New Year’s Dance — New Dancers Wanted! And old dancers and young dancers; expert and uncertain; enthusiastic and hesitantly willing to give it a try. All will be gladly welcomed to our first community contra dance of 2024, on Saturday, January 13th. 

Dances will be taught by Paul Rosenberg, and live fiddle music will be led by Eric Buddington.  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 will be required for this post-holiday dance.

Paul Rosenberg specializes helping newcomers discover the joys of dancing. He is one of the founders of the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and has called at festivals throughout the Northeast, but he says he was afraid of dancing until he found contra in his 30s. He will open the evening with simpler dances appropriate for novices and families with children, gradually building the dancers’ skill level and confidence while having fun.  The calling will be gender-neutral.

Local musicians, Eric Buddington, Seamus Connor, and Jimmy Bergin enjoy tweaking the traditional jigs and reels with collaborative improvisations and forays into ragtime and other adjacent genres.  Their music will be lively, cheerful, and, above all, a delight to dancers.

Health precautions:  Masks required.  For this first post-holiday dance in a season of rising respiratory illness, NBCD will require masks on the dance floor. (Performers may go unmasked while on stage.)  Be aware that, whoever your partner, you’ll wind up dancing with everyone in the room. You may wish to bring spare masks to change into for comfort throughout the evening. Masks will be available at the door – $1 donation appreciated!