MAY 2026 NEWSLETTER
Here is our fourth newsletter for 2026.
Here is my first correspondence from our new apartment in the city.. We have safely returned from our middle east holiday, and life is becoming more stable at last. Just have to get rid of a few more boxes of stuff LOL.
Information below on:
2026 Regular Socials
Class Changes and Holiday Closures
Class Lengths vs Price Rises
LDSA Travel News
See you on the dance floor,
Liz & Peter Heath and the Instructor Team
2026 Regular Socials
Socials are an integral part of our line dance organisation. They provide an opportunity for our dancers to test out their knowledge and skills, check out their options to stretch themselves in a higher level, and meet other members of our community from different regional areas.
Following the survey run last social, we will be continuing with the same format as last year, with an afternoon tea break at around 3pm, so bring a small plate to share, and your own coffee cup if you want the free tea and coffee we provide.
The program is made up from requests from those attending. There has been an increase in the new members of our community attending the socials, which is wonderful. We have adjusted the programme to accommodate this with an increased number of easy level dances on the program.
The social dates for this year are:
Sunday 14th June 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Sunday 12th July 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Sunday 16th August 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Sunday 20th September 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Sunday 25th October 1:30pm to 5:00pm
Sunday 29th November 1:30pm to 5:00pm
The Address is: West Croydon and Kilkenny RSL, 19 Rosetta St, West Croydon.
Dancing starts at 1.30pm and concludes at 5pm at a cost of $15 (cash only). The program is run by request, and everyone gets a request form when they enter, to nominate 5 dances they would like to do. We try to ensure that you get at least one of those, but we only do about 5 level 6+ dances during the session, so don't just ask for really hard ones (or lots of unusual ones), or you could miss out altogether.
We have a break about half way through, where we share a combined afternoon tea for 20 minutes. Please bring a small plate of food to share with your fellow dancers. Also bring a coffee cup if you wish to take advantage of the free tea and coffee provided. We will have minimal fridge space, and a pie warmer, but no oven, so please don’t bring food that needs cooking or defrosting. We feel this is good way to assist people to mix and chat. Doors will open 30 minutes before the starting time.
Class Changes and Holiday Closures
As of the first week in June, all classes should be back to normal.
There will be a new class starting on Wednesday 3rd June from 11am till Noon in our Unley Venue. This will be run by Sue J, having now completed her relief work while Peter was away.
Class Lengths vs Price Rises
The last time we had a general price rise in our organisation was March 2022. Last Year we did raise the price of the 1 hour classes from 9 to 10 dollars to reduce the usage of coins. A lot of things have changed since 2022, and we are struggling to cover the additional costs. Public Liability Insurance, Music Licensing, cost of music, venue hire, fuel etc have gone up considerably in that time.
One of our original principals when the organisation was formed in 1993 was that we would have "consistent class length (2 hours) and class pricing (same for all) across the network". This principal has become untenable as we have explored different length classes to accommodate our aging population, and the modern "fast food" mentality. We experimented with 1.5 hour and 1 hour classes in the recovery period of covid, with a high degree of success.
Some of our 2 hour classes are being surveyed about remaining 2 hour, or changing to a 1.5 hour format.
We have decided on a class price rise starting in June 2026.
Existing 1 hour classes will remain at $10.
Existing 1.5 hour classes will rise from $12 to $14
Classes that change from 2 hour to 1.5 hour will stay at $15 (cost reduction due to shorter venue hire)
Classes that remain at 2 hours will be $17
The Challenge Class will remain at $20
Some regional classes may have different prices to this. Speak to your instructors for clarification
If you have a multipass with clicks remaining on them from 1st June, you can still use them, just supplement the cost with coin to make up the difference.
LDSA Travel News
Our long awaited trip to Turkiye, Egypt and Jordan is now complete and everyone is back home exhausted but safe. It was a trip full of scenery, desert, ancient cities, monuments and tombs. The tour guides we had in all our destinations were phenomenal, and they ensured we felt safe at all times. Never once did we feel threatened or unsure of our safety. Many of us had little knowledge about our destinations, though all were experienced travelers. We certainly are now much more aware of what the "middle east" has to offer. There was only one sign of the current war in any of our destinations, and that was a major lack of tourists, especially in Turkiye and even worse in Jordan.
This is such a shame, as these countries rely on the tourist income for a very large part of their economy. Everyone we met with, guides, hosts, hotel staff, shop keepers and caterers were all friendly, and thankful for our presence, as so many people had cancelled. They are desperate for a return to normal conditions. All three countries are solid, reliable and safe locations, with the unfortunate situation that they are bordered by other countries that are less reliable.
Please don't just think of the "middle east" as a conflict infested region, as there is so much more to this area. The links back to ancient civilisations from multiple thousands of Years, and the footprints they have left on the landscape are mind boggling. The remains of cities and monuments from Alexander the Great, the Greeks, The Romans, The Hittites, The Egyptian Pharaohs and the Nabataeans in Petra were all stunning, just to name a few.
The food is amazing, the people are friendly, and there are many activities waiting to be tried. We did hot air ballooning, mud baths, swum in the Dead Sea, crawled through ancient tombs, gawked at Pyramids and Temples, and climbed uncountable numbers of steps.
This has to be a bucket list area for anyone that considers themselves to be a seasoned traveler.
We were familiar with the Pyramids, Troy, and Petra's Treasury before we left, but unaware these were just the tip of the iceberg. Make sure you dig a little deeper, its fascinating, and its worth it.
Next Years trip will be to Greece, Viking Mediterranean Cruise, Italy and Malta. We already have 7 travelers, so consider joining us for a wonderful relaxing time from 2nd to 30th August 2027.
CLICK HERE for a few holiday snaps to give you a taste of this latest adventure.
