RSCDS London Ontario
Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre - 656 Elizabeth Street N5Y 6L3 London, ON, Canada

This weeks online class featured Schiehallion reels......everyone's favourite!! Enjoy!

On Saturday 27th February join the RSCDS for a brand, new virtual event it may not be possible for dancers to join together in Pitlochry for the 2021 RSCDS Winter School, but hopefully you will enjoy connecting through Dance Scottish - A Winter Evening. Sign in from 20:00 GMT and chat with the global dance community. Then at 20:15 GMT join for Dance Scottish - A Winter Evening:

Hello Scottish Country Dancers, This is to let you know that we are improving the way that you can access the Zoom classes on Wednesdays and Fridays and the list of dances for each class. The links you use will be the same every week. This means that we will not be creating a new zoom link for each class and emailing it out to you. Everyone will sign in to the class with the link and the password. The links and the password will always be the same so you won't have to won...der whether you got the email or where you filed it. Check you email for further details!!!

Hi Everyone, Happy New Year to you all. Let's get moving with some dancing in 2021. Pat and Helen are ready with a good selection to start the year off in good form. Check your email for details for the Friday Night Social Dance online!

Welcome back - the first online class of 2021 starts tonight at 7pm! Once again a mystery teacher will be hosting the session and there's an opportunity to ca...tch up with friend on the chat before the class starts, so sign in early. Check your email inbox for the link or, if you're not subscribed to our newsletters yet visit http://www.rscds.org/online-classes - you can also catch up with previous classes and we've now included teacher details, information on the dances and more. #learn #dance

Another opportunity to dance this afternoon!

The first Dance Scottish at Home of 2021

Hi Everyone, We are looking forward to seeing you at our virtual Hogmanay Party on Thursday evening December 31st. at 8.pm. We will have dancing and entertainment and some door prizes to be won! Let us say goodbye to 2020 together and welcome in 2021 earlier than usual with a toast for a better year ahead for everyone at around 9.45 pm, approximately. Check your email for the link.

WEDNESDAY ZOOM CLASS - We are going to spend some time on Irish Rover over the next couple of weeks to look at each person's movement through the dance. The Zoom is an ideal way to focus on parts of dances or on figures in dances so that we can "hit the floor dancing" when we are back to gathering together. Please let me know if there are dances or figures/formations that sometimes seem to cause problems in a dance and we can work on those during these classes. You can em...ail or call, and remember that if you are having problems, there are likely more dancers with the same challenges. So, for Wednesday: Knit the Pocky Irish Rover Sugar Candie: Kendall's Hornpipe: Summer Wooing: the 3rd video is rather well done. We will see how far we get with these dances. Members check your email for the link

London Branch Christmas Dance Party tonight! Check your email for details.London Branch Christmas Dance Party tonight! Check your email for details.

Special Scottish Country Dance Class for Beginners Deb Lees of RSCDS Newcastle Sunday, January 17th at 2:00 pm (Ontario time) Deb Lees will teach a one-hour Zoom class for new and beginner dancers. She will be accompanied by her husband, Roger Malton, on fiddle. Deb is an experienced teacher for the RSCDS. She regularly teaches at Summer School, and at workshops around the UK and Europe. Deb and Roger live in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.... This class is aimed at beginners, but all are welcome to join. The class will be followed by a short session of Zoom Social Dancing, incorporating the elements learned in the class. For more information, or to register, please contact Alma Smith at [email protected] See more

Special Scottish Country Dance Class for Beginners Deb Lees of RSCDS Newcastle Sunday, January 17th at 2:00 pm (Ontario time) Deb Lees will teach a one-hour Zoom class for new and beginner dancers. She will be accompanied by her husband, Roger Malton, on fiddle. Deb is an experienced teacher for the RSCDS. She regularly teaches at Summer School, and at workshops around the UK and Europe. Deb and Roger live in N...ewcastle upon Tyne, England. This class is aimed at beginners, but all are welcome to join. The class will be followed by a short session of Zoom Social Dancing, incorporating the elements learned in the class. For more information, or to register, please contact Alma Smith at [email protected]. Alma teaches Zoom Scottish Country Dance classes for beginner dancers on Thursdays at 7:30 pm and Fridays at 10:00 am, as well as a social class for experienced dancers on Tuesdays at 7:30 pm.

