5 days of dance & music in Pitlochry!

Recently, the RSCDS held a successful Winter School event from 16-21 February, in the beautiful setting of Pitlochry.

This annual event marked 21 years of Winter School in Pitlochry, Scotland, and it was wonderful to see dancers travelling from near and far to enjoy five days of dancing and socialising in rural Perthshire.

William Williamson from the Dumfries Branch co-ordinated the Winter School event this year and you can watch his insights on the event below.

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A huge thank you again to the fantastic team of teachers, William Williamson, Janet Johnston, Angela Young and Andrew Nolan, from various Branches who supported the smooth running of Winter School event. Entertaining music was also supplied all week from a wonderful group of musicians; Shona MacFadyen, Rodger McAndrew, Ian Robertson and David Oswald.

Photo shows the teachers and musicians of Winter School 2020.

During the course of the week, there were several interesting and varied optional extras from whisky tasting, to a visit to the Crannog Centre plus talks from both the John Muir Trust on Wild Scotland and from the RSCDS Archivist, Alan Macpherson which were well received by Winter School attendees.

Photo shows Winter School attendees enjoying a talk from the John Muir Trust.

Dancers enjoyed an informal ceilidh during the week with plenty of opportunities to socialise. There is always time for some ice cream and jelly!

 

 

On the final night of Winter School, dancers rounded off a great week with a formal Ball at the stunning and historic Blair Atholl Castle. Guests were welcomed to Blair Castle by piper Gavin Maxwell from Dumfries who also led The Grand March.

Blair Atholl Castle

Winter School Musicians Rodger McAndrew, Shona MacFadyen, Ian Robertson and David Oswald.

 

 

 

Dancers enjoying the Blair Atholl Castle Ball on the final night of Winter School 2020.

Charly Candia, a keen Scottish country dancer from Buenos Aires, attended Winter School for the first time and had a truly wonderful time, commenting “I am enjoying the venue, the atmosphere and mostly sharing hands with the friends of Scotland and all over the world”.

Winter School is bound to be just as enjoyable next year, as Clare Grycuk (Chairman of Aberdeen Branch) summed up perfectly… “How better to brighten up the dreary month of February than to dance at Winter School?!”.

Advance bookings for Winter School 2021 are now available and we look forward to seeing many more dancers enjoying this fabulous event next year. Please contact Moira Thomson, RSCDS Events Manager, for more details.