L51HD5 AGM 7Dec24 Chairs Report Hlsb£JAKAI Chair's Report 2023-2024 Trustees and Associates As always, I wish to begin by thanking the other Trustees and all the Associates and other volunteers. It would be impossible for HDS lo function without their support and commitment. They give their time freely and enthusiastically and l am very grateful for their help. The Trustees were sad to say 'goodbye' to Natalie Kershaw who resigned in October 2024. Natalie has been a Trustee for a number of years and we very much valued her contributions and expertise as an educator and musician. Thank you lo Nalalie for her support. Thank you to Lizzie Abusch who has decided to slep down as Treasurer of HDS and who has resigned from the Trustees to enable a new appointment lo be made. Lizzie has been an exceptional Treasurer.. efficient, helpful, knowledgeable and reliable. We are delighted that she has decided to retain the Book keeper's role. We are always looking for new volunteers to help us with our activities so please get in touch if you are interested in becoming more involved. The Trustees met four times on Zoom during the year and there were regular meetings of our sub-committees, including the Teachers Sub-committee and Publications Sub-committee. Publlcatlons The Publications Sub-committee, chaired by Anne Daye, is one of our mosl active groups. Thank you to Anne for guiding the Publications work and also for your commitment and support. I particularly wish lo thank Jan and Derek Guyatt for their dedication, commitment and hard work in continuing to manage publicalions and our online shop. We are actively seeking people to take on all or some of these roles as Jan and Derek are keen to take on a less active role after many years of dedicated seNice to HDS. Work in progress includes a collection of dances for Queen Victoria by Joseph Lowe, Dances of the French Court, and some other projects in planning. Publications continue to sell steadily from the HDS online shop.
L51HD5 AGM 7Dec24 Chairs Report Events and Activities The theme of our 541h annual Summer School 2024 was Strictly Victorian. It was held at Bromsgrove School in the West Midlands. 12-19 July 2024. As usual there was a short weekend course and a full week's course running concurrently. Bookings for the weekend courses were g(xid but there were smaller numbers attending the week long option. There were several international attendees. Tuition from Birte Hoffmann- Cabenda, Sam Gosk and Libby Curzon was excÉllent and there was a good range of evening activities. Last year there was some dissatisfaction with the catering choices particulady for people who have vegetsrian or vegan diets. This was raised with Bromsgrove School and they took action to offer better choices. Special thanks to Helen Young, Summer School Manager and Gill Plant, Summer School Administrator, for their cheerful, calm and tireless work and support. Preparations are well advanced for the 2025 Summer School which will be held at Bromsgrove School. 11-18 July 2025. The focus will be on Dancing in the late Renaissance Courts of Italy, England and Fran. The tutors will be Markus Lehner, Anne Daye and Robert Huggett. We have considered other possible venues for the Summer School but Bromsgrove School is very competitively priced and has superb dance and drama facilities and helpful staff. The campus is large with attractive grounds. We ran the following weekend and one-day courses: Dances of Fashionable Society, 23 September 2023, at St Pancras Church Hall, London. This was a celebratory day, launching the new HDS publication of the same name by Ellis and Christine Rogers (who attended) with a day workshop run by Libby Curzon. America's Dance Revolution 1876-1900, 25-26 November 2023 at Sadler's Wells, London. This weekend course was led by Susan de Guardiola. Sadly bookings wer8 disappointing. Dance and Performance at the Jacobean Court, at Halsway Manor, Somerset, 26-28 January 2024. This residential weekend course was led by Anne Daye and Ann Hinchliffe and was fully booked. A Regency Dance Day with Richard Powers. 3 August 2024. at St Pancras Church Hall, London. This course was run jointiy with the Early Dan Circle and was fully booked. Dance Like a Tudor, 5 October 2024, Sl Pancras Church Hall, London. This popular course aimed at beginners to historical dance was led by Ann Hinchliffe and Helen Young. Future events in planning include a Stepping in Playford one day course on 8 February 2025 at Wolstanton near Newcastle-under-Lyme, led by Ann HinGhliffe and Libby Curzon.
