Special Dance Information - Vic

Portarlington Spring Dance Weekend - 7 to 9 Nov 2014


 * Friday night - Registration (7.30 pm), with drinks and nibbles
 * Welcome Dance (8.00 pm), informal night of dancing with guest callers


 * Saturday - '''Registration (9am)
 * Dance Workshop(9:15 – 10.45), Scottish Country Dance, Matt Robertson (Melbourne)
 * Dance Workshop(11.00 – 12.30), Contra Dance, Julie Bishop(Sydney)
 * Dance Workshop(1.45 – 3.15), Nordic Dance, Roger Gifford (Canberra)
 * Music Workshop(1.45 - 3.15), Bayview Room, The Real Reel and Other Scottish Dance Tunes, Matthew Robertson
 * Dance Workshop(3.30 – 5.00), Roaring Twenties in Oz, Peter Ellis (Bendigo)
 * Saturday night Evening Dance (8.00 pm), “Roaring TWENTIES” to celebrate 20 years of dance weekends at Portarlington

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 * Sunday
 * Dance Workshop(9.45 – 11.15), Swedish Hambo, interspersed with some easy Nordic Dances, Roger Gifford
 * Informal music session, Bayview Room (10.00 – 12.00)
 * Dance Workshop (11.30 - 1.00), 20 More Years of Dance Competition Winners, (Launch of Books 7, 8 & 9), Norm Ellis (Melbourne)
 * Weekend Finale (2.00 - 3.30), Popular Dances from the Weekend, followed by Afternoon Tea.

REVIEW - Vic and I flew down from Brisbane to Melbourne, hired a car and headed off to Portarlington. The dance festival was held in a hall with a lovely wooden dance floor. The dance workshops were well-run and very enjoyable mixing with dancing friends(mostly Victorians plus some from Canberra and Adelaide). I know it is a long way from home and expensive, but we would like to encourage other visitors to do the same and attend other festivals and try different kinds of dancing. Where else could you have a go at the Charleston or be intrigued with that challenging dance the "Swedish Hambo" that looks so easy, but difficult to master! The Morning and Afternoon Teas were magnificent, the costumes for the "Roaring Twenties" dance were great fun, many photos were taken - so look out for it in 2015. Regards from Vic and Jan ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TSDAV’s	  			Bulletin			Dec. 2014

Greetings to all TSDAV members and supporters. . . Another year of dancing is rapidly drawing to a close - Where did the year go ? Here is news of our Upcoming Events, and some feedback from our Portarlington activities.

To celebrate 20 years of our Dance Weekends @ Portarlington, we decided to adopt an appropriate theme, and with a return of Peter Ellis, who took us on a ‘dancing journey’ from the ‘Gay Nineties to the Roaring Twenties”! We also had a reprise of ‘Nordic Dance’ which proved so popular last year, with Roger & Christine also testing our abilities with the ‘Swedish Hambo’. Matthew Robertson did a masterful job of tutoring our musicians, putting us through our paces with his Scottish dance workshop, AND leading the excellent music of our Band on Sat. night. Julie Bishop was back with her infectious brand of Contra, and Norm ‘launched’ our recently published ‘Dance Books’ with a varied selection of dances, drawn from the last 20 years of our Dance Composers Competition. On the whole, a most successful weekend of dancing, with an enhanced music content. We are appreciative of the number of ‘interstaters’ who were able to join us once again. Let the planning for the 21st begin ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For Your Diary –		 “ End of the Year Social ” Sat. 13th December. 2014 a fun night of dancing for all! And once again we present our legendary CHRISTMAS Hoedown ! a classic mix of American, Contra & Colonial, with music by The Chestnut Street Orchestra. Dancing from 8 to 11,	followed by Supper! (Please bring a small plate of Christmas goodies to share)

Ashburton Uniting Church Hall, 	3 Ashburn Grv. Ashburton. Melways 60 D 10

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Dancing at The Eleventh Hour” an occasional series of Dance Workshops

We meet at :	The Eleventh Hour Theatre Hall, cnr Gore & Leicester Sts, Fitzroy. (just South-West of the Smith St. & Alexandra Pde. (Eastern Fwy) intersection.) We resume in 2015 on 1st Feb. and then monthly on the first Sunday, except in April (Easter !) { 1st Feb. 1st March, 3rd May, 7th June, 5th July, 2nd Aug. 6th Sept. 4th Oct. 1st Nov. 6th Dec. }

All dancers are welcome		Inquiries: Norm Ellis  9888 5332. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TSDAV’s Dance Composers Competition to be judged at the National Folk Festival, Canberra, Easter	(2-6 April 2015) Entries are “Now Open”	(up to 20th Feb. ’15)	Enquiries: George Ansell 03 9890 5650 Featured State Theme - “New South Wales”

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AGM Report. . . 	This year, we held our AGM at Portarlington, to give our Interstate and Geelong members the opportunity to attend. Founding member, Bruce McClure stepped down as President (and from the Committee) after many years of outstanding & invaluable service. Our debt of gratitude is huge, and we cannot thank him enough for his lasting contribution and guidance. We wish him well, and hope to see him dancing for many more years to come.

