Dance Teachers
These are our SW 2026 Teachers.
Kate Gentles
Kate danced as a child in Northumberland, and then started attending regular classes as a student in Cambridge.
She danced in London for several years, dancing with the London demonstration team and meeting her husband at
social dancing at the Church of Scotland. After returning to Cambridge, she took her teaching certificate in
1997 with Susan Nedderman in Cambridge and now teaches the class that she learned with. She has taught in
Cambridge for over 25 years, at various levels with both the RSCDS branch and the university, including teaching
for the Dancing Achievement Award. More recently, she has organised teams from Cambridge for an annual dance
festival/competition in Newcastle, which has been particularly valuable in giving students the opportunity to
dance to an extremely high standard.
She also learned step dancing from Susan and ran a weekly Zoom step class throughout lockdown, which is still
going 5 years later.
She has taught both country dancing and step dancing at St Andrews and New Zealand summer schools and at day and
weekend schools, from beginners through to advanced. She particularly enjoys encouraging people to develop both
their technique and their social dancing skills through a combination of old and new dances.
Jody Kulas
 Jody was raised in Foremost, AB and her journey into Scottish country dancing began after college when she
attended her first class in Medicine Hat. She was instantly captivated by the vibrant energy and community
spirit of the dance. This passion led her to pursue formal training, earning her Level 1 Certificate in 2006
and her Level 2 Certificate in 2008 at the Teachers' Association of Canada (T.A.C.) Summer School.
After moving to Ontario, Jody became an integral part of the Scottish country dancing community. She has taught
various levels of classes with the RSCDS Ottawa Branch and the affiliated Ardbrae group. Currently, she is
nurturing a new class in Pembroke, ON, where she finds immense satisfaction in teaching newcomers.
Jody's experiences have taken her around Canada and the USA to teach weekend workshops, at Pinewoods camp and
return to the T.A.C. Summer School as an instructor. Her commitment to the community extended to serving on the
T.A.C. committee, where she was the Director of Summer School for four years, organizing events in various
locations across the USA and Canada.
Since Covid, Jody has found a renewed appreciation for the social interaction that makes Scottish country
dancing truly magical. For her, it is this social connection that brings the dance to life, creating a unique
blend of excellent music and camaraderie that is unmatched by any other activity.
Charles Liu
Charles was introduced to Scottish Country Dancing by his then girlfriend (now his wife). He was hooked after dancing
for the entire evening of the Boston Highland Ball having only started Scottish dancing a couple of months earlier.
After receiving his teaching certification, he served as the chair of the Teaching and Music Committee of the RSCDS Boston Branch,
organizing many workshops to promote dancing, share teaching ideas and cultivate new dance teachers. He now teaches regularly
in several classes of the Boston Branch, and has taught workshops in the New England area and beyond. He was a member of the
North American team at the Newcastle Festival in 2025, and organized and coached the Boston Branch Team in the North American
Festival in 2026. In addition to teaching steps and figures, he likes to encourage dancers to pay attention to the music,
interact with fellow dancers, and work together as a team as part of a dance. Besides Scottish dancing, Charles plays fiddle
at Scottish and Cape Breton sessions and for local Scottish dance classes.
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