L51HD5 AGM 7Dec24 Chairs Report Thank you to everyone who works quietly in the background, planning, finding tutors, managing bookings and payments, and organising practical arrangements, to ensure that things run smoothly on the day. HDS Website We are grateful to David Parsons for his work on keeping the website up to date and secure, and for introducing improvements. HDS Journal Thank you to David Parsons, Editor of the Joumal, and to the Editorial Committee. David maintains the Joumal pages on the website. This provides an invaluable resource for historical dance researchers and students. David adds new articles on- line and when there are a sufficient number they are compiled into a printed edition and sent to members. HDS Newsletter Sadly we have been unable to find anyone willing to take on the editorship of the HDS Newsletter. The Trustees agreed that it should be replaced with an Annual Review which will be sent out to members in the New Year. The Members Email News acls as a replacement to the Newsletter and goes out fortnightly to members. It is a compilation of events, activities and news items about historical dan. music. costume and related aclivilies. Contributions are always welcome and I rely on you to keep me informed. Social Media Thank you to Anne Smithies for her work in increasing our social media presence, particularly on YouTube and Facebook. Anne has been actively seeking opportunilies to increase the YouTube videos and these have considerably expanded during Ihe year. External Contacts and Collaboration HDS is keen to foster links with EDC and we were pleased lo be able to send a group of dancers to perform Renaissance danS at the Eady Dance Circle 40th Anniversary Festival, held at Hereford Town Hall, 20-22 October 2023. ID)HDS had been involved in the organisation of the first Festival. also presenting a dance sequence, and twelve dancers represented the society at the second one, several of whom are still active members. The programme included Dolce Amoroso Fuoco also danGed at the second Festival and Iwo balletti from our published and rerded collections. HDS was represented at the EDC Conference. the Oxford Symposium and the European Association for Dan History.
L51HD5 AGM 7Dec24 Chairs Report Anne Daye ran a workshop for the Society of Recorder Players in Brtstol and requests have followed from other branches for a dance workshop. During the year, HDS has received numerous enquiries from students, researchers, the media and the general public, mainly through the website. We try to provide helpful answers to all enquirers. Organisation We very much appreciate the support of you, our members. We rely on you to maintain a dynamic and thriving organisation. Thank you for your conts'nued support. The Secretary's report covers Membership but I would like to thank Anne and Richard Smithies for their work in maintaining the infrastw¢ture of HDS. Lynne Spicer November 2024
The Historical Dance Society Charity Number: 1178919
Treasurer’s Report 1 October 2023- 30 September 2024
The accounts included at the end of this report summarise the Society's financial transactions over the past two years.
Financial Summary:
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Total Income: £31,990
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Total Payments: £26,262
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Net Increase in Assets: £5,728
No long-term liabilities were recorded at the end of the year. The Society operates solely with the help of volunteers and does not engage in any fundraising activities.
Trustee Payments:
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Total Payments: £1,143
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Tutor Fees: £300
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Reimbursement for Costs: £843
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All payments are reviewed and deemed appropriate according to the Society's guidelines and constitution.
Subscriptions:
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Membership numbers remained static this year (approximately 91 paid members compared to last year’s 92).
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Although renewals decreased, a small influx of new members offset this.
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Membership income is down, reflecting our membership types, as we have 30 members who pay via five-year memberships and some who renew annually, affecting the income but not the membership numbers.
Donations:
- Received £214 via Gift Aid.
Books and Recordings:
- Sales of books and recordings continue to do well, generating £3,067 this year.
Events:
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The Society held three events and one co-production this year:
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America’s Dance Revolution: Deficit
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Dancing in Shakespeare’s Era: Surplus
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Strictly Victorian, the Summer School: Surplus (at the time of writing)
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Regency Dance Day with Richard Powers (collaboration with EDC): Broke even
Projects:
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Spent £2000 on new projects.
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Joseph Lowe dance collection will be available shortly.
Core Costs:
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Core and fixed costs include payments to run the website, online shop, associated IT costs, accounting software, insurance, Zoom, bank fees, taxes, and membership software.
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Although costs have risen, they are covered by our income.
Other Expenses:
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Costs incurred to produce our newsletter and journal.
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Supported a small team at the EDC Festival with financial help for rehearsals and travel.