Your New Committee is. . . 		President  Margaret Monkhouse Secretary  Heather Larsen  9808 4869		Treasurer   Norm Ellis  9888 5332 Marion Stabb (Portarlington w/e) 9439 7100	George Ansell (Dance Comp.)  9890 5650				Judith Baillie		Kathy Cox		Carol Griffiths

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Old Time Tea Dance Report. . . 	The TSDAV held their annual Afternoon Tea Dance at St David's hall in West Brunswick on Saturday 23rd August. It was held a month later than usual, owing to different circumstances, and it was a really good day. The dancing started at 4:30pm under the guidance of MC Robin Simpson, who did a terrific job. The band was in top form, and was worth just listening to, even if you were not dancing ! The programme was great with lots of the old favourites - The Lancers, The Alberts, The First Set, Waltz Cotillions, Waltz Country Dance and lots more. There was a break for Tea about 6pm, and the food was both plentiful and tasty. The dancing then continued until 9:30pm, when most people left to go home, very tired, but very happy after a great day/evening of dancing. Looking forward to the next one in 2015 ! M.M. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Portarlington Report. . . 	As a recent returnee to the folk dancing scene (after changes in family and work commitments), I was looking forward to the 20th Anniversary Weekend this year. Portarlington is a delightful small town on the Bellarine Peninsula, far enough from Melbourne to feel you are on holiday, but close enough to conveniently reach after work on Friday, in time for registration, drinks and nibbles, and the welcome dance, with guest callers. Familiar Victorian faces were joined by some South Australians and a few “Northerners”. Saturday was busy with 4 dance workshops and a music workshop. Matt Robertson started the morning with Scottish Country Dance, followed with Contra Dance, led by Julie Bishop from Sydney. After lunches fresh from the local bakery, Roger Gifford taught Nordic Dance, and the dances of the ‘Roaring Twenties in Oz’ were taught by Peter Ellis, all to prepare us for the evening dance. A workshop on Scottish dance tunes (‘Real Reels’) was offered for those with musical talent, ably taught by Matt Robinson. The ‘Saturday Night Dance’ was a chance for classy flappers and dashing gents to show off their costumes and dance skills. Melbourne ladies (Bev and Jill) had raided gardens to bring a Palm Court atmosphere to the dance hall. The band members were suitably dressed for the occasion, and the music was excellent! As at so many folk dances, a generous supper was supplied, but that only re-invigorated the dancing. The night was over before we knew it, but we had to wake early for the Sunday morning program! Sunday lead off with Swedish Hambo, plus other Nordic dances, another informal music session that proved so popular it could become a fixture! Then followed the launch of Books 7, 8 & 9 of the Dance Competition entries, with a selection of dances from the last 20 years, presented by Norm Ellis. The afternoon finished with a session of ‘People’s Choice’ dances (and yet more afternoon tea). If you have never been to a Portarlington Spring Dance Weekend, can I suggest you plan for it next year? Carol Griffiths. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Regular Classes - English Country Dancing : “from Playford to the present” 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Tuesdays,   8 - 10pm @ Bennettswood Neighbourhood House, 7 Greenwood St, Burwood for more info, contact George Ansell, 9890 5650 or george.ansell@bigpond.com

The Melbourne Colonial Dancers, at Ashburton 3rd Thursday, 7:30 - 10 pm Ashburton Uniting Church Hall, Ashburn Grove, Ashburton. Melbourne Colonial Dancers - Social Dance Classes every Wednesday,  8 - 10pm   Collingwood Senior Citizens Hall, Eddy Crt, Abbotsford. www.melbournecolonialdancers.org.au

Welsh Dance Classes 3rd Sunday of the month, 2 - 4:30pm Church of Christ Hall, 1 The Avenue, Surrey Hills. for more info, contact Ian, 9878 2414 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Advance Notice - Trentham Irish Set-Dancing Weekend 16 - 18 January, 2015 Invite you to join us for the biggest and best yet Mary Reilly, email: maryareilly79@hotmail.com www.melbournecladdaghdancers.weebly.com