North Berkshire Community Contra Dance invites you to come and dance: Saturday, December 9th, in Williamstown, MA. Andy Davis will call a program of New England classics (including some “old chestnuts”), to live fiddle music by George Wilson and Selma Kaplan. 

The dance will run 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the Community Hall of the First
Congregational Church, 906 Main St., Williamstown. Admission is
pay-as-you-can:  $12 – $20 suggested, and barter is also welcome.  Masks are optional, though encouraged — if you feel ill in any way, please stay home and come again next month.

Andy Davis will teach all dances in an inclusive and welcoming style, using gender-free phrasing. His goal is to put everyone at ease so they can have fun and dance.  Music will be provided by George Wilson, whose dynamic fiddling, strongly influenced by Cape Breton and French Canadian styles, has been popular with contra dancers and concert-goers since the late 1970s. George will be accompanied by Selma Kaplan on keyboard. Selma is an accomplished pianist, composer, and arranger, and one of the most requested dance musicians on the East Coast.

While we expect this dance to be a pleasure for all who come, sadly, Tony Parkes, whom we had originally scheduled to call a program of “old chestnuts”, will not be here. He will be home recuperating from a serious illness. You can see his latest health update and write him an encouraiging note here: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tonyparkes Here’s a snapshot of Tony calling the first dance in our current series, back in May of 2019:

Thank you, Tony, for helping us all enjoy community dancing!

Contra dancing is a living tradition in New England. (And when we say “contra dance”, we really mean community events with group dances in various formations which could be more specifically described as squares, and circles, as well as contras, and other longways sets.)  For hundreds of years, neighbors and friends have made their own social entertainment in this highly collaborative dance form.

New dancers and families with children are encouraged to arrive by 7:30 for instruction in the basics. All are welcome. Come alone, or with friends — most people change partners for each dance throughout the evening. We hope to see you there!