Elma McCausland started Scottish Dancing at the Aberdeen Branch children’s class, competing at festivals in school and Guide teams.  In 1951 she joined the Society and continued dancing in demonstration teams at displays, festivals, television performances and representing Scotland at International level.  She became a Society teacher in 1956 and since then has been teaching Scottish Country Dancing at all levels. She also taught ladies step dancing, trained demonstration and festival teams, tutored certificated classes locally, overseas and at St Andrews.

She has danced at International Folk festivalsand taught at day and week-end schools from Elementary to Master class levels in Scotland, England, Ireland, Holland, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, United States and Canada. She has represented Sydney, Australia on the Executive Committee, served as convenor of the former Examination Committee, has been Deputy Director of Summer School and inaugurated the Teaching Skills Courses.  

      As an Examiner she has examined at the Summer Schools at St Andrews, and in the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and the UK.  A member of the Education and Training Committee, she is currently co-ordinator of examinations for the Society, She also teaches weekly classes for Primary Schoolchildren in a troubled area of North Belfast, teenagers in West Belfast and an adult class in her home town of Bangor.  She has organized classes for the Belfast Education Committee to enable Primary School teachers to run Scottish Dance classes in their schools, and she is running the Train the Teachers Certificate class for the Belfast Branch.

      Elma has served on the Belfast Branch committee for many years, serving as Demonstration secretary and teacher and also served as secretary of the Co-ordinating Committee for Northern Ireland. 

At the A.G.M in Perth in November 2004 Elma was awarded the Society Scroll of Honor for many years of dedicated service to the Society and Belfast Branch.  Throughout, she has always striven to uphold the traditions, and maintain the standards of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.