Teachers & Musicians 2012

Our Teachers

Bruce Hamilton is a well-respected teacher of Scottish country dancing, English morris, and English country dancing, with 40 years’ experience. He has launched classes, trained teachers, coached demonstration teams and adjudicated festivals. A retired research scientist, Bruce is always looking for new ways to understand and present ideas. He tries to weave many threads besides technique and choreography into his lessons. Music, sociability and physiology are his current favorites. People often come away from his classes with things to think about and ways to grow. Bruce lives in Menlo Park, California with his wife Jo and the dogs and cats from her rescue operation. He runs a biweekly English dance class and is currently president of the Country Dance and Song Society. Web info: http://tinyurl.com/brucehamilton

Barbara Cool has been dancing for 30 years. She earned her preliminary teaching certificate in Philadelphia under the tutelage of Geoffrey Selling, and her full certificate with instruction from Mel & Ellie Briscoe and Elaine Brunken. She has taught for the Chicago Branch since 1990 and now runs the demonstration team. In addition to Scottish country dancing, Barbara enjoys contra and English country dance and waltzing, as well as travel, kayaking, yoga, and various crafts.

Our Musicians

Liz Donaldson, a full-time musician and dance caller, has been playing piano for dancing for many years. She is known for her innovative back-up style incorporating exciting rhythms, textures, and harmony lines in her music. In addition to playing for Scottish, English and American contra and square dances, Liz teaches all these styles, and dances, too! Liz is a member of Terpsichore, Waverley Station, and The New Hip Trio. She has published several books of Scottish tunes, including two collections of her own compositions. Liz has taught and played at numerous dance weekends and music workshops, including Scottish Weekend at Ramblewood (MD), Pinewoods (MA), and Asilomar (CA). Liz hails from Bethesda, Maryland. Website: http://lizdonaldson.com/

David Knight has been instigating dance up and down the East Coast and beyond since 1991, primarily fiddling in the Scottish, American, and English dance traditions in the Washington, DC, area. David has been featured on three recordings and has produced two collections of his own original tunes, all featuring waltzes, jigs, marches, airs, reels, and Strathspeys. He has placed in regional Scottish fiddle performance and composition competitions, and competed at the US National Scottish Fiddling Championships in 1997. In 1998 David composed and performed the score for a new theater production, David Harrower’s Knives in Hens, which was selected as the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Play of the Year. A native of South Carolina, David lives in the District of Columbia, where he works for the Internal Revenue Service. Website: http://music.davidknight.us