strathspey@strathspey.org:63984

Pia Walker

RE: open meeting in Edinbugh

April 23, 2013, 11:05 a.m. (Message 63984, in reply to message 63981)

Sorry Anselm, I should have done this on Monday, but work commitments
made me prioritise otherwise.  I am sure that others will add to my
very short report.

        Incidentally, would anyone here who actually went to the
	meeting be prepared to         summarise for us what happened? Pia?
	Robert

A group of 20+ met on Saturday.  The reason that notification was late
was that the notice sent out three weeks earlier, was not picked up by
most people - including me, so what was broadcast was the reminder.

The attendees from all parts of Scotland were all interested in
various areas of Scottish dance - SCD, Step-dance (percussive),
Historical, Ceilidh, Performance, Archives, etc. and a few musicians
also attended.  All this made the meeting interesting to chair - the
chair was shared by Fiona Campbell and myself.  The meeting was very
relaxed and informal.

After introductions, The chairs explained the background to the
recommendations, which were all adopted, what the working group had
been doing i.e. assembled a draft constitution and come up with said
recommendations.   We then went on to discuss the way forward - how
now to practically start a membership organisation, and it was agreed
to set up a steering committee, whose remit was to shorten the draft
constitution to a workable and practical document suitable for the new
forum. Furthermore, this steering committee would discuss membership
fees and other relevant material to suggest to a general meeting.

The formal minutes will be distributed and I will send them to Strathspey.

It was interesting to hear how many of the participants started
dancing SCD and then life took them in other dance directions.  The
RSCDS was represented by Elisabeth Harry, Andrew Nolan, Jimmy Hill and
myself, so I imagine that 4 sets of reports will go to Elisabeth
Foster who seem to have asked most of us to keep her in the picture.

Pia