Teachers & Musicians 2019
Tine MacKay, Teacher
Tine MacKay started Scottish Country Dancing in 1995 in Columbus, Ohio, and has attended classes and workshops all over the world, including such diverse locales as Halifax, Vancouver, Catalina Island, Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. Tine was awarded her full teaching certificate from the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) in 2004 and has taught classes in several locales. She taught workshops at Pittsburgh, Edmonton, Santa Fe, and Scottish Weekend in West Virginia. In 2018 Tine was the Teachers Association (Canada) (TAC) Summer Events Assistant Director in Minneapolis, where she taught a class "License to Flirt." In addition to being a teacher, Tine has devised numerous dances, including, “A Capital Jig” which was published by the RSCDS in 2009. Several of her other dances have been taught at workshops around the world. Tine enjoys the "magic moments" that are found with foot changes and phrasing a dance ‘just right’ and she loves to share those moments with others.
Kate Deck, Teacher
Kate Deck has been participating in Scottish Country Dancing for about twenty years but has always thrived on movement of all kinds. A fan of Celtic music, she finds Scottish dancing to be the perfect blend of music and movement. She learned Scottish country dancing initially from Norma Briggs, Chuck Snowdon and Todd McCall in Madison, Wisconsin. She was later tutored by Keith Bark along with other teacher candidates from the Midwest, and obtained her full teaching certificate in 2011. She currently teaches both children and adults in Madison. Outside of dancing Kate is a mom of two and works as a scientist at the University of Wisconsin. She is an avid runner and enjoys being outdoors with her family doing things like hiking, cycling and skiing.
Ralph Gordon, Bass & Cello
Ralph Gordon is a uniquely versatile musician, bringing more than 45 years of musical experience to the bass and cello.He is a regular member of several dance bands that encompass Scottish, English Country dancing, contra and square dancing, swing, waltzes, and couple dancing. His solid sense of rhythm and timing makes many styles of dancing an enjoyable experience for players and dancers alike. Ralph, classically trained, studied music at West Virginia University and the Manhattan School of Music. He performed with the New Jersey Symphony, then toured with Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. He eventually returned to West Virginia where he joined the ground breaking folk ensemble, Trapezoid. Nine years and four recordings later he left the group in 1986 to become a free lance musician. He toured with Freyda and Acoustic Attatude and has been a member of Childsplay for 20 years. Ralph has performed with many individuals and groups in a multitude of musical styles and settings from weddings and special events to Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Blues Alley and Strathmore Hall. Ralph has played at festivals across the country and venues around the world. He is a sought after freelance artist and session musician in the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan area. Ralph can be heard on many recordings, often contributing to arranging and producing. He teaches bass and performance classes at summer and weekend camps across the country.
Dave Wiesler, Piano
Pianist Dave Wiesler (Newark, Delaware) began playing traditional Scottish music for dances and concerts in
1993. Since then has become highly regarded for his strong rhythm, his technical skills, and his deep knowledge of the genre. He performs most often with his band Thistle House and with fiddlers Hanneke Cassel and Mara Shea, but regularly joins other musicians. Dave is at home in a huge range of other styles of music and folk dance, including contra dance, swing, vintage dancing, blues, Viennese waltz, and English country dance. He has played at festivals and dance and music camps across the country, as well as in Canada, Scotland, and England. He has composed hundreds of tunes and more complex pieces, and he appears in over twenty recordings—recent ones include The Goldcrest Collection of mostly English country dances, Hanneke Cassel’s Trip to Walden Pond, and an upcoming album (as yet untitled) of original waltzes. In addition, Dave is a capable guitarist and singer, a writer of silly ceilidh songs, and a soccer coach and chauffeur for his two growing boys.
Susan Worland, Fiddle
Susan Worland has been playing music since she started piano at age three. Her interests turned more to violin when she discovered the instrument the summer after fourth grade. She majored in music at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and continued to enjoy music while working at various office jobs in the greater Boston area.
She had already been interested in international folk dancing, from her years at Carleton, but when she discovered that one could *play* that kind of music, her life changed. Susan played for Mandala Folk Dance Ensemble in Boston and the Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston for several years, and then she discovered yet a new favorite music--Scottish music! She joined Barbara McOwen's band Tullochgorum along the way and also began playing out with other local bands and musicians (while continuing to maintain a Polish music schedule that took her to Toronto and Montreal frequently, and also to Portugal, Brazil, and China, as well as Poland, of course).
In 1998 Susan met the members of the Palo Alto based Red Thistle Dancers on a tour to Norway, when she filled the spot left vacant by the sad death of Kim McGerrity. She became friendly with the bodhran player in the group, one Michael Bentley...one thing led to another and about a year later the two got married and Susan moved to the Bay Area, where she lives now. She plays in the Santa Cruz Symphony, teaches violin at a local storefront music shop, and plays lots of Scottish music in the area, particularly with Lyle Ramshaw and with Andy Imbrie. She is very excited that Reel of Seven, a Bay Area band with whom she plays regularly, has been booked to play at the Teachers' Association (Canada) (TAC) Summer School in 2019, and she is delighted to play for us in Wisconsin before that.