Who Are We?

I started dancing as a beginner in 1990 at St. Andrew and St. Paul. I started teaching there with Margaret Gomersal and Dagmar Keoppler around 2010.At the moment I am organizing and running the demo teams and participation events and hoping to bring a few new teachers into the branch to help at A&P.

I started in Germany in 1974 or 1975 and quickly began teaching. Then I came to Canada and didn’t dance for 12 years because we couldn’t afford to go to Montreal for classes. The only Scottish thing we did was go to the Highland Games in Saint-Lambert every year. Then one day, I heard on the radio that there was a new SCD course starting at the Y. I inquired and thought it would be a good idea to take Hermann to the beginner course to ease him into it. He took those classes with Adriana Linden for two or three sessions. After that, we went to an A&P social where Hermann intended just to watch, but Jodie invited him to dance. He said he couldn’t because he was just a beginner, but was persuaded to try it as her partner. Hermann was beaming with joy after that dance, and we started dancing regularly at A&P. I used to teach the beginners downstairs in the Iona room for the first half of class while Adriana was upstairs with the more experienced dancers. Then we came together for the second half of class. I was scolded for teaching the beginners dances that were not at a beginner level, but they could handle it.

Henry Cobb Howes is a musician living in Montreal, QC, where he moved to pursue a master’s degree in jazz piano in 2020. Before this, Cobb Howes completed his undergraduate degree in classical piano at Western University in London, ON, about three hours south of his hometown of Collingwood. As a professional musician, Cobb Howes’ work schedule includes organ playing, choir directing, playing dance music for Scottish country dancers, and playing concerts with his rock group Hank’s Dream.