Teachers & Musicians
Teachers
We will have two very popular overseas teachers – Janet
Johnson from Edinburgh and Robert McOwen from the USA.
They will be joined by Deanne Corps from NZ and Anne
Gray, who is originally from Stirling, but now lives in
NSW, and other teachers.
Biographies
Janet Johnston
Janet was brought up in West Fife and
initially learned her Highland Dancing at
aged 9, from a local teacher. She and her
sisters were taught Scottish Country Dancing
by their parents. She joined a class in
Dunfermline as a young adult. She was
encouraged to attend Summer School in St
Andrews and gained her Teacher’s Certificate
there in 1986. Whilst there she was
introduced to Ladies Step Dancing, and
enjoyed participating in that class until
she was invited to teach the Intermediate
Ladies Step Dancing Class in 1995. 5 years
later she taught her first Scottish Country
Dance class there, and she has either taught
there annually or been Deputy Director ever
since.
She has been lucky enough to receive invitations to teach
both in the UK, Europe and Canada. She has
taught Scottish Country, Highland and Ladies
Step Dancing with the occasional Ceilidh
Class thrown in. She has taught the
Beginners class for RSCDS Stirling since
2002.
Work-wise she moved to Edinburgh in 1980 to start her nurse
training. She still lives there and works in
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. |
Robert McOwen
Robert began Scottish country and highland dancing in
California in 1973 and moved to the Boston,
Massachusetts, area in 1979. He received the Teaching
Certificate of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
(RSCDS) by examination in Scotland in 1980 and became a
member of the Scottish Dance Teacher's Alliance in 1987.
He received his PhD in Mathematics from University of
California, Berkeley and then was for several years
Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Northeastern
University. http://www.mcowen.net
He has performed highland dancing with many groups and
in many venues (including a tour of Scotland with the
Strathspey and Reel Society of New Hampshire in 1996),
and has directed concerts with featured performers such
as Jean Redpath and Alasdair Fraser. He has taught,
competed in, and performed highland dancing at various
events across the United States. His highland dance
activities are currently centred on his troupe:
www.highlanddanceboston.org Robert resides in
Arlington, MA, with his spouse Barbara (see
“Musicians”). Robert plays bass fiddle.
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Deanne Corps
Deanne started SCD dance classes at the age of 10, but
her father taught her prior to that. She has fond
memories of going to classes with her parents as a child
– sitting and watching on the sidelines, always itching
to get up and join in.
She attained her Preliminary Teaching certificate in
1986 and gained her Full Certificate in 1992. She has
taught a variety of classes from Elementary to Advanced,
Examination to Children at Summer and Winter Schools,
Day and Weekend schools. She was involved with
developing the NZ Branch Medal Test Syllabi, Secretary
of the JAM (Junior Associate Membership) Committee, and
Youth Coordinator on the NZ Branch executive.
It is her mission to pass on her passion for Scottish
Country Dance and all of its benefits, to as many like
minded people as she can. She enjoys teaching all ages,
and believes that all people of all ages should and can
enjoy the dance (although maybe not always with
technically correct foot work), simply by employing
other aspects of technique such as phrasing, partner
acknowledgment, covering, good handing and rhythmic
movement.
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Anne Gray
Anne was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and started dancing
in the 50s as a child. She didn’t initially
learn Scottish Country Dancing at classes,
but in the village halls with her mother who
was a keen dancer. She continued to dance at
school, then had a break and returned in
1976. She started her own class in 1988 on
completion of her Preliminary Teaching
Certificate, teaching beginners,
intermediate and later, demonstration. She
went on to take her Teacher’s Certificate in
1990. From then until 2003, when she came to
Australia, she taught the Stirling Branch
General Class and was also involved in the
teaching of the dances devised for the
Edinburgh Tattoo.
On her arrival in Australia, she started a
class in Yamba in northern New South Wales.
Now, she also teaches the Grafton Class of
Hunter Valley RSCDS. Both of these classes,
due to increasing numbers, have had to be
divided into beginners & intermediate. She
has taught on the Gold Coast, in Newcastle
and Sydney, at the Queen’s Birthday Weekend
School in Opotiki on the Bay of Plenty in
New Zealand and at Winter School in Kiama in
2009.
Anne lives in Maclean, aptly known as the
Scottish Town in Australia. Although, due to
distance, she doesn’t get many chances to
dance, she enjoys the once a year Celtic
Festival in Glen Innes. Here she dances with
her Grafton dancers, loving the opportunity
to be a choreographer and do something
different!
