Johnsonville’s dancing year started with our summer ceilidh at Johnsonville bowling club on Saturday 27 January. Over 30 dancers, family members and friends came together for bowling, dancing, ceilidh items and a potluck dinner.

It was a very hot day, with many of us enjoying the shade at the end of the bowling green before retreating indoors.

Many people contributed to the success of this event. Special thanks to Rod for a programme of Robbie Burns themed dances and music. Many thanks also to Alan, Kate, and Emma’s family set of young dancers for sharing their talents. And of course, to our entertaining quiz master John Markham who tested our Scottish knowledge with a running quiz, giving us a welcome break between dances.  A delicious pot luck dinner was a great way to finish as always.

See more photos of the bowling and ceilidh here

Beginners classes were next up, keeping us busy across all four Mondays in February.  The efforts of the committee and club members lead to a good turnout of beginners keen to try Scottish country dancing.  With of a range of ages and backgrounds, a good time was had by all.

As well as our usual newspaper ads, posters, contributed articles, and social media posts, this year we tried a couple of different things.  We raised awareness with community radio notices and an innovation subsidised by the NZ Branch’s ‘Dance Scottish’ initiative – a paid Facebook ad linking to our website. Additionally word of mouth continued to play a big part, with members bringing friends and acquaintances.

The Club year proper began in March with six sets on the floor, as Club members returned for another year of dancing. It  was a pleasure to welcome quite a few of our beginners who have chosen to stay on and join the Club.

Tutor Rod Downey continues to offer an early session for our new dancers, focusing on dances for the more experienced later in the evening.

Visitors are always welcome, reminding us of the worldwide network of Scottish country dancers. Our most recent visitors June and Nelson from Denton Celtic Dancers in Texas joined us on our second club night, together with their Wellington-based daughter and her partner.

See photos of our visitors to Club here

By Kristin Downey. Originally published in Harbour City Happenings Volume 20 No. 4 March 2018