The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## **Chairman’s Report - Peter Barnard, Chairman**
## **Committee members and associates**
I would like to start my report by noting once more my gratitude to the other trustees and those who act in an associate capacity for us for their dedication and hard work in making our HDS efforts over the past 12 months so successful. Their individual and collective work is highly regarded and appreciated and enables us to offer an extensive range of services and events. I am pleased that our new trustees, N Kershaw and A Ashton-Redlin , have settled well into the work of the committee.
This year I want to pay special thanks to two individuals who have gone over and beyond what I think the society could ask of them.
E. Bowen has been working all year on the new HDS website. This has been a mammoth task as it includes the shop and all the publications. E. Bowen has a full-time job and has been spending her free time on our new website. She approached me in 2019 to offer to design a new website for us, and we’re both delighted that it was launched at the end of October. The website address remains the same. The new site will allow us, inter alia, to have more flexibility about our sales of books, CDs, and music tracks. Her contribution to the society has been well beyond what we could have expected, and we are very grateful to her.
A. Smithies is our membership secretary. Last year we invested in the WebCollect software to bring shape to our membership administration. Over the year A. Smithies worked to bring order to the membership so that people can join – yes, now via the new website – and we now have an accurate tally of our members. WebCollect also provides us with a group email facility to contact members. With Covid19, this has proved an invaluable feature for us. With our planned Elizabethan Revels cancelled because of Lockdown, A Smithies came up with the idea of putting together some teaching videos for the dances we would have done in Warwick. She then worked with the other performers/teachers to edit the videos and put them onto our YouTube channel. These have been a great success, and have given others – both within and outside the society - access to high quality teaching resources when they cannot attend a workshop. This work built on the start of a collection of dance display videos on YouTube, but Anne has propelled it far forward. Secondly, she has been promoting - via social media and a network of contacts - our weekly HDS online talks which she has also recorded. She edits the videos and puts them up on YouTube for anyone to watch. As with E Bowen, A Smithies has gone well beyond her brief. She has enabled our very significant movement into an online presence for content which is now accessed globally. Our work is now engaging with people well beyond the range we would normally expect, and it enables us to be seen as the ‘go to’ historical dance organisation in the UK.
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## CIO
At last year's AGM I reported on the progress made to close the HDS charity given that we had now become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). I can now report that the old charity has now been closed along with our old bank accounts.
## HDS Events
The advent of Covid19 has severely limited our activities. In the period before Lockdown we held successful workshops with M. Lehner and N. Klinkeberg, and two Working with the Sources workshops on 15[th] and 16[th] century dance with H Dennison and A Daye. Last November and in conjunction with InStep, Roehampton University and EFDSS, we held a very successful weekend conference (‘Stepping On’) in Cecil Sharp House in London. Finally, we returned to High Leigh for a weekend of dances of the French Court led by A Daye. After that, all activity was curtailed. However, as I have said above, we moved our focus into online activity.
By the time of the AGM, we will have held our online Playford Festival – _Playford – Then and Now._ We have 10 speakers presenting across the second weekend in November.
## Online activity during Lockdown
Faced with the prospect of no actual dancing – workshops, summer school – we decided early in the pandemic that we would put new effort into reaching members and others via the internet. Weekly blogs to members started in April and have continued. These have been much appreciated and have allowed us to maintain contact with members. Given the age profile of many of our members, this contact was seen as socially important.
Secondly, the regular posting of online dance tutorials onto our YouTube channel gave us a wider audience than we had previously had, with content that played to our strengths. It also allowed members of the society beyond our workshop usual teachers to show their teaching and dancing talents. This should continue.
Thirdly, we started a regular series of online talks – weekly until September and then monthly. These have been delivered on our Zoom account and have given many people inside and outside the society the chance to share their knowledge and expertise with others. These talks have all been recorded and are posted onto our YouTube channel for anyone to see. All this activity has been free to access. The recordings provide an important legacy of this expertise and knowledge, supplementing the paper records in our archives.
Finally, the committee have been holding meetings online on Zoom rather than in person. These have proved to be very efficient in handling our discussions and decisions. The savings in hall hire and travel expenses have offset the cost of the Zoom account.
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## Members
Last year we held the first Members’ Forum which was a success. This year’s forum will be held immediately after the AGM. After the formalities of the AGM, it will give members a chance to raise and discuss matters with the committee members about the future plans of the society. We see this as a valuable addition to our communications with members.
## New Normal
The pandemic has led to many changes in our day to day lives, and has made a dramatic difference to the normal activities of the society. I realised that the future will be a very different one. With that in mind, I launched a series of consultations on Zoom with small groups of trustees, associates, and members about what they saw as ‘the new normal’ for the society. The discussions have been invaluable and form a blueprint for the future work of the society.
## Publications
H Dennison and P Kent have completed their book on Domenico which is now on sale. The forthcoming CD and book about Dances for the French Court has been delayed owing to Covid19.
