Winter dancing fun

Now that clubs have been dancing for some months, the winter Scottish Country Dancing ‘season’ is getting going, with club dances every second or third weekend.

Kelburn’s Farewell Dance started the ball rolling as it has done for many years, holding its very last annual dance, as the club closed for good. It was wonderful to see to many dancers attending to celebrate the part the club has played in the Wellington Scottish Country Dancing community.

Next on the list was Linden Club, holding their Annual Dance on Saturday 2 July at Ngaio Town Hall. I wasn’t able to attend, but Robert Vale reports:

‘Dancing was to the music of Strings Attached – Lynne Scott, Jason Morris and Richard Hardie – playing from a stage decorated across the front with tartan and green fern branches so fresh that you could smell them.’

Rod Downey dancing The Button Boy with Johnsonville Club members Jeanette Watson and Désirée Patterson also in the set

Robert also commented that ‘It was fortunate they had a good-sized hall as at times there were seven sets on the floor with numbers swelled by the presence of management committee members of the NZ Branch of the RSCDS who were in Wellington for a meeting.’

NZ Branch Management Committee members dancing included Gaylia Powell, Debbie Roxburgh and Andy Patterson

The programme was MC’d by co-tutors of Linden, Ann Oliver and Philippa Pointon, and featured three dances from the Wellington region’s recently published book of dances The Wellington 60th Anniversary CollectionCamping at Victoria Mines, The Amateur Epidemiologist, and Momentum.

Johnsonville dancers on the floor included Moira, with Pat and Maureen in the background

Johnsonville dancers were there a-plenty, with Rod counting twelve on the floor. You can see some of them in Robert’s photos above, really enjoying the night’s dancing, and in Pat Reesby’s video of Camping at Victoria Mines

Kristin Downey
7 July 2022

Photos: Robert Vale

Print Friendly, PDF & Email