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Caithness dancers delighted with assessment success


By Staff Reporter- NOSN

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Thurso, Come Dancing! members who gained awards in their UKA Dance medal assessments.
Thurso, Come Dancing! members who gained awards in their UKA Dance medal assessments.

LOCAL ballroom enthusiasts have danced their way to success at an event in Lossiemouth.

Members of Thurso, Come Dancing! – which is led by Lesley Gunn and which, despite the name, has dancers from throughout the county – returned from their now annual visit to be assessed for UK Alliance (UKA) Dance medals in ballroom, Latin, and rock and roll.

The Caithness contingent joined the Caroline Coomber School of Dance earlier this month for assessments and workshops with Joan Martin, fellow and examiner of the UK Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dance.

A total of 16 dancers made the trip to take part in technique workshops, with 10 going forward for assessment and returning with highly commended, honours and distinction at bronze and silver levels.

According to member Cathy Earnshaw, the real benefit of this kind of weekend is the feedback and new skills that help them improve and enjoy their dancing even more – skills that will help them when they decide to go for gold.

Cathy said: "In 2013 we were just a small group of people with no formal teacher who just wanted to learn to dance a waltz, so it is a very proud time to see how far we have come. As Joan said, in the south you are surrounded by dance schools and full-time teachers. Where we live in the far north there is only us, so learning and development is harder to come by.

"All of us are grateful that Lesley took the challenge to gain her Associate Level training and teaches us in her spare time. That said, the main drive is to encourage all to just try and enjoy their dancing, whatever the style or age, or whether you want to go for medals or not.

"It was reaffirming that our assessor Joan was on the same wavelength as Lesley, whose passion is to help people feel more confident about just social dancing."

The group's next event is a fundraising afternoon tea, music and dance on Saturday, February 22, in the Thurso Royal British Legion clubrooms from 2pm to 4pm in aid of Stepping Stones.

It also continues to invite new instructors to the area and in the next few months members hope to welcome Argentine Tango Highland back to Thurso.

Plans are also under way for the dance school's second FarNorth Dancefest on November 6, 7 and 8.

The first festival in 2018 attracted more than 80 adults to enjoy a packed weekend of tango, salsa, lindy and ballroom dancing. The group hopes to improve on this and is encouraging all dance groups in the area to hold taster sessions or be accessible to all during the week leading up to the festival.

Any dance groups or bands who would like to know more or promote their own dance-related activities during the festival can get in touch via the FarNorth Dancefest Facebook page or email farnorthdancefest@gmail.com


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