Page 56 - RSCDS Toronto Golden Jubilee Book

Connections
Bob Blackie
Laird of the Dance – Few dancers invoke fonder regard than Bob Blackie. He was a marvellous dancer. A decade after his passing, the exemplary power and grace of his Strathspey are still quoted by SCD teachers to inspire danc- ers today. Glenview’s Alistair Stewart says, "Bob Blackie cheated at dancing, because his feet never touched the floor!"
The Globe & Mail said:
Bob Blackie had a sweet nature. A short, round, cocky little robin of a man, he trav- elled the world cajoling Swedes, Hawaiians and Japanese to join him in his passion for Scottish country dancing, and introduced thousands to the reel, the jig and the stately strathspey.
Blackie organized popular overseas "Flings" – group trips to exotic places. Always the gracious, jovial host and guide, he’d "wow ‘em" with choreo- graphed SC dances and exuberant Highland Flings. He was invited by Miss Milligan to St Andrews, but was thwart- ed by prior commitments. With Bob, there was always a chance of a ceilidh, a wee nip of "feeling better" and a nicely turned out Pavlova.
In the 1970s Caravan enlivened Toronto. Blackie imagineered the Perth Pavilion, a beacon of merriment and dance that became today’s ASTA Social Group. In 1978, Bob choreographed a presenta- tion for HM Queen Elizabeth. He helped organize the 512some at the CNE.
Bob taught at classes, workshops both in Canada and worldwide, was Chair of the Teachers’ Association (Canada) for three years and initiated the first TAC Summer School.
Robert Blackie died too young, at 62,
a victim of asbestos used in his HVAC business. 900 people attended his funeral at St Andrew’s church. The RSCDS Scroll was awarded posthu- mously. "The Toronto Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society,
in recommending Bob for a Scroll of Honour, have highlighted his achieve- ments in Canada and his unstinting work to bring the joy of the dance to so many." Perhaps we’ll never Strathspey as Bob Blackie did, but we can all be, like him, joyful Ambassadors of Dance.
Georgina Finlay
Georgina attained her Preliminary Certificate at St. Andrews in July, 1959, and her Full Certificate in Toronto in the fall of 1959.
In 1955, Georgina formed an adult class in Weston, and taught it for two years at a cost of twenty-five cents per person, per class! Adult classes resumed in 1973. In 1978, Doug Stephen joined Georgina and taught a Beginners’ class. Classes continued until 2001 when Colin Philip took over the teaching.
Jack Millar and Sandra Scott assisted Georgina’s Children’s classes.
Georgina is still teaching. In the fall
of 2006, 18 very enthusiastic children made up a Children’s class at Weston Memorial Public School. She also formed an Old Time class in 2006, and they meet at Weston Presbyterian Church.
[Please read the group history of the Finlay Dancers for a fuller description.]
David & Betty Grant David Grant was Chair of the Toronto Branch, 1975-1977, when the member- ship was over one thousand, and he and his wife, Betty, worked tirelessly
to promote Scottish Country danc-
ing. During David’s term of office, he established a "Family Night". Childrens' dances had been held previously but at varying times. Family Night continues to be one of the best attended events.
They were guests at the CNE for the 1976 Scottish World Festival where massed SCD was presented for the second time. David was Chair-Producer and Bob Millar was coordinator of the event.
David and Betty were annual partici- pants in the RSCDS Summer School at St Andrews. They were joint recipients of the Award of Scroll for their contribu- tion to Scottish Country dancing.
Frances Gray
[First woman Chair, First Canadian Teacher Candidate examiner, served six years as Secretary and Branch Chair, 1977-1979.]
The Toronto Association submitted my name to the Society in Edinburgh in the year 2000 for the prestigious
Award of Scroll. My husband, Neil,
and I travelled to Troon, Scotland, to receive the Award of Scroll and to have it presented by the Earl of Mansfield, President of the Society. As a recipient of the Award of Scroll, I was invited to be Guest of Honour and speaker at the 2001 Toronto Association Tartan Ball. This was a magical night and one I will always fondly remember. The Toronto Association presented me with a beau- tiful painting of a Scottish Highland scene.
This year 2007 marks my forty-first year of teaching Scottish Country Dancing. For the last twenty-seven years, I have been teaching the Calvin Scottish Country Dance group, one
of the founding Social Groups of the Toronto Branch/Association. This Social Group is also celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in the year 2007.
John Wevers
[An interview with Professor John Wevers and David Grant at his home in Toronto on April 5, 2005.]
John Wevers was the former Chair and a founding member of the Teachers’ Association (Canada). He was one of the first to receive his full Teaching Certificate from Miss Milligan during her first Canadian visit. He later chaired a committee appointed to draw up the first Constitution of the newly desig- nated Toronto Branch. It was decided that the various social groups should retain autonomy and that individuals should then become Branch members. In 1960, he established the Don Mills Group. He received the Award of Scroll in 1983, said to be the first Toronto Branch member to do so.
John Wevers was born in the United States to Dutch parents, and Dutch
is actually his first language. People often asked him, "How come you’re
a Scottish Dance Teacher?" "Well, somebody’s got to teach the Scots their culture," he would tease.
"In 1957, Miss Milligan was in Toronto and she wanted some people who were devoted to Scottish Country Dancing to spread the gospel. I was one of five dancers who went through the preliminary certificate. Then, two months later, she returned and we were granted our full certificates.
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