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History of the Tam O' Shanter Dancers
1982
A demonstration group named the Heather
Belles was formed in White Rock and it performed at a number of
senior care facilities, church and club functions. The
practice and training of this group was held separately from the
Club night.
1986
The Heather Belles demonstration group was
selected to dance at Expo '86 in Vancouver. Accompanied by
Peter and Murray Lyon on the bagpipes, the Heather Belles danced on
four occasions at Expo '86 and a special dance named "The Call of
the Pipers" was written by teacher and leader, Maureen Lyon.
1987
When several men joined the group, it was
renamed "The Tam O' Shanter Dancers". Tam O' Shanter is the
name of a famous poem written by Scotland's greatest poet, Robert
Burns.
1994
In July and August, the Tam O' Shanter
Dancers visited Scotland. As ambassadors from Canada, they
took with them greetings from the Mayors of Surrey and White Rock.
The Lord Provost of Edinburgh welcomed the Tam O' Shanter Dancers at
an official 'Afternoon Tea'.
1998
The Tam O' Shanters visited Scotland again
and were welcomed at several civic lunches and evening functions at
Kilmarnock, Ayr and Dumfries.
2003
The Tam O' Shanters' third trip to Scotland
was highlighted by 98°F weather at Loch Lomond. The Tams were
the international guests at the Caledonian Canal Ceilidh. They
performed at the Inverness Highland Games, Glenfidock Distillery,
Visitor Centre at The Millennium Wheel in Falkirk, the Drumkinnon
Visitor Centre at Lock Lomond and at a Kidney Transplant Fundraiser
at the Lord Provost's home in Edinburgh.
2006
As well as performing at the Annual Burns
Night Supper, the Tam O' Shanters performed at two White Rock
Chamber Music concerts, the Scotch Club, the Vancouver Gaelic Choir
Ceilidh, the Hellenic Centre, Crescent Gardens Residence, Jackman
Manor, the Campbell Valley Country Fair and a 50th Birthday Party
for Cameron MacIntosh. The Dancers also participated in the
Vancouver CelticFest parade, and, together with the White Rock
Scottish Country Dance Club, entered the White Rock Spirit of the
Sea Torchlight Parade. A flatbed truck, duly festooned with
lights, acted as a moving stage for the dancers who performed
non-stop throughout the length of the parade.
2007
The Tams kicked off 2007 with a performance
at the Crescent Gardens Residence, followed by a theatrical, musical
and dance event at the 13th Annual White Rock Burns Supper.
They also performed at the Scotch Club of Vancouver's Burns Supper,
the White Rock Kent St. Activity Centre and the Peninsula Resort
Residence . Once again, the Club participated with an entry in
the White Rock Spirit of the Sea
Torchlight Parade. The fall
dance season commenced with participation in the
Campbell Valley
Country Fair, followed by performances at the Hawthorne Lodge, a
fundraiser for the Seaforth Highlanders Army Cadets at the
Bell
Centre for Performing Arts in Surrey, the Kent St. Activity Centre
in White Rock, the annual Tams' Kitchen Ceilidh Pub Night and at the
White Rock Chamber Music's concert at the Pacific Carlton Residence.
2008
The new year started with a performance at
the Hawthorne Lodge in Port Coquitlam. For the Annual Burns
Dinner in White Rock, Maureen Lyon devised a new 12 dancer
strathspey entitled "Light on Burns". The dance, which was
performed in a dimmed room with dancers holding lanterns, was
featured at other Burns evenings at the Scotch Club, the Gaelic
Society, the Crescent Gardens Residence, the Czorny Alzheimer Centre
and the Peninsula Resort. Once again the group participated in
the extremely popular Vancouver CelticFest Parade on the eve of St.
Patrick's Day.
During a 7 day visit to Honolulu in April, the Tams
performed at the
RSCDS Club
of Honolulu, the
Ala Moana Center, 3 times at the Hawaiian
Scottish Festival in
Kapiolani
Park and represented Canada in the
Closing Parade. The group danced for the Clan
MacKenzie gathering at the Seaforth Armoury and teamed up with the White Rock Scottish Country
Dance Club to be selected as the "Best Musical Entry" in the
White
Rock Torchlight Parade. The fall season started with a
performance at the Campbell Valley Fair followed by demonstrations
at the BC 150 event at Mission Fraser River Heritage Park, the Kent
St. Activity Centre, the Czorny Alzheimer Centre, the Renaissance in
Langley, Crescent Gardens, Hallmark on the Lake in Abbotsford, the
White Rock Chamber Music's concert at the Pacific Carlton Residence,
Cherry Brook Park, a 90th Birthday for Lois Carson Boyce at the
South Arm United Church in Richmond and the annual Tams' Pub Night
Ceilidh. 2009
The Tams performed at 4 events to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of
the birth of Robert Burns. The Club's own
Burns Supper
attracted a sell-out attendance of 300 people and featured a
"Portrait of Burns" in which a large portrait literally came alive
and Robert Burns recounted stories from his short life. Mary
Ross of Victoria, recorded a rendition of "My Love is Like a Red,
Red Rose" for the strathspey of the same name. Maureen Lyon
devised a lively 128 bar reel called the "Banshee Frolic" and the
Tams also performed the "Exciseman". Songs were sung by
Ainsley McCallum accompanied by Veronica Tsai.
Other Burns events included suppers at the St. Alban's Anglican
Church in Richmond and the Scotch Club of Vancouver as well as a
lunch at the Renaissance
in Langley.
Following the Burns season, the dancers performed at the Hawthorne
Manor in Port Coquitlam, the Pacific Carlton in Surrey, the Gaelic
Society at the Vancouver Scottish Cultural Centre and the Czorny
Alzheimer Centre in Surrey.
During the outdoor season, the Tams participated in the New
Westminster Hyack Parade, the inaugural Canada Day Parade in
downtown Vancouver with the RCMP Pipe Band and the White Rock Spirit
of the Sea Torchlight Parade in association with the White Rock
Scottish Country Dance Club; the entry in the White Rock parade took
2nd place in the Musical Entries category. Together with piper
Leslie McKay and sword dancer Brooke Baker, the group presented a one hour
concert in the Mission Twilight Concert series. Two performances at
the Fort Langley National Historic Site focussed on the history of
Scottish settlers in the nineteenth century and involved audience
participation in the ceilidh dances. Once again, the Tams
teamed up with the White Rock Scottish Country Dance Club for the White Rock Torchlight Parade
and took 2nd place in Musical category .
A beautiful fall day heralded the start of the autumn season with a
performance at the Campbell Valley Country Fair. Fall
demonstrations included Simpson Manor, Pacific Carlton, Hallmark on
the Lake and Cherry Brook Park. Joe MacDonald entertained an
enthusiastic audience at the Tams St. Andrew's Pub Night Ceilidh at
which the Tams danced "Hunter's Moon" and "Pitcarnie Hornpipe".
2010
The Burns season began with the Tams performing again at St. Alban's
Anglican Church in Richmond. Teaming
up with the RCMP "E" Division Pipes and Drums, soprano Leanne Page,
violinist Celia Collin, keyboard player Trudy Bishop and dulcimer
player Brian Thomas, the Tam O' Shanter Dancers performed to a sold
out audience of 300 guests at this year's 16th Annual Tam O' Shanter
Burns Supper. Teacher Maureen Lyon devised three new
innovative dances for the occasion: "The De-ils Amang the
Weavers", "Waft and Weft" and "Steps to the Loom".
Final Burns performances were at the Vancouver Scotch Club and the
Renaissance in Langley.
During the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games,
the Tams performed at Hawthorne Manor in Coquitlam.
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