered at AdelMethodist Church Hall onSaturday May 17th for ourTeachers’ Workshop. Thiswas lead by Elma McCauslandfrom Bangor, NorthernIreland and the piano musicwas provided by Jack Judson.

First we tackled the teachingof the Tournee (by popularrequest). We did not reallyfind any teaching skill practicesuitable for teaching this

infrequently dancedformation. Everyone hadtheir own pet theory forremembering which hand toretain at the end of bar 4!

The Tournee accomplished,Elma steered us through theroutine of teaching steps.Working in pairs we wereencouraged to give eachother constructive criticism.After lunch organised by theladies from Brackenwood, wewent on to teach formationsand dances.

These workshops are alwaysinteresting and veryworthwhile whether to refreshteachers’ skills or toencourage new ones. Wecertainly had a wide range ofexperience in the group this

year and hopefully in the nearfuture we will have newteachers encouraged to taketheir exams.

Many thanks to all those whomade it a satisfying day.

Teachers' Workshop

Sat 15th November 2003 7.30pm - 11pm ANNUAL BALL

Leeds University Great HallMusic: The Ian Muir Trio M.C : Derek Kendall

Tickets: £8, available from Jean Dyson 01943 461022

ProgrammeHooper’s Jig J 8x32 MMM2Ladies of Dunse R 8x32 Book 26Auld Friends Meet S 8x32 Goldring LeafletThe Last of the Lairds J 8x32 Book 22Round Reel of Eight R 88 Book 27Peggy’s Strathspey S 8x32 Book 41John of Bon Accord R 8x32 Book 33Lammermuir Hills S 6x32 Goldring LeafletSouth from Oban J 8x40 Leeds 10

Jubilee Jig J 8x32 LeafletFrom Scotia’s Shores We’re Noo Awa’ S 8x32 LeafletMilton’s Welcome R8x32 Book 33Follow Me Home J 8x32 Book 38Glasgow Country Dance M 8x32 Book 23Cramond Bridge R 8x32 London JubileeBonnie Lass of Bon Accord S 64 Drewry Bon AccordMontgomeries’ Rant R 8x32 Book 10Todlen Hame J 8x32 Book 16

ExtrasWest’s Hornpipe H 8x32 5 trad.The Diamond Jubilee J 4x32 Book 31McDonald of the Isles S 6x32 Carnforth

Graeme BaranyaiHe has piped for the Knaresborough Class since its inception.On the 10th July he played solo for The Tewit Band'sperformance of "Highland Cathedral" in a national competitionat The Festival Hall, where they came 2nd in their class.

We devised this for him as an eighteenth birthday present atthe beginning of the year.

Ann Baranyai & Malcolm Frost

Piping with the HighlandersA three couple, 32 bar Reel in a three couple set.

Bars

1-8 1’s lead down for three, back up for three and cast tosecond place. Second couple step up on bars 7 and 8.

9-12 1’s cross right down below 3’s and cast up round 3’s.

13-16 1’s cross right up between the 2’s and cast to 2ndplace, in the middle, facing each other. 3’s dance inon bar 16, ready for…

17-24 1’s & 3’s poussette

25-32 2’s, 3’s & 1’s six-hands-round and back

Repeat from new position

Tune: Itchy Fingers (Trad)

This dance was devised January 2003 by Malcolm Frost tocelebrate Graeme Baranyai’s eighteenth birthday.

On 25th January 1999 Sandy Dunleavy of Radio Yorkgenerously arranged for Graeme to pipe, on air, with DuncanMcKay of “The Highlanders” as part her special “Burns”programme

The tune is one of Graeme’s favourites

Note: Bars 9-16 require considerable flight. In particular, the1st lady should be starting to cross up between the2nd couple at the end of bar 12 so that she does notimpede her partner who has to be in 2nd place, in themiddle of the set on bar 16, with sufficient time toadjust his balance to start the poussette.

Your Branch Needs You!At the AGM to be held in October we will be in need ofCommittee Members.

Would YOU like to become more involved with therunning of the Branch? It is not such an onerous task.Meetings are held about every two months during theseason.

Anyone interested and who would like more information,please contact Jean Dyson on 01943 461022 or DonAndrews on 01535 605065.

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The proposal for the revised constitution is included inthe AGM agenda.

Copies of the current (1997) constitution were circulatedwith the winter Newsletter, and the proposed revisionswere published in the spring Newsletter, with a requestfor observations, comments or amendments.

Two proposals for amendments were submitted;

1. That the quorum be reduced to 20% of themembership, or 20 members, whichever shall belesser. Reason: to allow business to be transacted inthe event of a low attendance.

The committee agreed that this amendment be includedin the proposal.

2. That husband and wife should not be permitted toserve on the committee together.

The committee took the view that this amendmentshould not be included.

The proposal before the AGM is the proposal as publishedin the spring Newsletter, plus item 1 above.

Any further amendments will be received, in writing, by1st October 2003. Amendments will not be receivedafter that date. They should be submitted to the Branchsecretary.

At the AGM, any amendments received on or beforeOctober 1st will be put to the meeting and voted on first.Then a vote will be taken on the proposal, as amended.

To be approved, any additional amendments and theproposal must receive the vote of not less than two thirdsof the members present and entitled to vote. ( XIIAlteration of Constitution).

Branch Constitution

Branch AGMWhere Does theMoney Go?

Because Branch Socials have been consistently losingmoney over the past two years, The Committee hasreluctantly decided to increase admission charges. Wewould like to outline the cost of running a social so thatyou will understand why this price rise is necessary.