Another great opportunity to learn something new during the COVID-19 lockdown...... Introduction to Scottish Step Dancing on Zoom: Saturdays from 2:00 p.m.to 3.00 p.m. (Ontario time), starting in January Learn basic steps of Scottish Step Dances in the privacy of your own home. Scottish Step Dancing (previously called Ladies Step Dancing) is usually solo dancing, so it is type of dancing that can be done in Zoom classes and is increasing in popularity, with both men and women.... Alma Smith will run Zoom classes for beginners, introducing basic steps and samples of a variety of step dances. Also included will be basic highland steps used in Scottish Country Dancing (for example Glasgow Highlanders). For more information, or to register, please contact Alma Smith at [email protected] Please put Scottish Step Dancing as the subject. Alma is a Scottish Country Dance teacher in Ontario, Canada, and has been teaching Scottish Step Dancing in the Toronto area for many years. See more

Join our Christmas Celebration! Mark your calendars for Friday, December 18th from 7:30-9:00 p.m. for our virtual Christmas celebration. Chat to fellow dancers you haven't seen for a while, listen to some favourite Scottish tunes and get up to dance with your "ghost" partners. There will be some door prizes and who knows what else the organizers have up their sleeves! Have your egg nog and shortbread cookies close by as we wish a Merry Christmas to all. The link to join can be obtained from Margaret Campbell (check the webpage for contact info)

It's Saturday night podcast time! Listen again to the latest "At Home Podcast", hosted by our new Music Director, Luke Brady This St Andrew's Night spec...ial features a quiz on William Marshall with Anne Taylor, as well as tracks related to St Andrew himself. https://soundcloud.com//rscds-at-home-podcas/s-VVXJtwJOawb #SaturdayNight #AtHome

Branch members check your email for the link for tomorrow night's Social Dance on Zoom!Branch members check your email for the link for tomorrow night's Social Dance on Zoom!

Our virtual office is closed today for St Andrew's Day ...but let's celebrate this occasion online at 8pm today (UK time) there will be a redo of Dance Scott...ish An Autumn Evening for all of you that missed it earlier this month - this includes music, scroll recipient intros, facts and dance videos. Sign in from 7:45pm today to chat online with fellow dancers before the event starts. Then settle back on the sofa, or dance around your living room with the Autumn playlist. Details on how to join can be found in the latest Dance Scottish At Home newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/rscds/dance-scottish-at-home-582270 #StAndrewsDay #KeepOnDancing

We are having our own weekly dance classes which will be offered virtually!!! Our Virtual Classes will take place as follows: A Basic Class will be taught on Wednesday nights at 7.30pm on the following nights. November 18, 25, December 2,9,16 A Social Class for more experienced dancers will be taught on Friday Nights at 7.30 pm on the following nights. November13,20,27,December4,11.... A Zoom Link will be sent out a few days before with a list of dances to be taught. We hope these classes will get you dancing in your homes being aware of your surroundings at all times. You will be able to see your fellow dancers and have a chat before and after class. These virtual classes will help get us back dancing during the cold winter months, as nothing makes us feel better than getting together socially. These scheduled classes will also be offered on a trial basis to Friends of the Branch and non-members. In order to attend further virtual classes in January 2021, they must join as Associate members.

This week's Dance Scottish at Home.........enjoy........keep smiling......dance if you can!!

There is an Autumn Evening virtual dance taking place today at 3:00 p.m. our time. They're dancing popular dances and suggest that even if you don't dance, it's worth listening to the music. The link is below. Once you're on the website, scroll down and choose the large blue button titled Autumn Evening. https://www.rscds.org/events/rscds-agm-2020 Enjoy!

LONDON BRANCH MEMBERS!! All dancers are invited to join our London Branch Scottish Country Dance Zoom classes each week through to December 16, 2020 Catch up with the other dancers during chat times; work on your dancing skills if you have some space; listen to some great music; enjoy being in touch with one another whether you dance or watch. On Wednesday evenings Catherine and Pat will focus on basic ( beginner) dancers, while on Friday evenings Helen's Social class is an ...opportunity to enjoy a variety of dances. Irrespective of your dance energy or skill, you are welcome to attend any or all of the classes. This is our way of getting our members to keep active while we are unable to resume our in person dance classes.. To join the Zoom classes all you have to do is click on the link that we send out to you. We hope you will come and join us for a time together to dance or to enjoy watching while listening to toe tapping music.

Autumn Evening event sounds like fun!!! It will be in the afternoon for us!!

Just a reminder the Society's 2020 AGM for is taking place on Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. If you'd like to attend this Zoom meeting, you must register in advance. Go to the RSCDS AGM 2020 website page https://www.rscds.org/events/rscds-agm-2020 to register and to find all the relevant AGM information. There is also a flipbook report of activities and financial information. Note when you register you'll be asked if you're a Branch Delegate. Answer "No". Details will follow in an email.

