Tag Archives: community-dance

CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW: Music, Movement, and Friendly Faces – Our February 8th Community Contra Dance may be just the medicine you were looking for

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February 8th dance CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW:

With the robust snowstorm in the forecast, and mountainous roads between us and our chosen performers, we’ve decided to cancel our February 8th dance in Williamstown.  Boohoo.

However, next month is still on:  Luke Donforth calling to music by Spare Parts, March 8th.

Hope to see you on a dance floor soon!

CANCELLED:
Dance off any February glumness at a friendly contra dance.  North Berkshire Community Dance will hold its monthly contra dance on Saturday, February 8th.  Popular young caller Liz Nelson will teach every dance to live traditional fiddle music from The Vintons.

Contra dancing is the contemporary face of a living tradition; some of the dances are hundreds of years old, some are recently composed. Everyone is welcome. New dancers and families with children are encouraged to arrive at 7:30 for an introductory lesson. Come with or without a partner; most people change partners for each dance throughout the evening.

Liz Nelson, the caller, will teach all the dances her inclusive and welcoming style, using gender-neutral phrasing. Liz believes that anyone and everyone can dance. Her goal is to help create evenings where music becomes movement and moving together becomes joy, just as natural as breathing.

The band, “The Vintons,” is a new collaboration of three long-time musician friends with a love for the classic New England contradance sound: George Wilson – fiddle, Andy Davis – accordion & piano, and Marko Packard – guitar & flute. With many decades of musical experience of all kinds between them, from George with Fennig’s All-Star String Band & teaching at dance camps, Andy with Nowell Sing We Clear & years of dance calling, and Marko with Airdance & Elixir, these three weave new musical fabric from the traditional tunes that they love.

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 (especially help with cleanup) is also welcome.  Visit www.NorthBerkshireDance.org for more information.

For optional extra fun, come to our pre-dance calling playgroup in the Williamstown Public Library, 2 – 3:30. Bring a dance you’d like to try calling with a collaborative group – or simply help out as a biddable dancer on the floor.

Respiratory Illness Policy: Please stay home if you feel ill or have cold symptoms. We’ll be glad to see you next month!  Masks appreciated but not required.

Please come – we’re dancing again!

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On Saturday, November 9th, North Berkshire Community Dance will hold its monthly contra dance with calling by Andy Davis, and live music by Mary Cay Brass and Laurie Indenbaum.

The dance will run from 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 to $20 suggested, and barter is also welcome.   For more information, visit www.NorthBerkshireDance.org.
Our caller this month is Andy Davis. Andy will teach all the 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 by Mary Cay Brass on keyboard, Laurie Indenbaum on fiddle, and Andy Davis on accordion. (Does it get any better than that?)

Mary Cay has been a foundational performer and teacher in the traditional dance and music community for many years, supplying a vital pulse in many beloved dance bands, including “The Greenfield Dance Band” with David Kaynor, and “Airdance” with Rodney Miller.  Laurie Indenbaum has been fiddling for dances in Vermont and surrounding states since 1976, with many fine callers and bands, including “Applejack” and “The Full Catastrophe.”  Andy Davis has been a part of Nowell Sing We Clear, and on staff at Country Dance and Song Society summer camps for many years. He also plays accordion for a Morris dancing team and frequently while calling for contra dances.

Each of these musicians has been playing for contra dances for over forty years, and frequently together.  Their music will lift your feet, and bring all the dancers together into one joyful dance.  
Covid Policy: Please stay home if you feel unwell or anyone in your household has Covid. (Then come next month!) Masking is welcome, but not required.  Be aware that contradance isn’t made to social distance, as whoever your partner, you’ll wind up dancing with everyone in the room. Bring a spare mask to change into, for comfort throughout the evening.

Poster: Help more people find the dance, if you feel so inclined. Print and hang our flier!  Available at  https://northberkshiredance.org/poster/

New Year’s Dance — New Dancers Wanted!

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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!