35th Colonial Subscription Ball, 7 for 7.30pm Saturday 29th August 2015, Therry Centre, East Maitland

 2011 Ball photos by Tim Propert

The Bush Music Club holds its Subscription Ball in August each year. For many years this has been held at Maitland Town Hall, however, this year the Maitland Town Hall is unavailable for several months due to renovations and we have found a new location for the ball not far away. The Therry Centre has a large dance hall with a good wooden floor, stage and large carpeted foyer for supper. It is next to St Joseph’s Church, East Maitland with the entrance to the combined site on King Street. Some parking is available on site and otherwise parking will be on King Street.

The music is a special feature for the Ball with the Coalbrook Band providing wonderful dance music and handling the large diversity in dance music with great accomplishment. Again this year we will enjoy the musical talents of the entire Strutt family (Helen & Greg, Jennifer & Catherine) plus the great fiddle expertise of Chris Duncan and Bob McInnes. As usual, the programme will include Colonial, Scottish, English, Irish and Welsh dances. There will undoubtedly be a Hambo too.

Preferred dress is formal in keeping with Australia's Colonial period. Suppers will be fully catered this year. Hor d'oeuvres will be served from 7 pm. There will be a further combined supper break with savoury and sweet foods later in the evening at 9:30 pm. Hot drinks and fruit punch will be available for most of the evening and water available throughout. This will be a no-alcohol function. The Ball will commence with a Grand March at 7:30 pm and will finish at around 12:30 am. Dances will be recapped and called, or, for couples dances, led from the floor. There will be no walk-throughs.

pdf Ball Flyer & Booking Form can be downloaded from the Maitland Ball site


We also have a great new venue for the recovery Picnic / BBQ / Dance on Sunday 30th August at Marmong Park, George Street, Marmong Point on the west side of beautiful Lake Macquarie. The Marmong Point Community Hall there will provide a dance floor and shelter from the weather (if required). There is a large grassy area with shade trees and a view of Lake Macquarie. The Lake foreshore is nearby and the renowned Lake Macquarie Art Gallery is a few minutes drive away in a lovely setting by the Lake.

Dance Instructions

Dance instructions will be made available in PDF format once the programme has been devised and the specific versions of each dance have been determined.

Keith Wood has animations of numerous dances on his Dance Kaleidoscope Web site (http://www.dancekaleidoscope.org.au/dance.html). (Note: you may have to use a browser such as Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer).

Dancers should be cautious when using viewing any of the ball dances on YouTube etc. or using instructions found on the internet as different versions exist, particularly for the Playford dances and the multi-figure quadrilles.

Accommodation:

• [1, 2] Best Western Endeavour East Maitland. http://endeavour.bestwestern.com.au/
• [1, 2] Old George & Dragon Guesthouse, East Maitland. https://plus.google.com/101817783020927605088/about?hl=en
• [1] Old Maitland Inn (but not old!), Rutherford (West of Maitland). http://www.oldmaitlandinn.com.au/
• [2] Molly Morgan Motor Inn East Maitland. Convenient to Newcastle Airport bus link. http://www.mollymorganmi.com.au/
• [2] Red Lion Inn (B&B), East Maitland. http://www.redlioninn.com.au/

[1] Recommended in previous years
[2] Short taxi trip to Maitland Town Hall

Transport:

• If using the new Hunter Expressway a detailed map near Maitland may be needed.
• Airport One Shuttle Service - pickups by arrangement. http://www.airportoneshuttle.com.au/
• Hunter Valley Buses – Timetables and Maps. Route 145 Newcastle Airport to Green Hills (& E Maitland). http://www.cdcbus.com.au/Hunter-Valley-Buses.html
• Newcastle Airport - direct flights from Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and connections to Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin, etc. http://www.newcastleairport.com.au/page421/Airlines.aspx

Visitors Guide:

• Hunter Valley http://issuu.com/huntervalleywinecountry

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PRACTICES

Central Coast

Sunday 2nd August, 10 am - 5 pm
East Gosford Progress Hall. Wells St and Henry Parry Drive, East Gosford
Contact: Arthur or Julia Ph (02) 4955 5701 

Newcastle & Lake Macquarie

Sunday 9th August, 10 am – 5 pm
Teralba Community Hall, Anzac Parade, Teralba
Contact: Arthur or Julia Ph (02) 4955 5701

Saturday 22rd August, 10 am – 4 pm
Wesley Uniting Fellowship Hall
152 Beaumont St, Hamilton
Contact: Arthur or Julia Ph (02) 4955 5701

Sydney

Sunday 16th August, 10 am – 4 pm
Concord Scout Hall, Park Ave, Concord
Contact: Wendy Richmond Ph 0412 145 262.

Pennant Hills Dance workshop each Monday from 3rd to 24th August.
Community Centre, Yarrara Rd, Pennant Hills.
Contact: Felicity 9456 2860
 

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The Final Word

We can't reiterate strongly enough ...

Everyone benefits by your attendance at the practices. We can all then relax and not have to teach the dances while they are in progress