Shelby Scottish Country Dancers Shelby, North Carolina
Mission
The Shelby Scottish
Country
Dancers' mission is to promote and enjoy the pursuit of Scottish
Country
Dancing which is now performed worldwide by over 550 Branches and
affiliated groups,
over 17,000 members and numerous social groups. The headquarters of The
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) is located in Edinburgh,
Scotland
where it was founded in 1923 by Dr Jean Milligan with the object of
documenting
and preserving the customs, traditions and, particularly, the details
and
history of the dances
The group meets most Fridays from September to June
at
the Council on Aging -
Senior
Center, 1266
Fallston Road, Shelby from
7.15
pm to 9.30 pm. (This location is 2.4 miles north from the Court
Square
on NC 18 North. Turn right at the stoplight - Ross Grove Baptist Church
is on the left). Park at the building on your right. If you are not a regular attendee and wish to visit us please check
in advance at 704-482-8253 since scheduling conflicts, out of
town
events and vacations can result in cancellation of classes or
change of
venue.
Immediate schedule - latest
update - 8/28/08
We are resuming our
regular Friday class on Friday August 29 and continue every Friday
through the fall except September 19 and possibly October 3.
Class Plan
The group's RSCDS certified teacher Eilean
Yates directs our informal classes through a blend of
dances
tailored to the experience of those present. When beginners are in the
class, a mixture of easy dances involving all dancers interspersed with
more challenging dances for experienced members provides a balanced
program.
This provides beginners with a challenging vision of the
potential
of Scottish Country Dancing as well a chance to rest ! Special
beginners classes are organized from time to time depending on demand.
Attire
For theclasses ,
wear is
informal. Ladies usually wear casual long skirts while men wear kilts,
long pants or shorts depending on season and preference. Ghillies
or ballet shoes are the choice of footwear.
For the formaldances,
Highland wear is the preferred mode. For men, this means kilt, sporran, white shirt and
hose. In the absence of a kilt, dress slacks are an
acceptable
alternative. For women, an evening dress and a tartan sash.
Traditionally
the dress is white but in these times this is not strictly followed.
Contact: Eilean Yates 704-482-8253 or click
Demonstrations are another feature of the group's
activities.
Examples have been at the Shelby Millennium at the Shelby Presbyterian
Church, the annual Square Dance Convention in Charlotte, the
Celtic
Festival in Andrew Jackson park, Lancaster, SC, several years at the
Scottish Festival
at
Clover, SC and for the Scottish Heritage day at Steele
Creek Presbyterian Church, Charlotte NC . The
group
has performed
Hogmanay demonstrations at Shelby Presbyterian Church to celebrate the
arrival of the last ten new years.
The 2008
Loch Norman HighlandGames
were held on April 18, 19, 20
The Next Games are scheduled for April 17, 18, 19 2009
The Scottish Country Dances
are held at
Hopewell
Presbyterian Church 10500 Beattie's Ford Road, Charlotte NC
* * * Directly
opposite Latta Park Plantation * * *
The wonderful music for 2008
was provided by The MacRowdies Pete Campbell (accordion),
Mara
Shea (fiddle) and Dean Herington (piano) Scottish Country Dances are Friday Welcome and Saturday
Gala Dances.
Platform dancing on the
Games
Field on Saturday ( 11 am- 2 pm) and Sunday (noon - 1
pm).
Special classes for children
will
be held and are provisionally set for 2 - 3 pm
on Saturday and for 1 - 2 pm on Sunday.Please check at Games Field for any late changes.
(for a close up of Hopewell
Church location; drag the map to place "B" in the center of map; then
click on the 5th bar from top)
Hotels nearest
to the dance and the games field are at exits 16 and 18 off I-77N
traveling
north from Charlotte, NC.
Scottish Country Dancing in
the
South East
The group supports Scottish Country Dances and Socials which are held
throughout
the South East USA at the rate of
approximately one per month at, for example,
Scottish Country Dances are
also
held in association with:
Grandfather Mountain
Highland
Games
In
the
week prior to the Grandfather Mountain games (second weekend in July),
a week long school for all levels of Scottish
Country Dancing, Thistle
School is held at Lees
McRae College.
The Gala dance takes place on the Friday with the music of Bobby
Brown
and the Scottish Accent of Toronto.
Charleston, SC Games
On the evening of the
Charleston
Games ( held on the third Saturday of September ), the
Charleston,
SC Scottish Country Dancers host a
Post
Games Dance.
Stone Mountain
Highland
Games
Workshops for
beginners
(at least 6 months) and experienced dancers are usually held on the
Friday of
the
Stone Mountain Highland Games (third weekend in
October)
and followed by a Gala dance in the
evening.
Both events are organized by the RSCDS
- Atlanta Branch . The Atlanta branch also hold other dances
on a frequent basis details of which can be found on their web site.
Waxhaw
Games
The Charlotte Scottish Country Dancers, North
Carolina
host a Dance on the Saturday evening of the Waxhaw, NC games which are
held on the last weekend in October
The Head Office of RSCDS is
at 12 Coates
Crescent
Telephone: 0131 225 3854 Edinburgh EH3
7AF
Fax: 0131 225 7783 Scotland Web site access is at The
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Internet
Sources
In addition to the earlier
links, there are Internet Web sites
which cover different aspects of Scottish
Country Dancing. These include:-
The Inter-City Scot
provides
comprehensive lists of classes, events and active groups of S
C D groups across Canada and the USA. Strathspey
(not affiliated with or endorsed by the RSCDS) discusses dances
and
music as well as being a resource
for
interesting items connected with SCD.This site, based in Germany, has
world wide audience participation. Grand Chain - the
Scottish Dance Resource - a resource for Scottish dancers
worldwide, including bands, groups, links, hints and tips, dances and
more for SCD, highland and ceilidh dancers.
Maintained
by J. Michael Yates
Developed:
Monday July 23 2000 Last Revision: Thursday August 28, 2008
