ASCDS      The Ghillies Gazette - Autumn 2002

The President's Pen

We welcome back to dancing Arthur McLean after recovering from a stroke. We're glad you're doing well!!

The next few months will be busy ones for our dance community. October 25 - 27 is the Houston Workshop; November 2 - 3 is the Austin Celtic Festival and there will be dancing by the Demo Team on Sunday, November 3. The Salado Games and Clan Gathering are November 8 - 10, and the Demo Team will dance at the Renaissance Retirement Center Monday, November 4 or 11. Our St. Andrews Ball is December 7 - 8, demo dancing at the Trail of Lights on December17, Pioneer Farms Christmas Party dancing on December 13 and 20, and a Hogmanay dance and party on December 31. In other words, we'll dance our toes off this quarter!

With all this in mind, please remember we are gearing up for our annual St. Andrews Ball weekend in December and volunteers are needed. The Ball Chairman this year is Dave Houston and he needs the help of all of us dancers to be sure this ball is the best yet. Ask him what YOU can do to help.

Cynde Jennings, President

Blether

"Blether" is a good old Scottish colloquialism for "chat" and the following paragraph from Peter Auksi of London, Ontario is just that. On February 6 1952, Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in Britain. At the 50 Anniversary Ball in Edinburgh she is quoted on Scottish country dancing, by Miss Milligan as saying:
"You know, Miss Milligan, I just adore this. When I go to the usual ball, a person is chosen to dance with me and I have to dance with him the whole evening, whether I like him or not; but here, every dance I meet a new partner. I set to this one and turn him, I make a wheel with these, I go right down to the bottom and I get to know eight new people and it is lovely."
Vancouver Branch Newsletter

Dance Classes for Dogs

A dogcatcher in Scotland says he has the perfect activity to help dogs become better learners…..dog dancing! Eric Ferguson of Dunblane told the Daily Record he is offering dog-dancing lessons for owners to help their pets become more obedient. Eric and his three dogs 'dance' at local fairs. Toby, a border collie, likes dancing to the song, "Walk of Life," by Dire Straits.

Sally Dee in the Boston Tartan Times

Events

St. Andrews Ball, 2002

The location and music for the 2002 St. Andrews Ball have been finalized. The ball will be held at the St. Paul's Lutheran School Fellowship Hall, located at 3407 Red River in Austin, Texas. Music will be provided by Muriel Johnstone and John Taylor. Check the Ball Program for more information and a list of the dances.

Hogmanay Invitation

I know it seems like a long time until December 31, but it's not that far away! I hope you'll plan to join us for the annual Hogmanay dance at the Ballroom in the Sky. The evening is for those who want to spend some time with friends in a safe environment--dancing and eating! It's a party, but you don't have to have a "date" to have a good time. We've been dancing on Hogmanay for more than ten years now and it's still a lot of fun. We dance for a couple of hours at the Ballroom in the Sky then adjourn to the Galloway's house to bring in the New Year. The number willing to stay late enough to get in the hot tub seems to dwindle, but everyone is invited so bring a swimsuit and jump in.

The dance program will be easy--dances from the St. Andrews Ball program PLUS one special dance which is only danced at this event, the Hogmanay Jig.

All this is to say, please join us! We begin dancing about 9:00 PM. Sometime about 11:30 we head for the Galloway's house where we dig into the good food everyone has brought. We may be doing Scottish dancing, but we always include black-eyed peas for American good luck!

The evening is very informal and fun. Bring your family and friends with you. The more the merrier………

Sarah and Torf

Current and upcoming events are listed in the ASCDS Calendar. If you have events you want publicized, send them in an e-mail to Roger LaPrelle.

Demo Team News

Last week Valerie Ryan, who owns QuickSilver Dance Studio, asked if we, the country dancers, would perform at the 10th anniversary party she was having on Sunday, September 29. Not too many were available, but Jane Downer, Shelley Aggeler, Wade Harper, Torf and Sarah Harriman did three dances. The audience seemed impressed by what they saw and the dancers enjoyed dancing on a good floor, with plenty of room and good music (Torf did a great job of making a special CD for the performance). Thanks to all who participated.

