Scottish Country Dance Ball

Today we had the seventh bi-annual June Scottish Country Dance Workshop during the day and the Formal Ball in the evening. Bruce Hamilton was the teacher. He was joined by musicians Jim Stevenson-Mathews (piano) and Mara Shea (fiddle). Everyone dresses a bit comfortably during the day but wears something more special in the evening. The evening ball program included the following dances:

The Merry Reapers (24J3c)

The Royal Deeside Railway (32R3c)

Lady Glasgow (32S3c)

A Capital Jig (32J3c)

Flowers of Edinburgh (32R3c)

The Minister on the Loch (32S3c)

The Laird of Milton’s Daughter (32J3c)

The Missing Turn (32R3c)

intermission

Maxwell’s Rant (32R3c)

The Robertson Rant (80S4c)

The Duke of Atholl’s Reel (32J2c)

Miss Nora Kindness (32R3c)

Sugar Candie (32S3c)

Mrs Stewart’s Jig (32J3c)

Alison Rose (32S4c)

The Reel of the Royal Scotts (32R3c)

Eslpeth is the local dancer who provided me with
my McNaughten tartan kilt from her family.

Fiddler Mara Shea, Teacher Bruce Hamilton, Pianist Jim Stevenson-Mathews

Dancers during the afternoon workshop

Columbus Dancers

Pianist Jim Stevenson-Mathews with his partner Gaitley.
Gaitley asked me if I knew Fred and Joseph. When I got
home from the workshop, a postcard from Fred and Joseph
had arrived in the mail. Interesting coincidence.

I'm standing between Laura Russell, our Scottish Country Dance Teacher, and
Margaret McCullough, past president of Mid-Ohio Scottish Heritage Society,
Daughters of Scotland, and Ohio Scottish Games Advisory Board

The information in parentheses indicates how long the music is for each time through the dance, whether the dance is a Jig, Reel, Strathspey (or Square Set), and how may couples are active in the dance. Most of the dances are done in four couple sets. The dances above not only represent a variety of music, but also a variety of complexity. When you attend a formal ball, you are expected to already know each dance. There were no walk-throughs or instruction. Each dance was merely “briefed”. This means that a short synopsis of the figures of the dance were talked through before the music starts and the dance begins. Our Heather ‘N’ Thistle groups has danced 99 different dances this year. The “dance of the month” or dances that appear on the ball program may come up several times. It is a very different venture to work towards a big celebration like a Scottish Country Dance Ball. But, very satisfying.