Sommerkurs im Kuckucksnest, 26.-30.06.2024

SUMMER COURSE 26 – 30 June, 2024

Intermediate and advanced dancers Teacher: Linda Henderson
Music: Ian Muir (Scotland)

“It’s my first time attending the summer course. Have you danced at the Kuckucksnest before?”
I asked, waiting for a ride outside the Schlüchtern train station with two fellow dancers. Eva
Beckmann gracefully replied something along the lines of “Yes, in fact I helped coordinate it this
year”. At that moment, I felt embarrassed for not making the connection sooner, but what
could’ve been an awkward moment turned into the beginning of a wonderful weekend. Eva and
I went on to share dances and have stayed in touch about dance events and the adventures of
our Jellycat plushies. The summer course at the Kuckucksnest was a terrific opportunity to
dance with friends, new and old.
I first entered the Kuckucksnest on a Wednesday afternoon, unaware that I wouldn’t leave the
nest again until midday Saturday when a group of us set out for a walk to the nearby castle.
What could I have been doing inside the Kuckucksnest for three entire days? I danced, I ate, I
laughed, I slept, and did it all over again the next day. Linda Henderson challenged our brains
and our feet with exercises and dances, including one where we’d separate from and be
reunited with our partners if we danced it correctly. Let’s just say that dance took us a few tries
to get right. Linda knew me as a youth dancer back home in California but we hadn’t seen each
other in nearly a decade. What’s so special is that the summer course enabled us to cross paths
again halfway around the world. While the welcoming community first drew me to Scottish
country dancing, it’s the incredible music that keeps me coming back for more. Ian Muir’s music
did just that as it kept our feet moving for days on end. This blurb would be incomplete without a
tremendous shoutout to the incredible food at the Kuckucksnest. As a vegetarian, I was very
pleased with the assortment of flavors, hearty meals, and tasty treats that we were able to enjoy.
I ought to ask for the recipe book next time!
Last but certainly not least, thank you to Wiebke Luedtke, Wolfgang Kutsche, Martin McWilliam,
Anne Mettler, and Klaus Mettler for being the brave souls to learn, dance, and film my original
Scottish Country dance during the summer course. I wrote a dance titled Watson Year Medley
(a 128-bar medley for 3 couples in a 3 couple set) to tell the story of my Watson Fellowship
journey this year. One of the figures is a new formation which the group helped name “the Tram
figure”. I’ll forever be grateful for their patience and willingness to learn the dance with me even
when our legs were so worn. Thank you to Wiebke and Wolfgang for filming and thank you to
Wiebke for editing the video.
Thank you to everyone who made the summer course such a success and a special shout out
to Wiebke for her encouragement for me to attend. What an incredible joy it was!

Text: Sidney Taylor, RSCDS San Francisco Branch
Foto: Wolfgang Kutsche