December 29, 2020
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five golden rings!
I bet you couldn’t read that without singing it. Music is such a powerful force in our lives. From sacred to secular, classical to hard rock, and everything in between it gives joy to our lives. And most importantly, it makes us dance!
2020 has been a year like no other where our dancing has been put on hold. Trying to dance to a computer screen is nice, but not even close to the fun and enjoyment we receive at our weekly classes, socials, workshops, and balls.
Like me, I know everyone is holding their breath for the time it will be safe to dance again. The board for Blue Ridge Scottish Dance School is praying we will be able to host our weeklong school this summer. We are at the mercy of the virus, of course, and how quickly it can become well contained, but are proceeding in an optimistic manner.
If you’ve visited our website - blueridgescd.org or our social media pages you’ve seen our musicians are lined up. We will welcome Tom Pixton on accordion, Liz Donaldson on keyboard, and Mara Shea on fiddle. The talent of these three musicians is enormous and I cannot wait to dance to their arrangements to some of our favorite reels, jigs, and strathspeys.
We will welcome Linda Henderson and William Williamson as our teachers. Two of the best Scottish Country Dance teachers promise to provide us with instruction that is both professional and fun. We will all become better dancers under their tutelage.
This year with Independence Day falling on a Sunday, we plan to have a welcome dance on the evening of Saturday, July 3. On the 4th of July we will experience a true celebration of the birth of the USA taking part in the local festivities of Boone, NC. Our regular schedule of morning classes and evening dancing will begin Monday morning and end Friday after the ball. Many dancers will want to stay for the weekend as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games will be in full swing. We have further dancing opportunities on the platform at the games on Saturday.
Hopefully you know about the Elizabeth and Duard Barnes Scholarship Fund we established to aid dancers wishing to attend BRSDS. We have raised over $500 so far and hope to have at least $800 which would cover the tuition of one full week dancer or perhaps pay partial tuition for more than one. You don’t need to give us five golden rings, but any amount $5, $25, $50 or more would be so helpful and honor Betty Lee and Duard who ran Thistle School for so many years. It would be wonderful to be able to offer a scholarship in 2021. You can easily donate on our website or by mailing your donation to BRSDS, P. O. Box 1941, Marietta, GA 30061-1941. I hope you will consider making a tax deductible donation as part of your year-end giving.
I wish everyone a blessed, prosperous new year, but I especially wish to see you on the dancing floor in 2021!
Susan Tumlin
Interim President
Blue Ridge Scottish Dance School, Inc.
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