Our Club

New Dancers’ Celebration: Johnsonville as host
Annual Dance Traditions
Tartan Tablecloths: Five plus One
The Tale of the Tartan Bunting
Dancing in the community
Neighbours’ Day 2015: Newlands Marae
Memories of New Dancers’ Celebrations
Club bunting and its use
Wellington Region Events in the 1990s
Loralee Hyde: Memories of Bernice Kelly
2014 Wellington Region 1920s Ball
Loralee Hyde: Dressed for the part!
Pieces of Eight: A new dance for an old tune
Wellington Region Diamond Jubilee Ball 2012
Club Summer Ceilidhs: How did they start?
Classes and Schools for everyone
Dancing shoes with a Royal connection
Hogmanay Customs: New Zealand and Scotland
Kristin Downey: Leaving Johnsonville School
Loralee Hyde: Hogmanay in Wellington 2006-2018
The Second Canberra Book of Scottish Country Dances
Recruitment and retention of new dancers 2018
Advertising on Facebook 2018
50 Golden Years 2016
Early history

New Dancers’ Celebration: Johnsonville as host

Each year one club in the Wellington Region organises the highlight of the Region’s dancing year – the New Dancers’ Celebration. The 2022 event was the third hosted by Johnsonville since Rod Downey became tutor. The first was in 2003, and the second in 2013. See our memories of these dances along with many historical photos

Annual Dance Traditions

What makes our annual dances so special? Many small customs and traditions, when added together, create a night that is special to us in all sorts of ways. Find out why our Annual Dance is the highlight of the club year

Tartan Tablecloths: Five plus One

The club’s collection of five cheery, red tartan tablecloths has been around much longer than the tartan bunting. See the story of our tablecloth collection

The Tale of the Tartan Bunting

Johnsonville’s tartan bunting has been bringing colour to club events since 2013, transforming every event into a special occasion. Find out how the bunting came to be and how we use it

Dancing in the community

Johnsonville Club members are often out and about in the community—sharing the fun and friendship of Scottish Country Dancing. See some of our memories of the fun and laughter

Neighbours’ Day 2015: Newlands Marae

Newlands Marae, Ngā Hau e Whā o Paparārangi, got in touch with Johnsonville Club in 2015 about participating in Neighbours’ Day. The theme that year was ‘the young and the elderly’, and at the time we could offer both! See more about the fun we had

Loralee Hyde: Memories of New Dancers’ Celebrations

The New Dancers’ Celebration is a special event for those who have started dancing in the past two years, with more experienced dancers coming along as support. See Loralee’s memories of these events since 2013 plus photos from Johnsonville Club archives

Club bunting and its use

Some of Johnsonville’s new dancers in 2013 came up with the great idea of the club making its own bunting for when we hold a special dance. See more about the ‘bunting bee’, use of the bunting at events and Rod’s dance The Bunting Bee

Wellington Region Events in the 1990s

Johnsonville members are keen participants in a range of Wellington Region events, joining other dancers at weekend schools, balls, Hogmanays, New Dancers Celebrations, demonstrations and classes. Take a look at memories of some of the Region’s events in the 1990s

Loralee Hyde: Memories of Bernice Kelly

Bernice Kelly, President of the RSCDS Wellington Region from 2005-2010, died on 6 June 2021 at the age of 87 years. Members of Johnsonville Club had a close association with Bernice during her time as President. Find out more including photos

2014 Wellington Region 1920s Ball

Memories of an elegant evening: Going back in time to the Roaring Twenties, groups of elegant dancers entered a beautifully decorated ballroom ready for an evening of dance and friendship on 5 July 2014. See more about this fabulous evening

Loralee Hyde: Dressed for the part!

Loralee has browsed through her collection of dancing photos and collated photos of ‘dress up’ dancing evenings across many years – from the more formal dances to themed nights at ceilidhs. Enjoy her reflections on the fun we get from dressing up 

Pieces of Eight: A new dance for an old tune

During the Covid-19 lockdown, our tutor Rod Downey’s mind turned to writing dances. The Great Teddy Bear Huntwas inspired by seeing all the teddy bears in the windows while out walking. Pieces of Eight grew out of The Great Teddy Bear HuntSee more about the dance and the history of the music

Wellington Region Diamond Jubilee Ball 2012

Government House held a very special evening on 30 June 2012 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll; the Wellington Region Diamond Jubilee Ball. See Loralee Hyde’s story about this magical night of dancing and more photos

Club Summer Ceilidhs: How did they start?

Kristin Downey tells us how Johnsonville Club’s summer ceilidhs started on 1 February 2014 and how they have evolved from then on. Find out more here

Classes and Schools for everyone

Our tutor Rod Downey talks about Scottish Country Dancing classes and schools and the experiences he and Kristin have had. Read what he has to say

Dancing shoes with a Royal connection

Two pairs of donated dancing shoes arrived in our club secretary Robert’s mailbox. Read about the history of these shoes from the donor’s daughter Pru Galloway.

Hogmanay Customs: New Zealand and Scotland

Aileen Logie was leader of the band for our 2019 Hogmanay dance, and she found it interesting comparing New Zealand customs with how Hogmanay is celebrated in modern day Scotland. Read what Aileen has to say

Kristin Downey: Leaving Johnsonville School

Our Tartan and Final night on 25 November 2019, really was our FINAL night at Johnsonville School hall. It was a great night’s dancing, and it was fantastic to have so many dancers from across Wellington joining us on the night to mark the occasion. See Kristin’s memories of Scottish Country Dancing at Johnsonville since 1991

Loralee Hyde: Hogmanay in Wellington 2006-2018

There’s great revelling throughout Scotland on Hogmanay. Here in New Zealand, we’re often fortunate we can celebrate at a local Hogmanay with Scottish Country Dancing. See Loralee’s story and photos of Hogmanay in and around Wellington from 2006-2018

The Second Canberra Book of Scottish Country Dances

Canberra Club ran a competition in 2018 inviting people to submit dances they had devised. Rod Downey, our tutor, made the short list of eight with his dance Summer on the Neckar. See more about the book and download a copy

Recruitment and retention of new dancers 2018

As part of the 2018 Dance Scottish initiative, RSCDS New Zealand Branch offered clubs a $150 donation to assist in attracting new dancers. Johnsonville Club used this donation towards the costs of advertising a series of four beginners’ classes in February 2018. Find out more about not just how we attract beginners, but also how we retain them, and what we need to do ongoing in this post or download a PDF of the article

Advertising Scottish Country Dancing on Facebook 2018

For some years now, Johnsonville Club has successfully promoted the Club’s February Beginners’ classes through a wide variety of media channels. This year, one innovation we trialled was a Facebook ad costing $50. Find out more about factors we considered when advertising on Facebook, the process and the results Johnsonville Club achieved in this post or by downloading the article in PDF format

50 Golden Years 2016

Johnsonville Club’s special celebration of being part of the worldwide network of RSCDS dancers for 50 golden years on 20 August 2016 was a wonderful success. Spirits were high as we danced many of Johnsonville’s old favourite dances to the rousing music of Peter Elmes’ band of Aileen Logie, Don McKay and Lynne Scott, with Hilary Ferral joining in. See more about this wonderful celebration

Early history

Past Johnsonville Club secretary, Pat Reesby, pieced together some of the club’s early history in 2016. Find out more here

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