Fixed CostHire of the hall £75.00 Security man £50.00

The Variable Cost is the price of live music.

As a rough guide, it is £100 per player plus expensesdepending upon how far they have to travel. So a three-piece can cost between £300 and £400, making the costof a dance between £440 and £540 respectively.

This means that in order to cover the cost of a banddance, we require between 75 and 90 dancers at £6.00per person. On a number of occasions last season we didnot reach the lower number so we lost money on mostoccasions as we were charging £5.00 admission.

You can see from these figures that we need the supportof our members if we are to continue to have the highquality bands we are accustomed to. The alternative is touse more single musicians and only have a band two orthree times a year.

The lack of support at the socials poses a number ofquestions:

Should we make the programmes more attractive tonewer dancers?

Are the programmes perceived as too straightforward?

Should we talk through the dances?

Do we run too many Socials?

Are members happy with the venue?

The Chairman Don Andrews would value any ideas youhave on how to improve attendance at Branch Socials.

Alan Carr

is on Sat 18th October 2003 at 7pm West ParkCentre, Spen Lane) followed by a SOCIALDANCE at 8pm. Please come and support thebranch.

PRICES FOR THE 2003/2004 SEASONDancesRSCDS members Single musician £5

Band £6Ball £8‘Strawberries and Cream’ £7

Others: to be announced on the programmes.

Classes£2.50 per class. Term tickets (14 weeks): £30 for one class, £45 for anynumber of classes.

Classes will be expected to maintain an average attendance of 12, or thecommittee reserves the right to increase the fee to generate an income of£32 per session to cover the cost of rent and expenses.

The committee regrets these increases, which are the first for some time,but believes they are essential to move towards balancing income andexpenditure.

Refreshments £15.00 Total £140.00

SubscriptionsReminderMany members have already renewedtheir membership for this year, thankyou very much. I have included a noteto those who have not been in touchwith me yet and look forward tohearing from them soon.

Welcome to new membersAlan Proctor and Kathryn Williamson -we look forward to you attending ourevents this year.

Brenda Burnell

Fees £2.50 per class.

Term tickets (14 weeks): £30 for oneclass, £45 for any number of classes.

ClassesBegin week commencing15th September through to15th December (inclusive)

Monday afternoon1.45 - 3.45pm Adel Methodist Church Hall, GainsboroughAvenue, Adel, Leeds 16Teachers: Barbara Caldicott, Alan Carr

Monday Evening (Advanced)7.45 - 9.45pm Calverley Conservative Club, CalverleyTeachers: Various -

Starts with Avis Harrison

Tuesday Evening 7.45 - 9.45pm Adel Methodist Church Hall, Adel, Leeds 16Teacher: Susan Carr

Wednesday Evening (Beginners)7.45 - 9.45pm, Starts 8th October for a 10 week course.The Stables, Back Church Lane, Adel, Leeds 16Teacher: Catherine Livsey

Wednesday Evening except the 4th Wednesday of each month, 7.30 - 10.00pmHoly Trinity Church Hall, KnaresboroughTeachers: Ann Baranyai & Malcolm FrostStarts with 'come and try' evening seeDates, Dates, Date, for more details.

Thursday Evening 7.45 - 10.00pmBrackenwood Community Centre, New Building, Lidgett Lane, Leeds 8Teacher: Brenda Burnell

Friday Evening Children7.15 - 8.45pm Hawksworth Wood Primary School,Broadway, Leeds 5Teacher: Brenda Burnell

Classes

Designed and Produced by Catherine Livsey, CLD Tel 01484 432270 Fax 01484 432259 E Mail [email protected]

SEPTEMBER 2003 17th Knareborough "Come and Try" evening

at 7.30pm Holy Trinity Church Hall. Tell your friend, oranyone who might be interested in Scottish CountryDancing.

20th Half-day Schoolat Adel Methodist Church HallTeacher: Peter Clark Music: Pat Clark on Piano

20th Social Dance7.30pm West Park CDCMusic: John Renton Quartet MC: Don Andrews

OCTOBER 2003 18th Social Dance & AGM

AGM 7pm Dance 8pm following meetingWest Park CDCMusic: Keith Smith & James Gray MC: Alan Horsfall

25th Highland Day School10am to 3.30pm Adel Methodist Church Hall,Gainsborough Avenue, Adel, LeedsTeacher: Catherine LivseyForms in this newsletter.

NOVEMBER 2003 15th Annual Ball

7.30pm to 11pm Leeds University Great HallMusic: The Ian Muir Trio MC: Derek KendallTickets: £8 available from Jean Dyson 01943 461022

DECEMBER 2003 17th Knareborough Class Christmas Party

at 7.30pm Holy Trinity Church Hall. All welcome, FaithSupper, the programme will be based upon a list ofdances requested by class members

20th Social Dance7.30pm West Park CDCMusic: David Cunningham

D A T E S , D A T E S , D A T E S

PLEASE NOTE: Change of venueThe half day school will be at Adel Methodist Church Hall,Gainsborough Avenue, not West Park as formerly advertised.

The ‘high tea’ and evening dance will be at West Park.

COME AND GIVE HIGHLAND A GO!!!It is not that difficult. Catherine will show you how to achieveHighland movement without you having to put a lot of effort in.The day will include simple Highland Dances and Country Dancewith the odd Highland Step in them. It is great fun so come and try.

Please spread the word about this class,tell your friends, everybody you can,especially the young, as this is our future.Come and help if you wish. If you wantmore info either contact Catherine Livsey01484 432270 or Don Andrews 01535605065