Details
Virtual doors open 6:50, dancing until 8:30.
The dances for tonight are:
- Knives and Forks, Neal 1726, as reconstructed by George Fogg and Rich Jackson
- Treasure of the Big Woods, by Joseph Pmentel, 2005.
- Hey Boys, up go we, Playford 1679 as reconstructed by Cecil Sharp
- TipToe to Narnia, by David Smukler 2020, Tune: La Gueussinette, by Stephen Jones
From David’s dance notes:
I wrote a dance to this evocative tune in 2014 called “Finding the Lamppost.” I was on my way
home from my first time at the Lenox Assembly in western Massachusetts. (The logo for that
weekend is a lamppost.) Two different dances by Fried de Metz Herman done that weekend used
the split half figure-8 figure, and it made its way into my dance. I decided to rework my dance
during the pandemic, and so it is now one of my untested coronavirus dances. The only figure
that remains from the earlier dance is the split half figure-8. The new title plays on the fact that
the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis begin with going through the wardrobe and finding a lamppost.
Complete notes for tonight’s dances can be found here: deep dive 16
Caller
David Smukler
David Smukler leads evenings of contras and squares, English country dances, family dances, school programs, and special events such as weddings, festivals, etc. He has also presented workshops on numerous dance related topics. His taste in dances is eclectic, and he presents a wide variety of dances. His repertoire includes plenty of New England contras, as well as an assortment of squares, singing calls, mixers, old chestnuts and freshly minted dances. He has a special fondness for English country dances, and his English programs also blend old favorites with new gems.
David grew up singing folk songs with his mom and began dancing contras in New Hampshire as a teen. In 1981 he was drafted to call for his local dance and has been calling ever since. David calls contras and squares, English country dances, and family and community dances, and is also a choreographer.
David is a retired inclusive early childhood and childhood educator who has also taught for years at the college level in a teacher preparation program. He has frequently used dance and song in his teaching, both with children and adults, sometimes to the great surprise of his students. A teacher through and through, David believes that people can always learn and grow. While welcoming change and evolution, David has enormous respect for the value of folk traditions and is the author (with David Millstone) of Cracking Chestnuts: The Living Tradition of Classic American Contra Dances, published in 2008 by CDSS.
Band
Laurel Sharp
Laurel Sharp (recorders, whistles and oboe)
Laurel is a true multi-instrumentalist, equally at home with with recorders, pennywhistle, and oboe, and adding variety to any ensemble she works with.