It's almost 2 weeks with no time to blether - although there's been a fair amount to blether about. There's been highs - the visit to our Monday beginner's class by 6 ladies from Lithuania went off really well. Lithuania must be a nation of dancers because, with very little instruction (since their English was minimal), they all danced half a dozen simple, but varied dances - including 2 strathspeys- with excellent footwork and timing. Thanks have to go to those of our regular dancers who turned out to help - it was a really fun afternoon; it could have been a bit of struggle for all of us but instead, with enough hands on deck, and the excellent attitude of our visitors it was a really great experience for all of us. We've also welcomed back other visitors giving us good numbers at class and the ball dance programme is gradually coming together with dancers voting for the ones they most enjoy - a new strategy but it's working well.
There have been lows too - various serious health issues for several of our class members - though all are, hopefully, improving and it's lovely that the members of both classes are all so concerned and supportive. We send our best wishes to all of you.
It's exactly one month to go before the Ball. Tickets are now on sale at the classes, or contact Irene (details are on the Website Contact page). It's going to another super night so don't miss it.

They only have themselves to blame, but I might have raised the bar a bit higher than I should have this week. Taking into account how well everyone has been dancing over the last few weeks the programmes for both of this week's sessions were challenging for some. However some managed to surprise themselves at what they could achieve, and making an attempt is never a waste - even if the only thing you learn is that you need to go back to the drawing board for a while before you try it again! 
It was lovely to see some familiar faces back at the class and also to have so much interest shown in the Ball - we've finally heard that we will be able to hold it on Saturday 2nd November (well done Irene) - this will please those people who said they couldn't make a Friday - and I'm pleased too - those who know me well will realise why! 
This year we are celebrating a special anniversary at the Ball - it is the 30th year since the original St Andrew Society was founded - so many things have changed since then, but we are still dancing - the only group on the island to still be doing so - long may it last.  
On a completely different note - if you're free next Monday afternoon please join us for the 2-4pm class. We are hosting some of the P3A's Lithuanian visitors for a one off session. These ladies don't know anything about SCD so having a few more dancers in the class will definitely help. It should be lots of fun since we won't be tackling anything very technical, just doing lots of simple dances to give them an idea of what we do.
Time to get on with making ball tickets ... they'll be available next week. 

,Our second dancing week is now a memory and our next classes are almost upon us, in addition our behind the scene's organisers AKA Irene, Doug, Dave, Pete & moi, have been discussing all the events planned for the next few months, up to and including Burn's Night next year and ... gosh we are going to be busy. Firstly we hope to arrange a screening of this year's Edinburgh Tattoo. Those who attended the last one will know that watching it on the HUGE screen at the Phoenix Club is the next best thing to being there - without the expense of the trip and the possibility of getting rained on - not to mention easier access to the bar (and other facilities!). Once dates & details are finalized we'll have tickets available at the classes ASAP, as we hope to run it in October so we've not long to wait - if you haven't ever seen the 'Tattoo' then give it a go, it is quite a spectacle.
Other dates that are still under review are for the Ball and Burns Night- we are awaiting confirmation feedback from venues and will publish as soon as we know.
We have at least finalised our dancing end date, which will of course also be our Christmas Ceilidh, December 17th. 
In the meantime don't forget that P3A memberships are now due - and you can renew for €5 at the classes, P3A membership is mandatory if you want to keep attending our group but it truly is fabulous value at €5
Phoenix Club membership costs €42 to renew - it was due in June so make sure you haven't already paid! If you attend the Phoenix club regularly then membership is a big saving. If you aren't a member then we need €2 temp membership payment every week you attend - time to get the calculator out to see if joining is worth it for you! If this is confusing then there is more about memberships HERE which hopefully will help. I hope we'll see you this week either way however ;-)

Monday was good and Tuesday was excellent.
We weren't sure if we'd have low numbers for our first Social & Dance class of the Autumn season; we had heard from several regulars who couldn't make it for various reasons, but although at 6 pm we only just had enough people to make up a single set for the first dance, by the time the dance ended more than enough people had arrived to get two sets up for most of the rest of the programme - if people would have stopped chatting for long enough to do so! It was lovely to see everyone again -even if some won't be back again for a few weeks - the atmosphere was great and the dancing was very impressive for the first session after a break. Role on next week... when there'll be news of the Ball, watch this space.

And didn't they do well. 
As always I was a bit nervous prior to getting going and it was still a little warm for dancing, but we coped, and it was great to see people again and know we'd all survived such a scorching summer with our brain cells intact. We started slowly with just a Circassian Circle, followed by Waratah Weaver but everyone was obviously capable of more so we tackled Trinity Tensome, not the most challenging dance in our repertoire, but a steep learning curve for beginners, and especially for our brand new dancer - but people tackled it with aplomb. It was a super afternoon and a good omen for things to come.
​Now for Tuesday! Can't wait...

