Athens – Ohio RSCDS

December 7 – 21: Intermediate series, 2 – 4 pm, $15, Athens Community Center, 701 E State St, Athens, OH. No partner or experience necessary! If you can walk briskly, you can dance. Register online or at the front desk on your way in.

January 22: Burns Night, 6 – 7 pm, FREE, Nelsonville Public Library, 95 W Washington St, Nelsonville, OH. No partner or experience necessary! Come try Scottish dancing to LIVE MUSIC and enjoy a tasty treat.

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Info about our next class:

In the easier first hour on December 14, we’ll be learning:

The Reel of the Royal Scots: https://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/5529/#videos (Including the newish footwork pas de basque: https://youtu.be/iF-QZqMxb20?si=JB7ljOolOMlws9B-&t=337)
Trip to Gatlinburg: https://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/3300/#videos (No new figures, but note the method of progression).

In the second hour, we’ll dance:

Jim Dougal of Eyemouth: https://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/8138/#videos (Including petronella turns https://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/petronella-turn.html and half strathspey/diamond poussette https://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/strathspey-half-poussette.html)

See you there!

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Shoe info:

The traditional shoes used for Scottish Country Dance are called ghillies. Here are two affordable online places to order from: https://www.keilys.com/…/highlan…/james-roy-ghillie-red/ and https://corrsirishshoes.com/…/james-roy-highland-dance…

In both cases, DO NOT ORDER YOUR USUAL SHOE SIZE!! Ghillies use UK sizing, and you also want them pretty tight. (They should feel too tight at first, then you wear them while sitting around and the warmth and moisture of your foot will mold them to size.) If you have wide feet, though, you *will* want to order wide ghillies.

Both of the sites I recommended include sizing information, and they might be willing to take the information from your foot tracing and check it against their ghillies to help you choose the right size — it is worth contacting them and asking!!

Consider going half a size up if you want to include insoles (recommended!!!) and/or have high arches. You will want an insole like this that you can cut to fit in your ghillies: https://amzn.to/48KLHrB

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From out of town and want to drop in? We’d love to have you! Email anna@kitenet.net for more information.

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