Royal Scottish Country Dance

Classes are held at St. Francis Xavier Church 444 Metairie Rd. starting 7:30 pm. Each Friday.

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Scottish Country Dance is a key element within Caledonian Society of New Orleans. The Society is a committed supporter of Scottish Country Dance but it is important to note that the RSCD in New Orleans is a separate entity, although many members enjoy dual membership. The class instructor is Ms. Wendy Grubb. She holds a Preliminary Certificate for Country Dancing and is a recipient of our scholarship granted for her to attend Thistle School in North Carolina where she received advanced instruction directed to assist country-dance teachers.

Ms. Grubb has demonstrated her commitment to Scottish Country Dance by her dependability and leadership at each weekly class, her uncompromising dedication to improve each student, her superior knowledge of dance and dance music, and her high level of observation skill, which enables her to quickly isolate problem areas. New Orleans is most fortunate to have a Scottish Country Dance instructor with her abilities. Classes are open to the public and all who are interested may attend. The fee per class is only $2.00 to assist in covering expenses

Country Dancing in Post-Katrina New Orleans
(recopied from Scottish Country Dancer)
By Laurie McConnell

The publication Scottish Country Dancer is the members’ publication of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. It is sent to RSCDS members throughout the world. Magazine editor Jimmie Hill asked me if I would write about Scottish Country dancing in post-Katrina New Orleans. This is the article that appeared in the most recent issue of Scottish Country Dancer.

The New Orleans Scottish Country Dancers are dancing in a different place. The usual Friday night spot, with the great wooden floor, is not available now. It was flooded due to Hurricane Katrina. The dancers are so happy to be together again that the concrete floor they dance on now really isn’t that bad.
E-mail was a blessing. The dancers located one another and kept in contact. We were spread throughout Louisiana and Mississippi with others in Alabama and all the way to North Carolina. Little did we know that it would be almost 2 months before many of us would be able to go home or able to find out if we even had a home left to go back to. My husband Rick and I ordered ghillies first thing when we arrived in Highlands, North Carolina. We had the opportunity to dance with several groups in that area. We were welcomed as family. We had something fun and familiar to do- something that didn’t change in our lives- after all a petronella is the same everywhere you go! Dancing was not only social, it was also therapeutic.
It will be a long time before New Orleans recovers, but it will never be the same. It will be a long time before some of the dancers recover. They won’t be the same either. But we still have each other and music to dance to. I’m sure somebody is in the midst of composing a 32 bar reel for 3 couples called Katrina’s Wrath right now.