Yesterday evening my Lovely Flame-Haired Celtic Amazon Goddess and I traveled to the Scottish Rite Center in nearby Oakland where the San Francisco branch of the Royal Scottish Dance Society http://www.rscds-sf.org/ held their annual Valentine’s Ball. This was our first formal SCD ball and we were both a tad nervous as some of the very best dancers in our area would be attending.

The Scottish Rite Center is a grand old building on the shores of Lake Merit and a wonderful place to attend a formal ball.

We arrived just in time to be part of the grand march (a winding parade that allows all the dancers to get a look at all the other dancers). This was done to the stirring music of a piper who then retired in the favor of “Fiddlesticks and Ivory” (an eight piece band).

Our fears proved to be in vain, it seems the more skilled the Scottish Country Dancer the nicer they are. We enjoyed quite a few dances and even loved the opportunities to just sit and watch the whirling couples on the dance floor.

Here are a few pictures from the evening

Panache ready to dance








The F-H.C.A.G. is such a classic beauty I thought I would have a try at making this picture of her seem like one from a bygone time.







A view from the Balcony










The F-H.C.A.G. on the floor







A very talent pair







With our beautiful friend Deb





Often here on XMTS we talk about having the “guts” to wear the kilt. Here is a photo of Deb with her husband David who is not fond of kilts. David likes to dress up and he is a good Scottish Country Dancer. He came up with a Prince Charlie tuxedo outfit (the slacks are custom fitted to have a higher rise similar to trews for formal events. I put it to all of you that it takes a lot of confidence to be the one fellow in pants amongst the hundreds of kilted men. I think he looks great.




Highlights of the night were "Waverly" , "12 Coates Crescent", and "Mrs Allie Anderson". There was a men's set for "Reel of the 51st Division" which having just watched the movie Tunes of Glory was especially fun. The gentlemen added arms and gusto to this dance which makes me want to practice more so I can join in the fun next year.

There were some waltzes (and a polka! ) between sets and a midnight supper to end the evening on.

All in all a wonderful night!

Cheers

Jamie