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HEDIYA
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
18th October 2008
Present Adrienne Thompson,
Alison Comyns, Catherine Kneen, Celia Francere,
Chrissy Stephenson, Hilda Sethna, Jan Quayle, Jane McDonald, Jo Elliott,
Karey Foster, Karina Sneiderova, Mo Robinson, Maggie Robinson, Rose Bevers,
Shelley Kilpatrick, Thilo Govinder
Apologies for Absence Denise Goodburn, Wendy
Horn
Minutes of the 2007 AGM/ Minutes of EGM
The
minutes were distributed and read. It was agreed that any matters arising
would be discussed as we came to them.
Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
The
Secretary’s report and the Treasurer’s Report were distributed and read.
(Copies attached) In summary: Saturday classes are still well attended.
Attendance at the Wednesday class has improved since the format was
changed. The workshops could have been better supported: the Salsa one did
best, though Geneva’s was surprisingly well attended for an evening event.
The Club claimed some of the money underwritten by the arts Council, but not
the full sum. There were a number of performances over the summer (listed)
Financially, the Club is in good shape. Some stock items have been bought.
A portable PA system has been purchased with a grant from the Arts Council.
Election of officers
All
members of the Committee stood down. Karey and Wendy both agreed (under
protest) not to stand for re-election, as they have both been absent for so
long. The other four were re-elected unanimously, along with Catherine
Kneen and Jane McDonald. The quorum for committee meetings was increased to
any four of the six.
Chrissy
said that she would like to continue to act as Treasurer and to produce the
newsletter, but she would like some help with the administrative side.
Adrienne agreed to help with liaison work, with Jane assisting. Jo was
confirmed as membership secretary.
Membership
It was
agreed to increase the membership fee to £25 per annum, to cover increased
costs. In place of the voucher system, all members will be given a free CD,
and will be able to borrow DVDs free of charge from the Club library, along
with the usual reductions in the cost of workshops.
Dance Classes
1.
Fees
It was
proposed to increase the fee for all classes to £5. (In the case of
Saturday, this would cover all morning, whether one or both classes were
attended). Celia proposed that pensioners should be given a reduction of
£1. Both these measures were agreed
It was
further proposed that members should have the opportunity to pay either for
four weeks at a time, or for a full term, or for half a term, giving them
the benefit of a discount for regular attendees. It was agreed to try
termly payments for a year, to see how it works. Jo will be responsible for
collecting fees-in-advance.
2.
Class Format
There
has been a call for a more structured format for Saturday classes. Chrissy’s
suggestion was to keep the basic two classes with a break system. The first
hour and a quarter will be for beginners, but other dancers can join in.
The second part will consist of half an hour’s drill, which can be done to a
DVD if Chrissy wants a rest, followed by choreography work. The style will
be more Egyptian, in contrast with the Wednesday class, which concentrates
on Tribal and fusion. We may also be able to do some freestyle dancing, or
work on improvisation techniques.
For the
Wednesday classes, Adrienne would like to continue with the format which
worked so well over the summer, a mixture of yoga, dance drills, and a
mixture of old and new choreographies.
Workshops
The next
workshop will be Michelle Pender’s, at which she has promised to teach us
some Nubian dance.
The
following one will be in January. Shona Hagan was pencilled in for this,
but it would be easier to invite her over in the summer when flights from
Southampton are running again. Other suggestions were Amanda Peters, Carol
Hall, Tracey Gibbs or Nancy Johnson.
Social Events
A hafla
is planned for Halloween. We will see how well attended it is before we do
anything else.
It was
agreed to hold some form of celebration on the last Saturday of term, 6th
December, in normal class time. This might include a “show and tell” event.
Performance
Several
members have expressed the wish to have more information about invitations
for the club to perform in public. (There have been a number of breakdowns
in communication, due to various causes.). It has been suggested by Jane
that a book could be kept in which all engagements are written down, and
members who are able to perform on that date can list their names. In this
way the members will know what is happening, and Chrissy will know which
dancers are available. The decision about who dances at which event will
still rest with Chrissy. It will also be proposed to appoint a Bookings
Secretary to act as a point of contact when Chrissy is absent or
unavailable. Adrienne has volunteered to do this as her name already
appears on the business cards.
AOB
Celia
expressed her view that performances should be as inclusive as possible,
with everyone doing as much as they are able to do. Adrienne replied that
we are hoping to start work on one or more dances which would have
opportunities for dancers of all different levels to take part.
A date
was agreed for the performance planning meeting: after class on 8th
November.
Thilo
suggested that we should have bazaars more often, so that we give newcomers
a chance to buy stuff. This met with general agreement.
Hilda
asked if anything further had been heard on bookings for corporate events?
The answer is no, but the structure is in place.
Shelley
suggested that perhaps Hediya could make a teaching DVD for use by
beginners. This was thought to be a good idea, and Adrienne says she will
look into some possibilities.
Adrienne
says she is ordering stuff from Moondance at the end of November, if anyone
wants to get anything. |
