2025 Spring Workshop – March 14-15, 2025
The Atlanta Branch RSCDS is pleased to once again host our annual Spring Workshop March 14-15, 2025! Located this year in easily accessible and vibrant Cartersville, GA, we are truly excited to offer a packed weekend of dancing on a wooden floor with two evening dance programs, a full day of classes on Saturday, and an extra helping of southern charm!
The workshop package includes the Friday night Welcome Dance, Saturday classes, and Saturday Evening Ball. A continental breakfast and a box lunch on Saturday are included, plus a delightful Sunday post-workshop brunch (dinner Saturday is on your own). Below find info about our teachers and live musicians, accommodations (hotel registration is separate).
2025 Spring Workshop Teacher & Musicians
Charles Liu was introduced to Scottish Country Dancing by his then girlfriend (now his wife). He was hooked after dancing for the entire evening of the Boston Highland Ball having only started Scottish dancing a couple of months earlier. Charles enjoyed Scottish dancing and music in the Boston area so much that he decided to train as a teacher. After receiving his teaching certification, he served as the chair of the Teaching and Music Committee of the RSCDS Boston Branch, organizing many workshops to promote dancing, share teaching ideas and cultivate new dance teachers. He now teaches regularly in the Cambridge, Salem and Albany classes of the Boston Branch, coordinates the teaching staff at the Cambridge Class, and has been invited to lead workshops in New Hampshire, Maine and Virginia. What makes Charles love Scottish Country Dancing is not just the precise footwork and geography of the dances, but the unique energy from dancing to good Scottish tunes and interacting with others on the dance floor. He encourages dancers to pay attention to the music, support fellow dancers, and work together as a team, which is often more rewarding than focusing only on the steps and figures of the dance. Besides Scottish dancing, Charles dabbles in playing Scottish tunes on the fiddle and enjoys English Country Dancing. He supports his dancing and music hobbies by working as a securities examiner in the Boston area during the day.
Elke Baker (www.elkebaker.com) 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 new CD, Caledonian Muse (with her Scottish band Terpsichore) features 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. In addition, Elke’s first recording Terpsichore: Scottish Dance Music, with pianist Liz Donaldson, is a classic of the genre and is popular with dancers and listeners around the world.
Beth Murray has enjoyed many years with the Scottish community as a pianist (1980 – present), teacher and dancer (1978-2000). Beth teaches piano in her home studio and plays for Scottish, Contra, and English dances. She can be heard on the CD Strawberry Jam, featuring original compositions by band members, Back Cove, a CD of New England tunes, Celebrate Fifty Years of Dancing, a Boston Branch CD celebrating its anniversary, and the Scottish CD Boston Hospitality with fiddler Ed Pearlman. Beth has two grown children (both musicians), a grandson, a dog, and a very supportive husband.
Sponsorships for the 2025 Spring Workshop
The Atlanta Branch would like to extend an invitation to anyone who is interested in helping us continue providing excellence in music and instruction at our Spring Workshop to become a sponsor. We sincerely appreciate all the sponsorships previously received and with your help will continue to provide quality music and instruction. Due to the pandemic, we need your support now more than ever.
Sponsors will be recognized during the workshop:
~~ Bluebell level – $10-$49
~~ Heather level – $50-$99
~~ Thistle level – $100+
Workshop Schedule, Location, & Hotel Details
Workshop Schedule & Location
Friday, 3/14
3:00pm – 6:00pm | Registration at the hotel; late comers can register at the door of the dance
8:00pm – ? | Welcome Dance Dance List
After the dance | Informal “Afters” Party at hotel
Saturday, 3/15
8:00am – 9:00am* | Continental Breakfast at Workshop
9:15am – 12:00pm | Morning Session
12:00pm – 1:00pm* | Box Lunch
1:15pm – 3:00pm | Afternoon Session
3:15pm – 4:15pm | Ball Walk-Through
6:00pm | Dinner (on your own)
7:30pm – ? | Grand March & Ball Cribs Dance List
After the dance | “Afters” Party at the Craig/Shire home
Sunday, 3/16
9:00am – 12:00pm | Brunch at the Tumlin Home
The workshop, including both dances and the Saturday classes, are to be held in the Stiles Auditorium, Olin Tatum Building, 320 W. Cherokee Avenue, Cartersville, Georgia.
*Continental Breakfast and Box Lunch are included in Workshop Package.
Hotel: Fairfield Inn & Suites, Cartersville, GA
20 Canyon Parkway, Cartersville, GA 30121 – $139 per night plus tax and includes breakfast for king or double beds. The room block will be held until February 12, 2025. Make hotel reservations directly with Fairfield Inn & Suites at their dedicated link, below (no additional promo code needed).
The hotel is located just off I-75 and three miles from the dance location in downtown Cartersville. There are multiple restaurants between the hotel and downtown Cartersville. Along with the usual amenities, the rooms have a microwave and a mini refrigerator. Cancellation of room required by 11:59 pm 3/13/25.
About Cartersville
Cartersville, a vacation destination with the charm of a small city, is located between Atlanta and Chattanooga off I-75 and is home to the Booth Western Art Museum, the Tellus Science Museum, and The Savoy Automobile Museum, all affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute. Downtown Cartersville is a great destination for the town’s best restaurants, and a variety of eclectic places to shop. Two performing arts theatres anchor the historic square where the city’s 20,000+ residents gather throughout the year for festivals, farmer’s markets and more. For more information, visit https://visitcartersvillega.org/.
Workshop Registration
Cancellation Policy: We hope you won’t have to cancel but if you must, you will receive a 75% refund if you let us know by February 23, 2025.