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Welcome to the new Academy Youth Representative Kimberley Burnside

Report - Sept 2008

Hi Everyone,

Firstly I want to thank everyone that got involved and voted for Youth Representative. It was great to see that there were more votes lodged this time around. It shows that the youth are becoming more active in our Academy.

I want to thank Shelley for all the hard work she did in the role as Youth Representative. She did an excellent job at representing the youth and encouraging everyone to become more involved.

My goals as your new Youth Representative:

• Listen to your opinions and then act as your voice.
• Encourage junior members to become more actively involved.
• Encourage more effective communication and understanding between the Executive members and the youth members of the Academy.
• Create a more vibrant and stimulating atmosphere for youth members by introducing events and workshops specifically directed to the youth.
• Be an easy to talk to, approachable, sociable person in the Highland Dancing community.

Conference this year is being held in Christchurch from 26 to 28 September 2008. My first job as Youth Representative is to run the Youth Forum at Conference. The Youth Forum will be held at 8:00 am on the Sunday morning. I know it is early, but I hope that all the 30 years and under people will attend.

If anyone has any topic/idea that they would like discussed during the Youth Forum, then please email me. If you are unable to attend Conference you can still email me with your topic/idea and I can present it for discussion on your behalf.

Lastly, all the best to those sitting exams in the next couple of weeks.

Hope to see you all at Conference in Christchurch.

Kim Burnside

Youth Forum reporting - Jun 2008

Hello all,

Its winter already, I cant believe how fast this year has gone. To those who sat May exams, I hope they were successful. And to those on school and uni exams - GOOD LUCK.

Just an important reminder to get your Youth Representative votes in. PLEASE remember to follow the directions on the voting paper to make your vote count. They are due no later than 5pm on Wednesday 30 June 2008. If you don't have a voting form, you can download one from the FORMS section of this website.

Happy Dancing,

Shelley

Youth Forum reporting - Jan 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all..

Hope you are having an enjoyable festive season and a well earnt break over the holidays. Keep safe and will see you all in the new year.

Shelley

Youth Forum reporting - Nov 2007

I am pleased to present the youth forum report for 2007.

The youth met at a very early 7.30am on Sunday 23rd of September at the Havelock North Community Center. It was very exciting once again to see such a good turnout. Even though it was early, we certainly benefited from the extra half an hour.

The morning's forum began with a short report on my trip to Scotland. Following this we moved onto our topics for discussion. We began with the ranking system and it was a general consensus that the ranking system has been successful. However, we felt that the point allocation may need further investigation.

Following this the 18 and over assessment was discussed. Many at the forum had completed the exam and all found it very worth while. Some benefits included being able to have the manual for reference and the choice of doing half or full steps. The suggestions we make to the academy is the possible inclusion of comments on the report card, a criteria for a merit pass, and being able to have the option of parallel highcutting where appropriate.

Pathways was our next topic of discussion. Those who had done pathways found it very beneficial. It was unclear whether the diploma gained under pathways allowed the candidate to sit 18 and over assessment or sit solo seal.

We then moved onto the topic of highland hats. After much discussion we were inconclusive whether the forum was for or against wearing the highland hat. It was noted however that the highland hat can be poorly worn and more attention needs to be taken to the correct wearing of the hat.

The next topic bought about discussion of an alternative event or class at competitions. This is due to the increasing number of non-competitive dancers who still wish to compete, but at a lessened pressure. This would involve special events of reduced steps aiming at progressing towards the programmed classes.

We then had clarified by Mrs. Cowie what constitutes a report day for probationary judges. She understood that it was difficult to get a report day and made clear that a report day can be 'some' reports i.e championships and merit awards, or all reports. As probationary judges, we can request a report day if the organisation is happy to provide resources.

One technical issue that came up was that in the final highcutting step of the Sailors Hornpipe parallel highcutting was not an option. As in previous discussion many found that parallel highcutting is just as achievable as winging and would be a preferred option to winging for some. As parallel highcutting is also a senior highcutting movemebt, we feel it should be an option.

