Helensburgh & District Highland Association

Dance Report 31/5/24

 

Here we are again. It only seems like yesterday that we had the last AGM in 2023.

The evening kicked of with some very good weather making it a rare night for a dance in

the Commodore as it can be rather drafty in the wintertime.

The dance band for tonight was the Steven Carcary and Malcolm Ross duo.

Without any delay the dance got of to a great start with the Gay Gordons followed by the

Lomond Waltz the dancing continued till the interval when the AGM was held starting

with a minute’s silence in memory of two life members Katie McDonald (former

Association President) and Grace McPhail who still attended all the dances even after

she moved to live in Oban.

The AGM then continued with quiet a pace thanks to the streamlining of the procedure

by Anne Thorn, the secretary. Once again, we managed to get a full committee and a big

thanks to all the retiring and new committee members, meaning we can continue for

another year of good dancing and listening to some very good music provided by so

many excellent bands.

 

With all the business completed, the dancing continued for the second half with a

varied selection of dances till the end of the evening (we even managed 3 sets for

Postie’s Jig). The evening concluded with the closing remarks and thanks from the

President Neil Macleod followed by Auld Lang Syne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well done the dancers, see you in June 

 Dance held at the Commodore Hotel on Friday 26th April 2024

 

Dance Report

 

Honorary President Neil MacLeod bade a warm welcome to everyone and introduced the

Ewan Galloway Scottish Dance Band, comprising Ewan Galloway on accordion and Iain

Graham on percussion. The band had been popular with dancers at previous ceilidh dances

and another excellent rendition of the evenings dance programme was anticipated

There were 48 members plus 12 non-members in attendance, making a total of 60 attendees.

The programme began with the ‘Eva Three Step’ and progressed through the dance list to

the ever popular ‘Swedish Masquerade’ and the delightful ‘Waltz of Bells’.

The first half of the evening concluded for a break for tea, coffee and biscuits. The regular

raffle was drawn raising the sum of £159.00. Thanks are extended to everyone who donated

prizes and to ticket buyers.

After the welcome break the set programme continued with the ‘Canadian Barn Dance’

concluding with ‘The Boston Two Step’ and ‘Southern Rose Waltz’ before the traditional

singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne’

The Honorary President drew the evening to a close by thanking the Band and everyone for

attending another entertaining night. Thanks were also extended to committee members for

their essential tasks at the door selling dance and raffle tickets and providing teas and

coffees at the interval.

The Honorary President also acknowledged the table of family and friends who were

enjoying the wide variety of dances whilst celebrating the birthday of Sue who was

congratulated by everyone with a ‘Happy Birthday’ sing-a-long.

At the end of the evening a healthy profit of £253.90 was realised after deductions for venue

hire, ceilidh band and associated running costs.

The next dance will again take place in the Commodore Hotel on Friday 31st May 2024 at

8.00pm with music by the Steven Carcary Scottish Dance Band.

Did you know?

Steven Mithen is an archaeologist whose research focuses on the Neanderthals, our

prehistoric cousins, as opposed to Homo Sapiens' our direct ancestors. But he believes the

importance of dance was widespread and probably practiced by early humans too as far

back as 1.5 million years ago. And, as it is on modern dance floors, their prehistoric moves

had a lot to do with hooking up. Although, it is difficult to conceive of what would pass as

sartorial elegance in our terpsichorean forebears.

Bob McCafferty

Dance held at the Commodore Hotel on Friday 29th March 2024

Dance Report

 

Everyone was welcomed to the dance by Honorary President Neil MacLeod who introduced

the Wayne Robertson Scottish Dance Band from Perth, comprising Wayne Robertson on

accordion and Callum Wallace on percussion. The duo provided excellent traditional music

with their complementary playing on drums and accordion.

There were 39 members plus 16 non-members and 2 juveniles in attendance, making a

healthy total of 57 attendees. It was great to see so many new, enthusiastic dancers. Again

the round tables allowed for better freedom of movement to and from the dance floor.

