David

Black and White Ball group photo

Black and White Ball

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Black and White Ball group photo
Note:  click on image above for hi res (2880 x 1114 pixel) version.

My home contra dance, taking place each month with the Northern Spy band, has been taking place since November of 1980. From time to time, it’s worth trying something just a little bit different, and so this month’s dance was billed as a Black and White Ball. We talked it up for the several preceding months and I sent out extra publicity to my e-mail list, including a post the day beforehand saying, in essence, “This is for real! We are hoping that people will dress up.”

Mirabile dictu! They did. As the hall started to fill, I watched in delight as a steady stream of dancers appeared, most in fact wearing black and white, with enough bright colors mixed in to provide a sparkle.

Winter Dance Week

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One of the happiest places to spend the time between Christmas and New Year’s is Winter Dance Week held at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, held each year between December 26 – January 1. I’ve been fortunate to be hired at the Folk School in the past to call American dances, English country dances, or, as was the case this year, a combination of the two.

WDW was full this year, just over 100 people registered. It’s a smaller event than the Christmas Country Dance School in Berea, Kentucky, which I’ve never attended. One of the terrific things about the smaller size is you really have an an opportunity to dance and to talk with virtually every other person at the week. The sociability is enhanced by everyone living on campus and taking meals together. The food is good, the ambiance warm and welcoming, and the dance floor in Keith House is one of my very favorite dance venues. What’s not to like?

One of my classes was billed as Challenging English, and it attracted about half of the camp each day.

Contras? Squares?

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Members of the governing board of Country Dance and Song Society recently had an e-mail exchange about how to boost attendance at some of our summer camp weeks. Among other topics, we talked about how American dances might best be incorporated into other programs. One energetic and thoughtful young dancer ended his post with this comment: “For young American-only dancers, the key to enthusiasm is to have age peers enthusiastically interested in whatever is being danced. We all know this. My point is that “[contras and squares] vs English” is not the right grouping with regard to enthusiasm, but rather “contras vs [squares or English].”

Two Superb Contra Videographers

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We’re seeing a proliferation of contra dance videos in recent years, spurred by the availability of equipment (some fine footage being captured on cameras as simple as cell phones) and sharing sites such as Vimeo and YouTube. Two individuals in particular are creating uniformly excellent films. Doug Plummer is a professional photographer and an avid …

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Hot dance videos

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Between CDSS and the Square Dance History Project, my life has been more than full of late. We’ve added some wonderful footage to the SDHP site, including two clips filmed in Kentucky in 1963, material for which I’ve been waiting more than two years to obtain permission. Here’s a link to the four-couple square and …

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It’s Fun To Hunt!

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Ralph Page gave this title to a regular column in his Northern Junket magazine, in which he shared information he had gleaned from looking through old newspapers in New Hampshire and Vermont. For those of us interested in dance history, he’s absolutely right. Late last month, CDSS member Karen Mueller-Harder heard a wonderful story on …

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Middle School Dances!

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Two middle school dances within a week, no band, just me and my iPod at the Hulbert Outdoor Center, which hosts groups throughout the year. I’m a regular on the program for several of these schools, and it’s fun to return to the same venue with some of the same adults—teachers or HOC staff—and a …

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