May 11th Contra Dance

Posted on May 2, 2024 by patdunlavey

Join us Saturday, May 11th, for a delightful community contra dance! North Berkshire Community Dance will hold its monthly contra dance with calling (teaching) by Quena Crain, and live traditional fiddle music by masters of the New England contra dance repertoire.

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. Covid protocol: masks are very welcome but not required.

Quena Crain, who calls all over New England (and far beyond), brings an infectious joy to the dance hall. Her fun calling, and easy teaching style, are beloved by all age groups, from elementary school, through college, and well past retirement. Quena is adept at leading dance events for people of any experience level. For this dance, Quena will use “larks and robins” role terms.

Mary Cay Brass 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 calls for contra dances. Each of the three 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 happy dance.

April is the Coolest Month (Or it would have been if T.S.Eliot had tried contra dancing?)

Status

Okay, maybe I just didn’t have a good title. Still, the dance will be friendly, lively, and fun, and the music will be of poetic loveliness.

North Berkshire Community Dance will hold its monthly contra dance on Saturday, April 13th, with live music by “Spare Parts”, and calling (teaching) by Jonathan Greene. 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.

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

Jonathan Greene, the caller, will teach all the dances, using “gents and ladies” role terms. Jonathan regularly calls at the popular Lenox, MA contra dance series, and lately has been coaching new callers at a “callers club” dance series in Housatonic.

Berkshire County band, “Spare Parts” will provide live dance music, performing the traditional fiddle tunes in rich and elegant arrangements. Bill Matthiesen on piano and Liz Stell on flute combine with one or more “spare parts du jour.” For our April 13th dance, fiddler Eric Buddington will round out the sound with his much lauded improvisational flair. Spare Parts has performed for period events, contradances, English dances, weddings, parties, concerts, and dance camps from Alaska to Maine. Their historic dance music has been used worldwide in motion pictures (Bright Star) and theater productions as well as television programs including Mercy Street (PBS), Antiques Roadshow and numerous programs on the History Channel (even SpongeBob SquarePants!).

Covid Policy: NBCD encourages masks, but no longer requires them. Be aware: whoever your partner, you’ll wind up dancing with everyone in the room. You may wish to bring a spare mask to change into for comfort throughout the evening. Masks are also available at the door — small donations appreciated.

New Year’s Dance — New Dancers Wanted!

Posted on January 5, 2024 by doonemackay

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!

Exposure notification from North Berkshire Community Dance

Posted on December 12, 2023 by doonemackay

Dear dancers,

A dancer who was at the Williamstown, MA community contra dance on Saturday, 12/9, informed us that they have tested positive for Covid today (Monday, December 11). So far their symptoms are mild congestion and tiredness. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.

As always, if you test positive for Covid-19 in the 10 days after attending our dance, please let us know. And as with any exposure notification, we encourage everyone who attended Saturday’s dance to take reasonable precautions, including monitoring themselves for Covid-19 symptoms and considering testing. Please refer to CDC recommendations.

dance@northberkshiredance.com

New England Classic Contras – Saturday, December 9th

Posted on November 30, 2023 by doonemackay

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!

Come Dance on July 8th

Posted on July 4, 2023 by doonemackay

The North Berkshire Community Contra Dance will hold its monthly dance on Saturday, July 8, with friendly high-energy dancing to caller Peter Stix and live music from Berkshire musicians Tony Pisano, Eric Buddington, Butch DeGiorgis, Seamus Connor and Doone MacKay.

Contra dancing is the contemporary face of a living tradition. Both the dance and its music can be traced to roots in 17th century England, France, and Scotland, but have been vigorously mixed and remixed in New England and nearby regions since. The music is live, the dances are taught, and anyone is welcome, with or without a partner — people change partners fluidly for each dance.

Peter Stix will call (teach) all dances, starting the evening with easy dances friendly to newcomers and families with children. The caller teaches new moves and skills as needed, and everyone is welcome. Come alone or with friends.

Many of the band have played together at dances and jams around the county for a generation — locals may recognize them from the dance floor and informal Saturday morning music at Mass MoCA. Tony Pisano on accordion joins Eric Buddington and Doone MacKay on fiddle, Butch DeGiorgis on mandolin and penny whistle and Seamus Connor on guitar.

The dance will run 7:30 to 10 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.

Covid Policy: NBCD continues to require masking for this July 8 dance — because contra dance isn’t made to social distance. No matter your partner, you’ll wind up dancing with everyone in the room. (Having a spare mask to change into can help with comfort when dancing in warm weather.)

June 10th – Delightful Dance

Posted on June 3, 2023 by doonemackay

Covid Policy Survey

Posted on May 29, 2023 by doonemackay

How do you feel about our Covid policy at the North Berkshire Community Contra Dance (Williamstown, MA)? Let us know if it’s too much, too little, or just right by taking this survey:

https://tinyurl.com/NBCDCovidSurvey2023

Come Dance with us on March 11th, 2023!

Posted on March 4, 2023 by doonemackay

Starting with an introductory lesson at 7:30 p.m, Quena Crain will call a program welcoming to families with children (and unaccompanied adults, too). The later half of the evening will feature dances more likely to appeal to those of us who are still vigorous after 9 PM. This year, every event will include the old chestnut, Chorus Jig.

Pictures of our performers: Quena, George, and Ma.rko

Music will be supplied by master musicians George Wilson and Marko Packard. George has been lifting dancers’ feet with fiddle tunes in the Northern fiddle tradition for half a century; Marko has played guitar, flute, and saxophone with a variety of popular contra dance bands for over two decades.

Admission is pay what you can, $10 to $20 suggested.
Masks and proof of covid vaccination required. Optional pre-registration form here: https://tinyurl.com/NorthBerkshireDancePreReg