In 2019, Johnsonville Club member Désirée Patterson gave this great account of New Zealand Branch Summer Schools she had attended, including what is involved during this week of Scottish Country Dancing; the classes, social activities and evening events as well as the fun and friendship.

Last year, I had a wonderful week at the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland 2022-2023 Summer School, the first get-together for three years due to the pandemic. My highlights included taking part in an innovative Excursions Group during the mornings, designed for non-dancers and those like me who wanted to save their legs for the evening functions.

Katharine Hoskyn from Auckland organised the excursions for the group. She sent us a survey to complete beforehand, asking what we would like to do and see on the excursions—ranging from walks in gardens to visiting the Art Gallery and Museum to having coffee breaks. Going to a café every morning was top of the picks! That’s always an opportunity for more chatting and laughter.

The excursions gave us a chance to get to know people from other parts of New Zealand and Australia. Being awed by the sheer size of two Tyrannosaurus skeletons at the Auckland Museum was just one of our fun-filled activities (yes, we also had coffee at the Museum).

See all my highlights and photos of the Auckland Summer School

For Summer School 2023-2024, it was the turn of the RSCDS New Zealand Branch Nelson/Marlborough Region to host us in Nelson—billed as the place for dancing, sun and friendship!

Catching-up with old friends from around New Zealand and the world (together with making new friends) is one of the highlights of Summer School. On the first night of dancing, the laughter and chatter echoed around the hall.

I wondered what fun we would have during the rest of the Summer School at classes, evening functions and other social activities.

A good number of dancers represented the Wellington Region at Nelson. Plus, Ann Oliver taught the Social Class, Catherine McCutcheon took Advanced and Lynne Scott led the Musicians’ Class. Aileen Logie, Jason Morris, Hilary Ferral and Ian Telfar played in the band. And Elaine Laidlaw briefed Hogmanay.

A Hogwarts themed fancy dress night set the scene for many amazing costumes along with dances fitting the theme and lots of smiles and laughter. I managed to concoct a Hedwig the owl costume entirely from bits and pieces I found at home, with a mask template downloaded from the web.

Remarkably. I danced Slytherin House partnered by Fluffy, the three-headed dog (with three dancers dancing as one!). The rest of the set was very accommodating, particularly while dancing the Snake Pass.

At Hogmanay on New Year’s Eve it was a delight to see Feshiebridge danced. Devised by long-time Wellington Region tutor Gary Morris, this was one of the dances we enjoyed at the special afternoon of Early Wellington Dances held in April 2023 to celebrate the Centenary of the RSCDS.

Although morning classes cover the serious business of step practice, learning new formations and dancing together as a team, there are plenty of fun-filled moments. I enjoyed three mornings dancing with the Social Class where there was an intense focus on learning as much as possible about the intricacies of dancing and the music.

Ann wrote the dances of each day on a board as an aide-mémoire for us. Lo and behold … there were fine artists amongst us who drew cartoons representing each dance on the board! Resulting in lots of laughter and discussion as well as providing visual clues to help us remember the dances.

Black Donald is a Highland colloquialism for the Devil in Scottish mythology. The defining characteristic of Black Donald is his cloven feet, which betray whatever disguise he assumes. Some may consider the cartoon of Black Donald on the board above, more closely resembles a certain Donald involved in politics in the USA.

Summer School often has afternoon excursions for dancers. One afternoon, we went to Mapua, a lovely village on the coast, where we walked along the wharf in the fresh sea air or had a coffee (of course!). We then could choose between going to Neudorf Vineyards for wine tasting or to Rabbit Island for a stroll along the beach.

My joy of dancing is equalled by my love of our native bush and wildlife. On another afternoon, a group of us went to the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, a 690-hectare fenced haven for our unique biodiversity.

How relaxing it was to stroll along the tracks through the bush and along the Brook Stream in the fresh air; recuperation for our brains which had worked so hard at classes and evening functions, and for our sore legs. Thanks to Janet from the Summer School Committee who organised this special visit for us (she’s a volunteer at the sanctuary).

Summer School ceilidhs are full of clever, entertaining items ranging from performances from musicians to recitations to singing, along with (sometimes quite wild) dancing! Superbly organised and MC’d by Ruth Budden from Tuakau, the Nelson ceilidh was no different.

Ruth was also the tutor of the Teacher Training Class, but somehow she found the time to teach some other Scottish Country Dancers some Rock and Roll moves. Well done all!

At the ceilidh, a group of Wellingtonians including the 2024-2025 Summer School Organiser Ann Oliver and members of the Committee, danced Catch the Wind devised by Romaine Butterfield to welcome everyone to the next Summer School in Wellington.

This dance ties-in with the catch-cry of the School—You’ll be blown away by a Wellington welcome! To great acclaim from the crowd, the team tried out a number of variations of the dance; all carefully planned of course, and within the spirit of having fun!

In a nod to the ‘windy’ theme of the next Summer School in Wellington, the last dance on the Final Night was The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Watch this video from the RSCDS New Zealand Branch to see the joy of the dance. Hear the fabulous music from the band alongside musicians from the Summer School Musicians’ Class led by Lynne Scott! And hear the whoops of joy at the end!

Thanks so much to Doug Mills and Lynda Aitchison and their committee for organising this Summer School in sunny Nelson, and thanks to the tutors, musicians, MCs, gophers, makers of morning teas, drivers, photographers, videographers and others who helped make this such a successful get-together.

I’ve lost count of the number of New Zealand Summer Schools I’ve attended; but all had lots of fun and friendship. I do recommend coming along to the 2024-2025 Wellington Summer School, especially as there’s a commuter option for those who live nearby.

Find out more and register online There’s fun to be had!

See all my photos of Nelson Summer School and download if you wish

Loralee Hyde
29 February 2024

All photos by Loralee Hyde except where noted