Less than a day to go before we are back dancing again. I am looking forward to seeing how many people join us for our Monday 'beginners & improvers' session tomorrow afternoon - I really have no idea how many people will be there - I know that some can't make it for the first few weeks but never mind, anyone can join in at any time and we adapt the sessions to suit.
Don't forget if you need to renew your P3A membership that it's only €5 and not €10 - the initial membership includes an additional €5 joining fee which you don't need to pay again unless you let your membership lapse.
We will have AC but don't forget to either bring something to drink or 80 cents for your water from the bar. On Tuesday we are lucky enough to have a full bar service but it's DIY tomorrow, see you soon

What a way to end our dancing season. Two really excellent, fun classes and then a truly fabulous night of eating, drinking and dancing at the June Jamboree. Pictures from the evening, both my own and others, and my write up can be found HERE or via the Past Events link above, but there's room to say here, yet again, how brilliantly the new events team at the Elea Golf Resort treated us all, both organizers and every one of the guests. And the food was back to the old Elea's standard, and possibly - no probably - even better! Thank-you to everyone who sent such gratifying feedback- there are several of us peddling away in the background to make these things happen, but the main 'man' dealing with all the venue arrangements is Irene. Quite literally nothing would happen without her! Our next event (booked already by Irene of course :-) is the St Andrew Group Ball at the   Kamares Club again on Sat. 1st November. Keep an eye on the Future Events page to see more information as we get closer to the day. We restart our dance classes on Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd Sept. I will send out reminders before we restart because although everyone was saying that they can't wait for us to begin again. it's going to be along hot summer and our brains will be frazzled by then!

We're not quite at the end, but next week's classes are the last for  this spring/summer season. It's been an amazing few months - so many new faces have joined us. Both Monday and Tuesday sessions have been well attended and although very different in style, both have kept their fantastic atmospheres of mutual friendliness & fun - and people somehow seem to have learnt something too!. We are still welcoming new people and visitors to the classes, and it's great to see some of our 'sick list' gradually returning to us before the break - hopefully everyone will be fully recovered by our return to dancing in September.
If you haven't got your June Jamboree tickets yet... please, at least let us know that you are intending to come, there's plenty of room but there's lots to prepare too and although our confirmed numbers are gradually increasing, we know there are quite a few of you out there who are 'checking your diaries' but haven't got back to us yet. I admit even I have still not worked out what to wear, but in the end, as long as it cool and smartish, anything goes so I'm sure the wardrobe will provide something. Here's the poster again in case you've missed it - It's a truly special night so I hope you can make it, and in the meantime don't forget our final classes before the break are next week. 

Our class turnouts continue to be good despite the heat and 'distractions' from outside events. On Monday we had an almost  completely different group from the previous week but still managed to get a full set up to practice a very varied selection of dances. The weather is continuing to be scorchingly hot so having the AC back on line was vital to the class - and even with it pumping out full blast it was still a tad warm for doing anything that demanded too much brain work. Tuesday evening was equally hot and we weren't surprised when only a few people had arrived by 6 pm -especially since there was a huge fire raging in the hills above Paphos - however people kept on coming and yet again we danced many of the dances with 2 sets up. Sadly this was the last night that we will see our wonderful bar ladies smiling across the bar at us. They had been with us since we started dancing at the Phoenix Club, but with one heading home the other has called it a day as well. They had very kindly brought in cake for us all which we enjoyed during our mid-dance break and we presented a card and chocolates from the group, as well as some Cyprus Delight. We will miss them both very much but we live in hope they'll be back - maybe to enjoy the dancing as dancers rather than onlookers? We've only 2 and a bit weeks to go before the June Jamboree signals the end of our Spring dance season, it seems to be approaching incredibly fast - make sure you've got your tickets - there's plenty of room for everybody but there will be a cut off prior to the event so that we can let the Elea know how many to cater for. See you soon I hope...

Flaming June has arrived. And we don't mind at all.... except when there's a power cut halfway through the Monday afternoon class. With my Pollyanna hat on I can be glad that at least it was light but the speed at which we warmed up without the air conditioner, and ceiling fans, reminded us of why we don't dance all the way through the summer! However, we kept going, slightly more flushed than we might have been, but still enjoying ourselves learning the beautiful strathspey 'The Orchards of Co. Armagh'. In consideration of the heat and our slightly melted state another strathspey seemed a good idea and we successfully tackled the Paisley Weavers before the power was miraculously restored and we zoomed through the much more energetic reel, The Devil's Elbow before realising that although the fans were doing us sterling service the A C was having a serious sulk. Of course, once we realised that we weren't actually being AC'd it seemed far too hot to carry on, so we had to call a halt, but since we only had 10 minutes to go we didn't lose out much - well done to everyone involved. And then onto Tuesday... despite informing 'management' of the problem we were still AC-less. With a degree of misgiving we moved the furniture as usual- but although it was cooler inside than out and the fans were frantically spinning, but still very hot and we fully expected everyone to be more interested in hydration than dancing. But no, despite the sauna like conditions everyone danced! It was an excellent night, we had 2 sets up for many of the dances and lots of fun with the trickier ones - the heat definitely didn't help, but everyone did well despite that - a good night all round, even though we sadly had to say goodbye so some of our dancing visitors, it was a memorable night to leave on! And for the rest of us - see you next week.