The programme began with the ‘Gay Gordons Two-Step’ and dances thereafter were well

spaced and paced, varying from the vigorous ‘Swedish Masquerade’ to the more sedate

‘Lomond Waltz’ and the jaunty ‘Shiftin’ Bobbins’.

The first half of the evening was concluded in time for a welcome break for tea, coffee and

biscuits. The regular raffle was drawn during the interval raising the sum of £161.00. Thanks

go as usual both to ticket buyers and to everyone who provided the prizes.

Dancing resumed after the interval with the ‘Pride of Erin Waltz’. The energetic ‘Canadian

Barn Dance’ was enjoyed near the programme’s end as was the elegant ‘Valeta Waltz’.

The visitors in particular gave their views about the evening’s entertainment and their

responses were encouragingly positive. They hailed from various ‘airts and pairts’ including

Manchester and London as well as Dumbarton and Helensburgh. One visitor was originally

from Sri Lanka (see footnote) and another from Dublin.

The Honorary President concluded the evening by thanking everyone for attending what

proved to be a very rewarding and entertaining night in terms of both music quality and

increased attendances. The band concluded with the traditional ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

There was a satisfying profit of £204.20 after the usual accounting for venue hire, ceilidh

band and associated running costs.

The next dance will again take place in the Commodore Hotel on Friday 26th April 2024 at

8.00pm with music by the Ewan Galloway Scottish Dance Band

Did you know?

The national dance in Sri Lanka is the Kandyan Dance which has costumes that are very

striking. For example, male dancers dress in a skirt-like garment with naked chest and silver

regalia and wearing spectacular headgear. The distinctive content behind the dance relates

to drama or stories of kings and heroes.

Bob McCafferty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dance held at the Commodore Hotel on Friday 23^rd February 2024

 

Dance Report

 

 

Honorary President Neil MacLeod welcomed everyone to the dance and introduced the Gavin Piper Scottish Dance Band, who provided excellent music for the evening with their distinctive drive and rhythm on drums and accordion.

 

There were 36 people in attendance, including 4 non-members. It was noted that the preferred round tables were in place allowing for more space to take to the floor and better social mixing and chat, not as easily afforded by the usual long tables.

 

The first dance began with the ‘Lomond Waltz’ rather than the “Gay Gordons” as per programme but nonetheless gave the promise of an enjoyable evening ahead including the more vigorous pace of the ‘Canadian Barn Dance’ and ‘Virginian Reel’.

 

The first half of the evening was concluded just after 9pm due to the early arrival of the tea and coffee. The popular raffle was drawn during the interval which raised the sum of £120.00. Thanks to ticket buyers and to everyone who generously provided the prizes.

 

After the interval the programme continued to include the gentler rhythms of the ‘Square Tango’ and ‘Southern Rose Waltz’, the latter replacing the ‘Hesitation Waltz’.

 

The ‘Waltz Catherine’ was danced at the usual steady pace although the ‘Mayfair Quickstep’ would have been more suited to a brisker tune such as “Whisky in the Jar” as may have been anticipated. However, the dancers keenly took to the floor.

 

The general views of dancers were that the evening was a great success musically with the following positive endorsements for the band:- The band was “Excellent”; “Terrific”; “Great”; “Fantastic”; “Played to the dancers” and “Played to the Ceilidh standard”.

 

The Honorary President concluded the evening by thanking everyone for attending what proved to be a most entertaining night concluding with the traditional ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

 

There was a small loss of £0.80 after deductions for venue hire, ceilidh band and other associated costs were taken into account.

 

The next dance will again take place in the Commodore Hotel on Friday 29^th March 2024 at 8.00pm with music by the Wayne Robertson Scottish Dance Band

 

Did you know?

The Romans apparently had something to say about dancing (they called it ‘saltatio’) which could well have applied to the evening’s Ceilidh.

" … … dancing is the companion of a seasoned party, a pleasant place, and many delights" - Marcus Tullius Cicero

 

Bob McCafferty