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Musicians
Biographies
Barbara McOwen
– Fiddle
Barbara McOwen began playing fiddle for
Scottish dancing in 1971, the same year she
gained her B.A. in Music from the University
of California, Berkeley. She subsequently
drew upon source books and recordings when
forming her first band, the Berkeley
Scottish Players, and currently leads
Tullochgorum, a Scottish country dance band
based in Boston. Barbara is also co-founder
of the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club and the
Strathspey & Reel Society of New Hampshire,
and the Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle
School. She is currently writing a book on
the fiddle music of Highland fiddler Aonghas
Grant, to be published by Mel Bay in 2010.
She enjoys monthly sessions with Joe Cormier
and other Cape Breton musicians, plays for
Scottish country dancing on a regular basis,
and teaches a full schedule of Scottish
fiddle students.
http://www.mcowen.net
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Peter Elmes – 5 row Button Accordion
Peter is a self-taught musician and
(originally) “play by ear” musician, who
joined the local SCD club as a teenager. In
1960 he moved to Wellington and joined a
Ceili Band. During the next 30 years, this
band covered everything from “old time” to
rock and roll. He was a Scottish Country
Dancer for several years before deciding to
concentrate on playing the music, and
recorded 3 LPs of Scottish Country Dance
music for dances which had no recorded
music.
He has played for many Summer and Winter Schools, and also
many SCD classes and demonstration teams. At
Hogmanay 2005/06 in Auckland, the New
Zealand Branch presented Peter with an RSCDS
“Branch Award”, to recognise outstanding
service within the branch.
On the sporting side, he is a devoted follower of rugby, New
Zealand’s great national obsession, and
cricket, especially the myriad statistics
associated with it. He is a “Goon Show”
aficionado and collector of comedy
recordings in general, and has an extensive
library of books, both fiction and
non-fiction, many of which remain unread at
this stage due to competing musical
interests!
We will add a photo of him when it becomes
available.
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John Smith - Fiddle
We will add his
biography when it becomes available |
Lynne Scott – Keyboard & Fiddle
Lynne Scott thoroughly enjoys playing for
Scottish Country Dancing. A dancer and
multi-instrumentalist, she plays fiddle,
keyboard and accordion in several NZ bands
for both SCD and ceilidh dancing. She has
attended, played and taught at Summer and
Winter Schools in New Zealand , Australia ,
Germany and Scotland over the past 15
years. In her day-to-day life Lynne teaches
instrumental music and conducts student
orchestras in Lower Hutt , where she lives
with her husband James on a small farm
And just for fun she is currently learning to play the harp! |
Iain McKenzie – Accordion
Iain is now a resident of Mackay (Queensland) and has
been playing the accordion since he was 7 years old, an
age when he really had to stretch to see over the top of
it! He was born in Bannockburn, Scotland and music was a
central part of his family get-togethers. Iain played in
his first band at the age of 14. Being brought up in the
tradition of Scottish music and dance gave Iain the
opportunity to play for audiences in many locations –
both in Scotland and abroad – thus widening his
experience and repertoire. He has played for dances
throughout Scotland and England, in France, Belgium,
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Abu Dhabi, New Zealand
and Australia.
In the past he has played with bands such as Rusty Nail
(a Scottish folk band) and Dalcassian Dance Band (a
Scottish Dance band). Iain lived in Auckland, New
Zealand for a number of years where he formed
and played in the Balmoral Dance Band with Sharlene
Penman on piano and Anne-Marie Forsyth on fiddle. The
band continues to play together and their success has
led to regular invites to play at balls, dances and
classes for the Scottish Country Dance Society. |
Chris Duncan & Catherine Strutt
Chris Duncan fiddle
Catherine Strutt piano
Scottish fiddler Chris Duncan and pianist
Catherine Strutt have been exploring and
performing the traditional fiddle music of
Scotland since 1990 together. The ARIA award
winning, Newcastle based duo, have performed
internationally and nationally at festivals,
concerts, private functions and countless
dances.
Their first album Fyvie’s Embrace recorded
and produced by ABC Classics has sold over
eleven thousand copies and when first
released was received with much critical
acclaim earning them the Best World Music
Album ARIA in 2000. Their much anticipated
second album with ABC Classics, The Red
House was released September 2006 and was
awarded the National Film and Sound Archive
Best Folk Recording for 2007.
Chris and Catherine’s superlative
musicianship bring to life the sensitive
slow airs, the swing of the jig and groove
of the reel, leaving audiences captivated,
earning them much respect as Australia’s
foremost Scottish music duo.
Check out their website -
www.chrisandcatherine.com.au |
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