The branch had an excellent AGM on Wednesday night. Thank you to Margaret Campbell and all who worked on making the Zoom meeting a success.The branch had an excellent AGM on Wednesday night. Thank you to Margaret Campbell and all who worked on making the Zoom meeting a success.

A message from our Chairman, Andrew Kellett "It's September and in any other year we would be enjoying dances and classes again after what for northern hemi...sphere dancers is the summer break. Sadly, not this year, but it has been uplifting to hear what branches and groups are doing around the world to keep Scottish country dancing and music alive. Social networks, online events and, in some cases, actual dancing adapted to meet local rules, even if in many places those rules seem to be constantly changing. Thank you everyone for your commitment and enthusiasm. Keep up the good work, and we will be back dancing together." See more

In this edition of Dance Scottish at Home you can learn about the Skye Bridge, the Napier Commission and vote for your favourite video from the Virtual Festival 2020!

Time for some more Scottish toe tapping and brain draining!!!!

REMINDER FOR MEMBERS: As you know, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) is taking place at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30, via Zoom audio/video conferencing, or by phone. Please read and follow the instructions in the email you received, as well as the meeting protocols for how the meeting will be conducted. If you haven’t already done so, please RSVP to RSCDSLondonon@ gmail.com to confirm your attendance

Not a full Dance Scottish at Home this week........but here is info on this week past class and podcast. Enjoy!

The 20th Edition of Dance Scottish at Homenow comes out every fortnight!

Online festival this weekend!!!!

Global Youth Week 2020 proudly presents: The RSCDS Virtual Festival - a Scottish Celebration! Branches from around the world gathered (online and live), and wo...w, they have come up with some lovely surprises. Watch their fantastic contributions, and enjoy an imaginative, beautiful and fun collection of Scottish Country Dance, 2020 style. https://www.youtube.com/playlist This year, you will be able to vote on your favourite entry. Just send an email to [email protected], subject line: Virtual Festival 2020. Winners will be announced at the Virtual AGM on 7 November 2020.

Finally got this to share! Love it sooooo much!

This week's DSAH has some fun stuff......and reports their 25th online class. Something to consider as the weatehr getss colder and outdoor exercise becomes less of an option.

It's time for The Dance Scottish at Home Summer Celebration. See the link below for information on daily events at 3:00 pm EDT!!! All week.........enjoy!

That time again.enjoy and keep an eye out for more info on the Summer Celebration.

A Summer Celebration As you know, Summer School in St. Andrews, Scotland was cancelled and a virtual celebration called "A Summer Celebration" will take place from July 27 to August 1. Information was included in last week's Dance Scottish at Home, below. There will be five live evening sessions taking place from 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm our time Monday to Friday, featuring a mixture of dance, music, information and global connections with additional chat time. These sessions will ...also be recorded and made available for those in different time zones. The finale to the week, on Saturday, August 1, will be a Summer Social with a dance playlist chosen by RSCDS members. You have until July 17 to vote for your favourite jigs, strathspeys and reels from the list using the link provided. Vote now! Autumn Gathering In other news, the Autumn Gathering held annually in November in Perth, Scotland has been cancelled. The Annual General Meeting for the Society is usually held at this event, but this year it will be held virtually. Dance Scottish at Home newsletter After more than four months of providing inspiring and insightful content on a weekly basis, the frequency of the Dance Scottish at Home communications will be changing to every two weeks following the Summer Celebration event. However, you'll still receive a weekly Zoom class link to join and will still be able to access all of the podcasts, puzzles and articles produced to date on the RSCDS website (rscds.org).

And this week I learned that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was Scottish......who knew??

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING RESUMPTION OF CLASSES!! From the Committee of Management: "Given what we currently know, the uncertainty of what might happen in the Fall and your level of comfort in returning (as shared in response to the poll circulated to members by email) , we decided not to return to dancing in September or for the remainder of 2020. We'll monitor the situation through the Fall to determine if we might start up again in January 2021 or shortly after. Carling Heights and Elmwood Presbyterian Church are not currently open for group activities."

Online Ceilidh from the Ferguson Scottish Games folks!

Just in case anyone wanted to engage in some retail therapy to help get through this pandemic!

This week's edition of Dance Scottish At Home.......learn something about the Battle of the Somme, and Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Skye Boat Song!

In case you wanted to dance today at 2:00 pm EDT, here's the NEW link for the RSCDS at home class...........

