Ruth Jappy                                                    Delta, BC

I grew up with Irish music & dance - especially accordions, having a father and brother who both played.   So it is no wonder I married Alex Jappy, a well-known Scottish accordionist.   I have had the pleasure of teaching workshops in Canada,  United States,  Australia  & Japan  and also the  T.A.C. Summer School.

I have taught, and Alex has played for the Delta Borderers SCD Class in Vancouver, for over 30 years and  we have also taught a weekly  Old Time Dance class for over 20 years.

Music & Dance/Dance & Music -  I love them both

These two ingredients cannot be separated and together they become a universal language that bridges many boundaries.

Happy Dancing,   Ruth

Ron Wallace                                       Santa Rosa, CA

Just after the turn of the twentieth century, Ron Wallace's great uncle established a Scottish performance group, the CampMor Kilties (for Clans Campbell and Morgan) in southern Minnesota. Over the years, two aunts, three uncles, two cousins, parents, both sisters and brother performed in the CampMor Kilties as either pipers, drummers, drum majors, or dancers. Ron's parents met there and Scottish music and dance have remained a significant part of his life. His father was the drum major, his mother danced and taught highland, and both his parents were country dancers.

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) and the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD) were not known in rural Minnesota. Therefore, the Scottish scene remained relatively unchanged until the 1960's when standardization and conformance were expected and to a degree embraced.

With older sister as teacher, Ron, at age 12, started playing bagpipes. Piping responsibilities soon included pipe sergeant of the CampMor Kilties, then on to pipe major of two bands over 10 years, one of which was a very successful competitive band. Pipe students remain part of his weekly teaching responsibilities.

After 43 years of teaching and 53 years of performing, Ron sees an ever increasing need to explore the "traditional" as well as the "contemporary" aspects of Scottish arts. To that end, he is in the process of establishing a non-profit (US) to support research, performance, training and publication of dance related material.

Ron's teaching spans all ages and levels, and averages 500 classes a year locally and abroad. His workshops include quite a variety of subjects: Scottish Country, Highland, Step, English, Welsh, Cape Breton Step and teachers seminars.

Through a selection process, he has tutored candidates (potential teachers) in the Twin Cities Branch (Minnesota) as well as in the San Francisco Branch. He recently became an examiner for the RSCDS and has already examined in Canada, U.S.A. and Scotland.

The Santa Rosa Scottish Dancers (founded by Mr. Wallace) and the Dunsmuir Scottish Dancers (a San Francisco Branch demonstration team) give numerous performances allowing Ron, as artistic director, the opportunity of combining many forms and periods of Scottish dance with complimentary costuming representing 16th, 18th and 20th Century stylings.

At home in Northern California, Ron is kept busy with weekly classes in Country, Highland and Step dance and Highland Bagpipes, playing descant recorder and pipes in a local Scottish Country Dance Band “Hood, Wink and Swagger” who can be heard on the CD Dancers Dream.