Details
Virtual doors open 6:50, dancing until 8:30.
The dances for tonight are
- Barn Elms from The Dancing Master, vol 2, 1710 Duple minor longways, as reconstructed by Bernard Bentley
- Trip to Komodo by Gary Roodman, 2020 Longways for 8 to the tune Well Fed Dragons by Dave Wiesler
Gary writes, “This dance requires dancers who can listen to the phrasing of the music and use it
all for each figure.”
- Beautious Grove by Nathaniel Kynaston, 1711 3-couple longways, as reconstructed by Andrew Shaw
- Leather Lake House by Henry Bishop, 1788 Triple minor longways, as reconstructed by Fried de Metz Herman, 1986
For this, the last online “deep dive” workshop, David chose a few dances from past deep dives, and
one brand new one from Gary Roodman
Thank you for your participation in the workshops! I learned a great deal through preparing for
them. I hope you found some useful ideas to take away.
I look forward to seeing you on a dance floor in upcoming months and years!
David’s full notes for tonight’s dance are here: deep dive 18
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.