This week's version of Dance Scottish At Home features last week's virtual class led by a Canadian teacher from B.C. and NEW link for the upcoming class on Wed, July 1st......not a bad way to celebrate Canada Day!

The most recent Dance Scottish At Home includes a history of 'Nessie', the monster (first pictured in 500 A.D.!) and the dance.

Another edition of Dance Scottish at Home to keep us thinking about dancing when we can get together again!

This week's Dance Scottish At Home features everything you need to know about Cutty Sark.......the dance, the poem, the ship, the Scotch whisky! Enjoy!!

This week’s Dance Scottish At Home. Enjoy!!

About three weeks ago Helen Bell requested that Mairi's Wedding be played for the London Canada Branch on the weekly Take the Floor program on BBC Radio Scotland. We were excited to hear it was played on the May 10, 2020 episode and was the first of several requests made for Mairi's Wedding. It said it was "for all the members of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, London Canada Branch from Helen Bell." You can listen to the request at this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000j3w8 starting at 1:16:43 (drag the orange dot across the line until you reach that time). The actual music, which is a long version, runs from 1:18:33 to 1:24:10.

A little late posting this week's Dance Scottish at Home......hope all had a chance to enjoy some outdoor time in the last couple of days. And Happy 200th Florence Nightingale.......:)

This week's special VE Day edition of Dance Scottish At Home.......check it out!

More fun and knowledge galore from this week’s Dance Scottish at Home

Here’s to dancing.

This week’s Dance Scottish at Home

Thanks to Pat for sharing this! Something to perk us up on this dull day.

This week’s Dance Scottish At Home. Fun quizzes and the opportunity to do some dancing with the online weekly class. Enjoy!!

This week's version of Dance Scottish at Home........take note of the online weekly class being offered....especially beginners who don't want to lose everything you learned this year!!

NEW BRANCH CLASS STRUCTURE FOR SEPTEMBER!! We’re pleased to announce a new class structure starting in September of this year when hopefully we can return to classes. The new structure gives everyone 2 hours of dancing each Wednesday night, providing more time for learning steps, formations and dances. Please see the Note of April 5th for details.

This week's version of Dance Scottish At Home. Some exciting content, including a Dances Anagram for those of you who are puzzlers, and a link for an online Dance Class from the UK!

Here’s an online ceilidh tonight that you might enjoy!

Check this out for some resources for staying connected with the Scottish Dancing world while we are all practicing social distancing. You can subscribe to the newsletter yourself once you link to it. Enjoy!!

Due to the COVID-19 virus all London Branch events are cancelled until August 31st. We hope to see you all in September (visit this page regularly for any updates).Due to the COVID-19 virus all London Branch events are cancelled until August 31st. We hope to see you all in September (visit this page regularly for any updates).

Something to make you smile while we are not able to be together dancing! Thanks to the Phoenix RSCDS Branch for sharing, who I usually dance with in the winter.

Info from RSCDS regarding Spring Fling and Summer School

A smile for us all in these try times.

IMPORTANT NOTICE!! DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC ALL WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT CLASSES ARE CANCELLED UNTIL AT LEAST APRIL 4TH! Spring Social scheduled for March 27th is also cancelled.

A wonderful time was had by all at the London Branch Workshop and Tea Dance on Saturday. Huge thanks go out to the organizers, the teachers and all who attended. We almost needed a bigger venue - how exciting is that?! Next opportunity for dancing in London is our Spring Social on Friday, March 27th. Details and registration link will be posted shortly.

Time to think about Spring! London Branch Spring Dance March 27 - 7:30 pm Mark your calendars now!!Time to think about Spring! London Branch Spring Dance March 27 - 7:30 pm Mark your calendars now!!

Wow! We have 85 people registered for our Annual Workshop on February 22nd. There are still one or two more spots in the Basic Class. Contact Mary Howard asap if you are interested.

Don’t be late!! Registration deadline for the Branch Workshop is Wednesday February 12thDon’t be late!! Registration deadline for the Branch Workshop is Wednesday February 12th

Save the date!! May 2nd is our Annual Ball. A wonderful evening of food, fellowship and dancing. Keep a lookout for details and a link to the registration form coming soon!Save the date!! May 2nd is our Annual Ball. A wonderful evening of food, fellowship and dancing. Keep a lookout for details and a link to the registration form coming soon!

This Friday, Burns Night at Elmwood Avenue United Church- the haggis is waiting!!!!!This Friday, Burns Night at Elmwood Avenue United Church- the haggis is waiting!!!!!