Let’s hope the third time’s the charm! Plan to join us the weekend of 22-24 April 2022 for our 46th Annual Grand Ball Weekend. The highlight is of course the grand ball itself, on 23 April at the Women’s Club of Minneapolis, featuring live music by Terpsichore (Elke Baker, fiddle and Liz Donaldson, piano)
Please be aware of and prepared to comply with the RSCDS-Twin Cities Branch COVID-19 Safety Policy
Schedule | Program | Silent Auction | Musician Info
Tickets and Registration
Register and pay online or use this printable registration form to pay by check.
Register by April 9 if you wish to join us for dinner
Dinner and dancing — $65.00
Dinner and dancing (low income/student rate)* — $40.00
Dancing only (no dinner) OR dinner only (listening & watching but no dancing) — $40.00
Listening & watching only (no dancing, no dinner) — $20.00
Dinner menu:
Choice of
– Wild rice and cranberry stuffed chicken breast with herb cream sauce and a side of plum chutney
– Seared salmon with capers
– Roasted cauliflower steak with olive tapenade
Roasted assorted vegetables
Side salad and roll.
*We welcome everyone – if $40 is still too much, contact the Branch treasurer/registrar, Maggie (registrar [at] rscds-twincities.org).
Schedule
| FRIDAY, 22 APRIL | |
| 7:30pm | House Concert by Terpsichore hosted by Joe Dolson and Janna Kysilko in St. Paul – Reserve your seat! |
| SATURDAY, 23 APRIL | |
| 1pm | Ball practice @ Women’s Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove, Minneapolis, MN 55403 |
| 5:30pm | Doors Open @ Women’s Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove, Minneapolis, MN 55403 |
| 6pm | Dinner |
| 7pm | Grand march and dancing and silent auction |
| Following the ball | After-glow party @ the home of Dan and Lara Friedman-Shedlov in Minneapolis |
| SUNDAY, 24 APRIL | |
| 10:00am | Brunch @ the home of Carol Mordorski in Roseville |
2022 Grand Ball Program
PDF/print-friendly instructions
Silent Auction
We will hold a silent auction to benefit the ball and the RSCDS Twin Cities Branch. If you have an item or service to donate, please contact Meg Newswanger (mnswanger [at] hotmail.com)
About the Musicians
Liz Donaldson plays piano and accordion. 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 dances, Liz teaches all these styles, and dances, too! She is a member of Terpsichore, Waverley Station, and The New Hip Trio. Her recordings include: A Dancer’s Best Friend (recently released), Caledonian Muse, Terpsichore, Waverley Station: First Stop!, Memories of Scottish Weekend (1998) and More Memories of Scottish Weekend (’02), as well as English Echoes: English Country Dance Favorites (2006) and now English Echoes II: More English Country Dance Favorites (2018). Liz also has compiled two books of Scottish tune medleys. She has taught and played at numerous dance weekends and led music workshops including at Scottish Weekend, Pinewoods, and Asilomar, and has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Liz is a 2017 recipient of the Royal Scottish Country Dance’s Scroll of Honor for her contributions to the dance and music of Scotland.
U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion Elke Baker has played all over North America and in places as far-flung as Japan, West Africa, and Scotland, as well at The Birchmere (with Ken Kolodner) and the Kennedy Center in her hometown of Washington, D.C. Elke is a faculty member at the Washington Conservatory of Music, where she teaches history and performance of Celtic music. She brings a scholar’s depth of knowledge and an extremely engaging manner to her performances, as well as an intimate knowledge of just what makes people want to dance. Elke’s Scottish country dance recordings, Terpsichore, Caledonian Muse, and A Dancer’s Best Friend feature favorite dances married to beautifully crafted medleys to create a feast for the ears as well as the feet. Elke has released two concert recordings to an enthusiastic reception. The Washington Post praised Glenelg for ” the rhythmic energy and deep emotions that Baker generates with her bow….Baker’s fiddle nearly throws off sparks,” while Celtic Beat called Over the Border “a CD of rare delight, precise technical skill, and fullness of soul,” and it was featured in the soundtrack of The Boyhood of John Muir, nationally broadcast on PBS television.