As this is the only time the youth met, it was evident that many of the topics discussed at the youth forums were P&D related. With this in mind, we discussed that a youth representative or a youth report be presented to P&D.

Id like to thank Mrs. Grout and Mrs. Cowie for sitting in on the end of our forum and clarifying the areas were weren't familiar with.

On concluding my last forum as youth representative for this term, I would like to thank the Academy for giving me this opportunity to give the youth a voice. I think this position has been very beneficial and worthwhile for the Academy.

Youth Forum reporting - Aug 2007

Hello to all.

I'll begin my report by saying a big congratulations to Jayden Withington and Marti Pearson for becoming the 2007 Under 18 and runner up Highland & National Dancing Champions. What an awesome weekend of dancing. It was great to see the new ranking system up and running. It was also a good to see the top 10 dancers acknowledged for their efforts over the weekend.

On Monday the 23rd of July, I will be heading overseas, first to Paris then to Scotland to meet up with the Manawatu Pipe Band who are competing at the World Pipe Band Championships I feel very privileged to be a part of New Zealand's Premier band, as I have only been learning the tenor drum for 8 months. After two weeks with the band, I will be dancing at various highland games . I look forward to reporting back through this website about my travels. It is very interesting to note the large number of SOHDA and independent games that are available to any dancer. It would keep any New Zealand dancer wanting to compete in Scotland very busy!.

As the Academy AGM and Dance Development Course is approaching, I have started to put together a draft agenda for the Youth Forum on Sunday morning. If anyone has anything they wish to have discussed, don't hesitate to email me, it's not too late. Even if you are unable to attend Conference, your ideas are still important and will be added to the agenda. Please note, I am away for 8 weeks but will have internet access the whole time. I have had a few requests for discussion so thank you to those who have emailed me. Solo Seal will be on the Friday night at the Hawkes Bay Opera House. This will be a fantastic night of dancing and entertainment so I hope to see many of you there.

I look forward to seeing those attending conference.

Keep well and happy dancing and good luck to those preparing for examinations in September.

Shelley

Youth Forum Agenda - Conference Havelock North

• Welcomes and Introductions
• Report - Scotland Trip 2007
• Discussions

  - Ranking System

  - 18 & over Assessment

  - Pathways

  - Preparing for a Championship

• Information - Position & Responsibilities of the Youth Representative
• Wrap up and Conclusion

Youth Representative Report - May 07

Hello everyone, Hope you all had a good Easter break and have made a good start into autumn. There were so many really exciting dancing events going on over the break. The Hawke's Bay Easter Highland Games is a highlight for me each year, and this year was no different… beautiful weather, great friends and excellent dancing. Here is a picture of some cute younger dances and also some of my good dancing friends at the Highland Games.

Also over the Easter break, Malborough Dance Centre held a summer camp which is an excellent way to keep up with the exam work, while having fun with friends.(See news page for more details and photos).

I can't believe how fast this year is going. We are in May already and the first lot of examinations are nearly over. Hope everyone that was sitting exams got good results and get a well deserved break. I am going back into the exam room this year to sit the brand new 18 & over examination. I must say, and those doing this also would back me up, that some of the steps are quite challenging, but so much fun.

In July I will be travelling over to Scotland for 8 weeks, first to compete with the Manawatu Pipeband at the World Pipeband Championships in Glasgow, then staying on to compete in the Highland Dancing at various Highland Games. This will be an awesome experience and can't wait to report back to you all about my trip.

The New Zealand Academy Conference will be held in Havelock North on the 21st until the 23rd of September. Friday night will commence with Solo Seal, held at the Hawkes Bay Opera House in Hastings. This will be a fantastic night, with lots of great dancing and other entertainment. A new format this year will see the Dance Development courses held on the Saturday, followed by the dinner that night. The Youth forum will commence a little earlier this year at 7.30am on Sunday (venue to be advised). The committee has allocated this time as it will allow for more informative discussion. This is where I need your input. Please, if you have ANYTHING you wish to discuss at the youth forum please email me at the link above. I will have internet access the whole time I am away so please email me if you have a topic you wish to discuss at the youth forum. The topics will be anonymous, unless you wish to put your name to it. This will precede the AGM and conclusion of the conference.

