History
In March 2004 Jimmie Hill (with the help of Sue Porter) presented a paper to the Management Board of the RSCDS proposing that the United Kingdom should have its own Teachers' Association (similar to TAC). Jimmie then gave a short presentation at the RSCDS AGM in November 2004 in “The Floor is Yours” part of the meeting followed by another session at the 2005 RSCDS AGM.
The Management Board of the RSCDS agreed that a Society event should be organised gauging interest in the formation of an association for teachers in Scotland and provided public liability insurance for the meeting. A meeting for interested teachers was held at Fairmilehead Parish Church on the outskirts of Edinburgh on 25th March 2006 when it was decided to create an organisation specifically for teachers of Scottish country dancing in Scotland.
Another meeting took place on the 9th September 2006 at the same venue. A mission statement (Let’s make it possible for everyone to enjoy Scottish country dancing) and a draft constitution was discussed. It was agreed that the organisation would be called Teachers’ Association Scotland (TAS for short). The following purposes were agreed:
- To foster the continuing development of SCD teachers
- To provide workshops on the theory and pedagogy of teaching SCD
- To provide a forum for teachers to meet, exchange ideas and share experiences
- To assist in promoting SCD amongst non-dancers and excellence in dance for those intending to train teams for festival work.
- To develop support structures for new teachers.
- To keep a database of qualified teachers.
- To provide a newsletter to improve communication between teachers of SCD.
The first elected committee was:
Chair Marjorie MacRae (elected for one year)
Secretary/Treasurer Peter Clark (elected for three years)
Workshop Organiser Margo Priestley (elected for one year)
Committee members
Janet Johnston (elected for one year)
Muriel Bone (elected for two years)
Mary Burney (elected for three years)
Auditor Aad Boode
First AGM
Our first AGM was held on the 22nd of September 2007 in the Union Parish Church Hall, Lenzie. AGMs continue to be held each year in either August or September.
Our first official Workshops were held on Saturday 12th May 2007 in Perth and on Saturday 22nd September 2007 in Lenzie. Since then we have met twice per year in various locations in Scotland. One of the Workshops is usually held in the central belt whilst the other is often held in the north or south of Scotland.
Our workshops generally attract over 40 SCD teachers. Membership surveys are used to produce a list of Workshop topics for the committee to choose from however when a new publication is released by the RSCDS a Workshop might focus on useful teaching strategies when teaching some of the new dances.
Newsletters are produced two to three times a year by a newsletter editor. The newsletters were issued digitally from 2010 and can be found under the Newsletter tab on our website.
Our first website was set up in 2014. It included information about the organisation, membership, our events and awards as well as useful links and newsletter digital downloads. Latterly photos and videos could no longer be uploaded and in 2024 our new website was launched.
In 2014 TAS became affiliated to the RSCDS. As our organisation has become more well-known, our membership has increased and we currently have over 150 members worldwide.
In 2023 we took forward a long desired dream to encourage more Scottish school children to “dance Scottish”. We published “Start Dancing!” a book aimed at Scottish school teachers to assist them in teaching Scottish country dancing (steps, formations and dances) to Scottish school children. Later that year TAS also produced recorded music to accompany the 24 Scottish country dances and 8 ceilidh dances in the book and in 2024 we have produced recorded music for step practice.