## Other work
Suffice it to say, the committee has a stretching programme of developments, publications and events, and all that work is highly valued. This work is detailed in our newsletters, on our website, and in our social media. Taken together, it all represents an energetic and vibrant organisation.
## And finally…
I have been a trustee since 2013 and chairman since 2015. Back then, I set out to bring new organisation, administration and processes to the society – professionalising the way in which we do things. This has been supplemented this year with a significant move online. I have much enjoyed my work with my fellow trustees and our associates. I think I have now completed the work I set out to do, and I have decided to step down at the AGM as chairman and also as a trustee. The society is not only well set up, but is also now at a juncture where a new leader con concentrate on dance and music related aspects rather than working on our structure and processes. I am also delighted that the trustees are very good individuals who will be complemented by Pete Hunt who I hope will join as treasurer and trustee. His financial background will be enormously helpful.
During my time as chairman we have, inter alia:
- Changed the name of the society
- Established the society as a CIO
- Introduced online membership software
- Established the regular member’s newsletter in a new and attractive format
- Expanded the use of social media – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
- Created a new HDS website
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
- Developed a 5-year strategy to streamline our publications
- Set up new marketing materials and formatted a more standardised style
- Established online teaching videos on YouTube
- Set up regular online talks on Zoom
- Established the annual informal member’s forum
- Formed new relationships with other organisations interested in dance and music
- Moved the HDS archive to the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow
- Moved the summer school to new locations
- Held anniversary balls.
Other interesting and valuable initiatives are underway, but are as yet incomplete.
I look forward to welcoming the new chairman. I thank you for your support of the committee and of the society.
Peter Barnard
23 October, 2020
**Secretary’s Report -** Richard Smithies, Secretary
## **Membership**
The Society currently has 116 members including 14 international members.
During the year we have gained new members from overseas and others have rejoined which is very heartening. Our Membership Secretary, A Smithies, has worked hard to ensure that our membership details are now reliable. Web Collect is working well thanks entirely to her which has enabled The Society to keep its members informed of the many things it is doing.
Membership continues to support the activities of HDS so I would encourage everyone to continue their membership.
## **The Global Reach of HDS**
## **Face Book**
21 Events were posted
## 52,300 people were reached
## 1,600 people responded
Between 1[st] August and 24[th] November 37,500 people were reached
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## **YouTube**
HDS has three Channels
## _**The Historical Dance Society**_
Subscribers 1,441 Views 152,300 Watch Time 2,900 hours Most watched videos The Galliard 34,731 views La Volta 24,192 Branle l’Official 22,785
_**Webinar Channel**_ Subscribers 149 Views 4,400 Watch Time 619 hours
Most watched videos
Captain Cook A Culture of Music and Dance Dr H Blasdale Clarke 485 views Baroque Dance Notation P Waite 445 “Le solite creaze” How to behave well during in 16[th] Century dance 397 M Lehner
## _**Virtual Revels Tutorials**_
Subscribers 82 Views 4,800 Watch Time 206 hours Most watched videos Launch of the Virtual Revels with Pavane 377 Branle des Lavandieres 351 Spanioletta 350
## **Eventbrite**
A Smithies set this up and the first lecture promoted using Eventbrite was by Dr A Daye which sold out!
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
8 out of 9 lectures since then have sold out.
Attendees: 810
People from 37 countries have attended the lectures.
## _**Vimeo**_
A Smithies (assisted by P Smithies) is currently setting up an HDS account for the sale of recordings of our Playford Now and Then Festival and other future recordings. So watch out for these!
## _**Twitter**_
A Smithies continues to post and share relevant HDS events which has 389 Followers.
## **Newsletter**
Yet again I pay tribute to A Hinchliffe for her tireless effort in producing the Newsletter, always packed with lively and informative articles.
