Tursachan

The Newsletter of the Callanish School of Celtic Arts

Dear Students and Parents,

Happy Celtic New Year! Did you know that Halloween was considered to be New Year’s Eve in the ancient Celtic calendar? We actually get a lot of our Halloween customs from Ireland and Scotland, including dressing up like ghosts and goblins. Our Solstice Ceilidh is quickly approaching, so remember to practice your steps and tunes during the coming weeks!

Mòran Taing,

Maggie Carchrie

Just a Reminder . . .

In the past few weeks, there has been a growing problem in the dance classes. Students have been coming late, dressing improperly, and forgetting to write in their dance journals. Please remember to show up at least 5-minutes early for your class. Missing the warm-up is very dangerous as injuries occur when you dance cold. Also, remember the dress code – hair off the neck, leotard and tights, shorts/knee socks or leggings. Anyone wearing jeans will be asked to sit and watch the lesson. You can’t move in restrictive clothing. Beginning in January, all female students will be required to wear leotard and tights. Perhaps Santa can bring them? Finally, all dancers are asked to practice at least 2-hours per week and record this practice in their journals. This type of dance is very strenuous and injuries will result if children are not practicing throughout the week. By writing their practice down, it holds the kids accountable for their work. This doesn’t always mean structured practice, especially for the little ones, but kids need to be doing some kind of exercising for those two-hours.

Winter Solstice Ceilidh

The 6th annual Winter Solstice Ceilidh will take place on Saturday, December 14th from 5:30-8 PM at the West Barnstable Community Building, Route 149, West Barnstable. All dance students and interested fiddle and Gaelic students will show-off what they have learned during the fall semester. The performance will be followed by awards, a pot-luck supper, and Secret Snowflake for the kids. New dance students will be fit for costumes in the coming weeks.

Fall Fundraiser

The forms for the Holiday sale are due to Maggie by Monday, November 11th. If you take lessons on Wednesdays and Thursdays, they are due the week before. Items will take approximately one month to arrive. If $2,000 worth of merchandize is sold, we will keep 50%, less we will keep 40%. Please plan on picking your items up the night of the Solstice Ceilidh.

Bagpipe Lessons Slated

Beginning in January, a beginning pipe class will be held at Maggie’s house on the first Friday of the month at 7 PM. The cost is $12 per lesson and you will have to provide your own practice chanter and purchase the tutor. Private lessons for experienced pipers are also available. Please see Maggie if interested.

Gaelic Lessons Slated

Beginning in January, Thomas Leigh will begin a new Gaelic I class at the Sandwich Community School. The class will meet from 6:00-7:30 PM beginning on Tuesday, January 7th.

Change in Fiddle Schedule

There is a slight change to the fall fiddle schedule. During the month of November, fiddle lessons will be held on November 5th and 12th NOT November 5th and 19th.

HLSS Scholarship

The HLSS Scholarship Committee would like to announce to all members that applications for the David McIntosh Scottish Arts and Culture Scholarship are now being accepted. This Scholarship must be used for study in one of the Scottish Arts, including Scottish dancing, fiddle and Gaelic. The application deadline is December 1st, 2002. Anyone wishing to apply must contact Jeannie Drinkwater at 508-362-7805 or jeanniebill@attbi. Your teacher will also have to write a recommendation, so please let them know if you are planning to apply.

Callanish Winter Fling

Yes, it’s that time of year again to start planning our 2nd Annual Winter Fling. Saturday, January 25th we will have an indoor competition and Sunday, January 26th will be medal testing. There are many jobs to fill that weekend, so please let Maggie know if you are interested in helping out. One big thing is getting a hotel room donated for our judge for January 24, 25, & 26. This would have to be near Cape Cod Community College where the event will take place. We will also need trophy donations of $25 and medal donations of $50. You’re help/assistance will be greatly appreciated!

St. Andrews Society of Mass

After many years of inactivity, the St. Andrews Society of Massachusetts has re-grouped and is planning to become very active again in the Scottish community. St. Andrews Societies are charitable organizations whose mission is to promote Scottish culture and arts. Scholarships are also given to children to study the Scottish Arts. All Callanish families are encouraged to join the group in support of its new formation. We will be doing lots of upcoming events with the group, including performing at their member recognition day on April 27th.

School Trip

On Saturday, November 9th we will be taking a fall trip to the RSCDS Concert featuring World Champion Highland Dancer Colleen Rintamaki and the Celtic music group, Scantily Plaid. The concert begins at 3 PM in Lexington at the Museum of Our National Heritage. Tickets are $15 kids/$22 adults and must be ordered in advance. We have one extra ticket for anyone interested. Anyone planning on driving up with Maggie needs to be dropped off to her house by 12:30 on Saturday.

Hats Off!

Congratulations to the following dancers who earned medals and trophies at recent competitions:

Yes, there is class on Veteran’s Day!

Upcoming Events

3 November Cape Heritage Nursing Home, Sandwich
2 PM Performance (arrive by 1:30 dressed)
9 November Indoor Competition, Manchester, NH
9 November School trip to RSCDS Concert
3 PM, Lexington, MA
14 December Winter Solstice Ceilidh, WBCB 5:30 PM
25 January Burns Night, HLSS, TBA
25-26 January Callanish Winter Fling, Cape Cod Community College, W. Barnstable
14-16 February DELCO Workshop, King of Prussia, PA
27 April St. Andrews Society of MA Spring Event - Time and location TBA

Need more info on festivals? See the official Highland Games web site at: www.maclachlans.org/games.html