Teaching & Music Committee

Purpose and Duties of the Teaching and Music Committee.

“The duties of the Teaching and Music Committee (TMC) include, but are not limited to, planning for and organizing the teaching and music aspects of Branch events that require the service of RSCDS-certificated teachers and experienced musicians of demonstrably high quality, and other events at which it is desirable to uphold the standards of Scottish country dancing and dance musicianship. The Committee serving for the year prior to the annual Pinewoods sessions shall be responsible for the teaching and music staff and related tasks for those sessions.” (Branch By-laws)

For the Scottish Pinewoods sessions, the TMC

appoints the Music Director and teaching staff.
plans the daily schedule of classes.
appoints the MCs and program devisors for the evening dances.
approves and coordinates the programs for the evening dances.
performs other duties as needed related to the classes.

The TMC also

Maintains current lists of Branch teachers and musicians
Devises the program for the Boston Highland Ball
Appoints the Tutors for Teacher Candidate Classes sponsored by the Branch
Approves the structure, organization, and schedules for the Candidate Classes
Provides support to the Tutors and the Classes and Exams as specified in the Branch Guidelines for Candidate Classes
Organizes the Branch Challenge Classes
Plans and organizes other workshops and programs to support the teachers and musicians in the Branch.

Boston Branch Core Dances

The Teaching and Music Committee has compiled a list of Core Dances (2014) that that it hopes teachers will consult when planning dance programs and classes. The guidelines used when creating this list were that they needed to cover a wide variety of figures, to be familiar (or somewhat familiar), to be published, and to be fun (as some of the side notes have proclaimed). In using selections from this list, the ultimate goal is that the less experienced dancers will become familiar with the figures and the dances themselves and, therefore, will become more confident in their dancing.

Reference Documents

Members and Officers of the TMC
Boston Branch Teacher Candidate Course Guidelines
Outline for Mentors
RSCDS Syllabus for teaching certificate and related material
Notes for MCs and Briefers of Dances
Program Grid Template for Planning Programs
Figure Grid Templates for Planning Programs The list of figures was done in 1990, and users may want to update the list.
Notes on Planning a Scottish Country Dance Program
Campbell Tyler’s compilation of frequently done dances in different regions of the world.