Richard Smithies
Secretary
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## HDS
## **The Historical Dance Society**
## **Charity Number: 1178919**
|||**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2019/20**|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2019/20**|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2019/20**|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2019/20**|**RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS 2019/20**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||||||
|**Receipts**|||**2019/20**|**2018/19**||**Payments**|||**2019/20**|**2018/19**|
|**Voluntary Services**||Subscriptions|2,525|2,568||**Direct Charitable**||Subscriptions(fees & refunds)|90|-|
|||Grants|-|-||||Bursaries|-|1,815|
||||||||||||
|**Trading A**|**ctivities**|Books and recordings|2,078|1,877||**Expenditure**||Books and recordings|1,388|575|
|||Workshops|119|502||||Workshops|1,142|768|
|||Summerschool 2020|5,699|-||||Summerschool 2020|6,189|97|
|||Summerschool 2019|-|16,838||||Summerschool 2019|91|17,688|
|||High Leigh|4,032|-||||High Leigh|4,509|465|
|||HalswayManor|-|5,297||||HalswayManor|320|5,022|
|||Rokoko Quadrille|-|1,060||||Rokoko Quadrille|-|1,067|
|||Newark|-|2,730||||Newark|-|1,822|
|||Fabrito Caroso Weekend
391||587|||Fabrito Caroso Weekend
909|||648|
|||Dances of the French Ct CD|15|-||||Dances of the French Ct CD|225|6,035|
|||Elizabethan Revels April 2020|1,859|900||||Elizabethan Revels April 2020|2,626|45|
||||||||||||
|||Finance & Core Admin|963|285||||Finance & Core Admin|1,521|1,620|
|||Teachers,Music and Pubs research|-|-||||Teachers,Music and Pubs research|328|319|
|||General Publicity& Communications|-|6||||General Publicity& Communications|1,323|1,058|
|||EFDSS Sale of Pubs Collaboration|-|373||||EFDSS Sale of Pubs Collaboration|-|73|
|||Journal & Conf Proc|-|-||||Journal & Conf Proc|-|-|
|||External Liaison|-|-||||External Liaison|66|-|
|||Miscellaneous|10|-||||Miscellaneous|-|64|
|||**Total RECEIPTS**|**17,691**|33,023||||**Total PAYMENTS**|**20,727**|39,182|
||||||||||||
|||||||||**ASSETS**|||
|||||||||Cash at Bank and in hand at 30th September 2020|||
||**BALANCE SHEET**||**2019/20**||||||||
|||||||||CIO HSBC|547||
||Balance from lastyear||£44,044|||||COIF CharityFund Deposit Account|40,457||
||Add total receipts from above||£17,691|||||TransferWise|4||
||Less totalpayments from above||£20,727|||||PayPal|-||
||**Balance atyear end 30/9/20**||**£41,008**|||||**TOTAL Carried Forward to 2020-21**|**41,008**||
## **General**
The accounts are prepared on a cash basis as approved by the Charity Commission.
The Society does not employ any staff or perform Fund Raising. The Society had approximately 150 paid up members during the year.
## **Assets and Basis**
At the year-end 30th September 2020, the Society’s assets were £41,007.96.
This is a reduction of approximately £3,036 from the previous year. This is mainly due to cancellation of Summer-school and other events due to the pandemic and a deferred workshop payment. There have also been some investments in software and systems to improve our administration processes and online activity.
The accounts are presented as ‘cash-accounts’ showing transactions as they appear in the bank accounts during the financial year, with transactions in 2018/19 shown for completeness.
## HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## **Summer-school**
Overall, the cancellation of the Summer-school resulted in a loss against budgeted income and expenditure in the year, showing a deficit of £581 (including a deferred expense from 2019). Income shown is from Summer school fees, which was refunded - outgoings were incurred for unrecoverable expenses for venue inspections, printing and publicity, in addition to the refunded fees.
## **Other Workshops and Events**
Weekend and other workshops showed a loss of approximately £2,196 during the year. However, balances for individual weekend workshops are not fully reflected in these accounts as income and expenditure can occur outside of the financial year shown. This is the case particularly for the Elizabethan Revels, for which £900 of income occurred in the previous year, the Fabrito Caroso weekend and expenses for Halsway Manor weekend carried over from the previous year. There was also a deferred payment of £1,023.22 from an earlier year for an unpresented cheque.
## **Bursaries**
No bursaries were awarded during the year.
## **Gift Aid**
The Society has been accepted for the Gift Aid scheme by HMRC. This will enable HDS to claim Gift Aid on eligible donations and membership subscriptions back dated to 25th June 2018. Gift Aid is open to all members and donors who have paid sufficient UK tax in the periods covered.
## **Transition to Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)**
The transition to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) was completed during the year; following transfer of assets the old bank accounts were closed and the old non-CIO HDS charity was wound up.
## **Liabilities**
There were no known long-term loan liabilities at year-end.
## **Trustee Fees and Expenses**
A total of £480 was paid to trustees during the year. Of this, the trustees received £272 to reimburse trustees for travel and accommodation (including for travel in the previous year). The remaining £208 was to reimburse trustees for other expenses incurred. No fees for teaching were paid to trustees. Such fees and associated expenses are allowed under the Society’s constitution.
## **Stock**
The Society holds in stock a small number of books and CDs to support immediate sales efforts. Apart from initial printings of the higher quality publications and CDs, the Society reprints in small quantities to meet requirements. Detailed accounts for stock and sales are maintained and are available for scrutiny if required. The value of the stock is not presented due to the low value and varying nature.
## HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020
The Historical Dance Society Annual Report 2019/2020
## **Sale of Publications**
Sale of books and recordings continued to provide steady income, with a surplus of approximately £689.
## **Funds and Reserves**
The Society has maintained a Reserves Policy in consideration of the potential risks from its activities. The Society has set an Unrestricted Reserve of £30,000 to cover identified potential financial liabilities under stress conditions.
Hon. Treasurer, HDS November 2020
HDS Annual Report – year ending 30[th] September 2020