Wishing everyone sitting exams the best of luck. I always say "practice makes better….but GOOD practice makes perfect"

Keep safe, well, and smiling…… Shelley

Youth Representative Report - Feb 07

Hello and Happy New Year to you all.

I hope you had a great break over summer and are looking forward to getting back to school, university, work and dancing. I had a nice break over Christmas, New Year on my annual trip north to Waipu. I saw some outstanding dancing to start off the New Year. I enjoyed sitting back and watching the NZ under 16 class, and it bought back a lot of wonderful memories. Congratulations to Rachel Crampton and Claire O'Keefe.

I have had very good reports about various summer schools all over the country. Summer Schools are a great way to kick-start your dancing for the year, meet new dancers and tutors, and get into learning exam work.

I will be attending my first meeting as your Youth Representative March. I look forward to presenting the report on topics raised at Septembers Youth Forum and will report back via the website in due course.

Thanks, Shelley

Dec 2006

Hello all, thank you to those that attended the youth forum at conference this year. I know you would have learnt a lot and taken away many new skills. Here is the report I presented at conference.

Youth Forum Report - 2006

The youth met at 8am on Saturday September 23rd at the Law Courts Hotel. A total of 36 youth members attended which was great to see. Everyone came with lots of ideas and were looking forward to a very informative discussion.

Before the forum began we paid tribute to Lorna Coombes. Lorna was a dedicated member of the dancing community and will be sadly missed by those who knew her. Her Scottish heritage played a big part in her life and she had a great passion for Highland Dancing which was reflected in her life.

Our discussions began by giving a short overview of conference this weekend, indicating what to expect and encouraging participation. Following this Mrs. Barbara Tait did a short presentation on the proposed ranking system for the New Zealand Championships. Following this we brought up the topic of drawing for championship reels. We discussed dancers withdrawing from reels too close prior to the event, leaving uncertainty for other dances positions in sets and many suggestions were made to allow dances to be certain of their position and be fully prepared physically and mentally.

The Youth Forum is an excellent way for the youth to voice their opinions. However we feel that one hour is too short to thoroughly discuss the ideas we have. An idea was to have the Youth Forum as an interactive workshop session on Saturday as the AGM is proposed to occur on Sunday next year.

Friday night's Solo Seal performances were attended by almost all present at the Youth Forum. The candidates would like to thank the Committee and also the Mayfair Theatre staff for making the night so memorable.

Finally, our last point of discussion was brainstorming topics we would like at future conferences and we came up with many interesting ideas which have been passed onto the Academy.

On concluding this Youth Forum report I would like to thank you all for the great turnout this morning and your interesting inputs into discussion items.

Thank You

Hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Have a good summer holiday break and good luck to those competing, and attending summer schools. Also Good luck to dancers competing at the New Zealand under 16 Championships at Waipu. Look forward to a very happy and successful 2007!!

September 2006

Hello, I am delighted to be elected as the new Youth Representative for 2006-2007. Thank you to all that voted.

I am here to be someone for you 'the youth' to talk and communicate with if you have any ideas or concerns about any aspect of highland dancing. This maybe anything to do with competitions, exams or dancing in general. I will help you in any way I can.

My first role as Youth Representative is to conduct the Youth Forum at Conference in Dunedin on the 23rd of September. To make this session as beneficial as possible I will need any ideas that you may have that could be used for discussion. If you have any ideas or current issues that we could discuss and give feedback on the website please email me before Friday 22nd September. Speak up and let your ideas be heard.

Looking forward to seeing many of you in Dunedin.

Shelley Reid