Bursaries:
- Four bursaries awarded this year for subsidised attendance at two events, in line with our charitable remit.
Reserves:
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The Society maintains an established reserves policy, considering potential risks associated with its activities.
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Current reserves: approximately £36,038
Summary: Given that the Society operates on a cash basis, capturing the complete financial picture can be challenging. However, we are confident that our basic income met our core costs, allowing us to intentionally allocate funds raised while maintaining financial stability.
| DRAFT | Income | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | Expenditure | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voluntary Services | Subscriptons | 2,180 | 2,650 | ||||
| Donatons inc Gif Aid | 214 | 420 | |||||
| Trading Actvites | Books and recordings | 3,067 | 3,292 | Trading Actvites | Printng and postage | 653 | 660 |
| Projects | Projects | Books and recording | 2,000 | 250 | |||
| Events | Events | ||||||
| Workshops | Workshops | ||||||
| 2021/22 | Regency Summer School 2022 | Regency Summer School 2022 | 14,948 | ||||
| 22/23 | Dance in the Spanish Golden Age | 816 | 22/23 | Dance in the Spanish Golden Age | 936 | ||
| 22/23 | Shakespeare’s Dances: Online Festval | 823 | Shakespeare’s Dances: Online Festval | 190 | |||
| 22/23 | Italian Renaissance Dance - Dances for Noble Halls | 24 | 22/23 | Italian Renaissance Dance - Dances for Noble Halls | 166 | ||
| 22/23 | Dancing Well, Dancing Longer | 3,928 | 22/23 | Dancing Well, Dancing Longer | 3,638 | ||
| 22/23 | Summer School 2023 Dances of the Italian Renaissance | 9,567 | Summer School 2023 Dances of the Italian Renaissance | 9,198 | 1,101 | ||
| 22/23 | Dances for Fashionable Society - Launch | 196 | 533 | 22/23 | Dances for Fashionable Society - Launch | 47 | 280 |
| 23/24 | Summer School 2024 Strictly Victorian | 14,823 | Summer School 2024 Strictly Victorian | 2,066 | |||
| 23/24 | America's Dance Revoluton | 811 | 550 | 23/24 | America's Dance Revoluton | 1,033 | 1,056 |
| 23/24 | Dancing in Shakespeare’s Era | 7,765 | 700 | 23/24 | Dancing in Shakespeare’s Era | 8,533 | |
| 24/25 | Dance Like a Tudor | 944 | 24/25 | Dance Like a Tudor | 280 | ||
| Management | Management | ||||||
| IT and core costs | IT and core costs | 1,387 | 1,066 | ||||
| General Publicity and Communicatons | General Publicity and Communicatons | 517 | 426 | ||||
| Journal | 70 | 544 | |||||
| Research/rehearsals | Research/rehearsals | 478 | |||||
| RECEIPTS | 29,990 | 23,303 | PAYMENTS | 26,262 | 25,262 | ||
| Interest received from COIF Deposit Fund (estmated) | 2,000 | 1,929 | Donaton given | 400 | |||
| Total RECEIPTS | 31,990 | 25,232 | Total PAYMENTS | 26,262 | 25,662 | ||
| ASSETS | |||||||
| BALANCE SHEET | CIO HSBC | 26,747 | 23,019 | ||||
| Balance from last year | 57,057 | 57,675 | COIF Charity Fund Deposit Account | 36,038 | 34,038 | ||
| Add total receipts from above | 31,990 | 25,044 | |||||
| Less total payments from opposite | 26,262 | 25,662 | |||||
| Balance at year end 30/09/2023 | 62,785 | 57,057 | TOTAL Carried Forward to 2023/24 | 62,785 | 57,057 |
Rachel Cavet
Financial Analyst, CGMA Simon & Schuster (UK) Ltd | 1st Floor, 222 Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1X 8HB
22/07/2025
To whom it may concern,
In connection with my review of the Historical Dance Society’s annual return and accounts for the period of October 1[st] 2023 to September 30[th] 2024, I have found no material discrepancies in the accounts. I believe that the annual return reflects the true position of the charity.
I confirm that I am was independent of the Historical Dance Society for the period covered in this annual return.
Yours sincerely,
Rachel Cavet