Demo Team Schedule

Next outing for the demo team is Sunday, November 3, at the Austin Celtic Association Festival at Fiesta Gardens. Scheduled performance times are 12:30 and 3:30. Come support the group and help promote SCD.

Next is on Tuesday, December 17 at the Trail of Lights. Dancing begins at 8:15

Entertainment and Demo Teams

On Friday, December 13 and Friday, December 20 both teams will perform at Pioneer Farm Candlelight Christmas

Sarah Harriman

Entertainment Team Dances at Heatherwilde Assisted Living Center

Residents of Heatherwilde Assisted Living Center in Pflugerville enthusiastically clapped along with the music while Sarah and Kathleen Boas, Michele Kendall, Sharon Breen, Sharon Starrett, Roger LaPrelle, Evan Thomas, and Daniel, Andrea and Susan Blumentritt danced Flowers of Edinburgh, The White Cockade, Jessie's Hornpipe and the Saint John River for them. Later in the program several residents and staff members joined the dancers for a slow walking dance to Machine Without Horses. In the course of a too vigorous step-up, one of the residents fell. Sharon Starrett, immediately casting aside her dancer hat, replaced it with her nurse hat as she made sure the lady was not seriously injured. The dancers concluded the program with De'il Amang the Tailors. After dancing all the dancers stayed to visit with the residents of Heatherwilde who wanted to know when we were coming back!

Sarah Harriman

Dance Socials

The October Social will be October 11 at 7:30PM at the Ballroom in the Sky.

Dances of the Month

Announcements

The Scottish Country Dance Alliance

A social group for dancers with some experience under their belts has moved to a new location. They are now dancing at QuickSilver Dance Studio on Sunday nights from 8pm to 10pm. Contact Anne Marshall at acmars@earthlink.net for more information.

News from Around the State

Houston

The Houston Workshop will be held October 26 & 27
Vicky Goodloe from Kentucky will be teaching and music will be provided by Muriel Johnstone and Calum MacKinnon. See the Houston Scottish Country Dancing and More site for details.

San Antonio

The Bluebonnets will be performing on October 19, 2002 for "A Day at Old Ft. Sam". This is an annual celebration at the fort that we enjoy doing.

The Bluebonnets will be having a social October 20th at Our Lady of the Lake, Cultural Center from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Many of the dances will be from the Houston Ball program. All are welcome.

Classes are growing by leaps and bounds. They've persuaded some of their Contra-dancers to try Scottish dance. They invite all to join them every Sunday from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Our Lady of the Lake University, in the Cultural Center.

The Austin SCD E-mail Group

If you want to send an announcement to the AustinSCD eGroup, email the message to AustinSCD@yahoogroups.com as if you are addressing the entire group. The message will be sent, exactly as it appears, to everyone in the eGroup, if it is approved by the moderator (Tim Harrison). Most messages are approved.

You can join the eGroup to receive email message announcements of interest to SCDers in the Austin area by sending an email message to AustinSCD-subscribe@yahoogroups.com from the email address at which you want to receive announcements.

The Ghillies Gazette

Copyright ©2002 Austin Scottish Country Dance Society. All rights reserved.
All submissions are subject to editing for length and content.

Permission is granted for other nonprofit organizations to reprint articles appearing in this newsletter with credit to the appropriate author(s) and The Ghillies Gazette, Austin Scottish Country Dance Society (ASCDS), Austin, Texas, USA.

The Ghillies Gazette is e-mailed to students enrolled in ASCDS sponsored dance classed, SCD teachers, SCD organization contacts in Texas, and newsletter editors of nonprofit organizations that provide a reciprocal newsletter. If you fall into one of these categories and are not receiving the newsletter, please contact Roger LaPrelle.