These are our SW 2024 Teachers.
- Marjorie McLaughlin
- Moira Korus
- Arthur Baum
Marjorie McLaughlin
Marjorie was born in Glasgow and first learned country dancing in school in Scotland.
After her family emigrated to the United States, her father, Tom Easton, began a SCD class
in Cleveland, Ohio, and she danced in that class throughout her teen years. In 1973, after moving to
California, she became a member of the San Francisco Branch and served in various capacities on the
Branch Committee and as Chair of the Asilomar Weekend. She took her Preliminary Certificate in 1985
and earned her Teacher's Certificate at St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1987.
In January of 1992, she married a fellow dancer, Richard McLaughlin, and moved to San Diego, where
she teaches for the San Diego Branch. She maintains an active interest in the Teachers' Association of
Canada and chaired the local arrangements committee when TAC held its AGM in San Francisco in August
1991. From 1998 to 2003 and again from 2017 to 2021, she was editor of the TAC newsletter, TACTalk.
Being a glutton for punishment, she has just taken on the editor’s position for the RSCDS Scottish
Country Daner magazine.
She has had the pleasure of teaching workshops in many North American Branches and enjoys the
opportunity to teach and learn from dancers in other areas. She lectured on SCD history as part of
the Tokyo Branch's 10th Anniversary celebration and traveled to New Zealand to teach at that Branch's
Labour Weekend Workshop. Her dance travels have taken her to places such as Austria, Nova Scotia, and
Greece! It's the most incredible and rewarding hobby she can imagine.
Moira Korus
Moira was born in Edinburgh and emigrated to Toronto as an adult. Moira first danced at primary school
in Leith and in the girl guides and danced a little bit as a teenager in Edinburgh with Bill Hamilton as
her teacher. Moira went back to dancing in Toronto in 1994 and in 2002 started to teach at the Rosedale
Children Class which her daughter Jennie attended. She obtained her teaching certificate in 2006 and has
continued to teach at Rosedale each week as well as the Glenview Social Group. Moira has also taught many
workshops, the Toronto demo pool, various level of branch classes, the young adult class, all levels of DAA,
medal tests and at TAC Summer school. Moira is passionate about encouraging youth to dance and loves the
energy they create on the dance floor. She chairs the youth committee for TAC and recently joined the
TAC board as well as the RSCDS Toronto board. Moira retired from nursing at Sickkids Hospital in 2022,
where she worked for 35 years. She hopes to spend her retirement dancing, teaching dance and travelling.
Arthur Baum
Arthur discovered Scottish country dancing as a young adult and was instantly hooked by its combination of
thrilling music, intricate patterns, and aerobic athleticism—not to mention the warm welcome he received as a new
dancer. Be kind to new dancers; you never know how great an impact a kind word or compassionate gesture will have!
Arthur started dancing in Los Angeles and was a member of the Los Angeles Branch demonstration team before
moving back east. He attended TAC Summer School as a Bob Blackie scholar in 2012 and led the returning Blackie
scholars in a laudable performance of Hannah Montana’s Hoedown Throwdown in Farmville, Virginia in 2015. Even
before his teacher training, Arthur shared his enthusiasm for Scottish dance by teaching dances to young people
at schools and summer camps whenever opportunities arose.
Since completing the RSCDS teaching certificate at St. Andrews in 2016, Arthur has taught dancers of all levels.
He currently teaches a weekly class in Charlotte, North Carolina and leads the dance group there. Having danced
and enjoyed the wonderful music at Scottish Weekend for several years, he is excited to be teaching at Scottish Weekend!
