Contra Dance in Jonesborough!
The Historic Jonesborough Dance Society will hold a contra dance on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at the Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center, 117 Boone Street. Admission to the dance is $7, $5 for HJDS members and $4 for students. A family package allows parents to bring all of their own children for a total of $15. All dances are smoke and alcohol free. No partner is necessary. Families and children are welcome! A half hour contra dance workshop will be offered at 7pm.
At the 8:30pm waltz break, again Klondike Ice Cream Bars, the official frozen treat of the Historic Jonesborough Dance Society, will be offered to all dancers courtesy of the Historic Jonesborough Dance Society.
Performing for this event will be the band Contraversial consisting of Cailen Campbell and David Brown from Asheville. The caller is Connie Carringer from Boone, NC. The dance time for the dance on Saturday July 17th will be from 7:30-10:30pm.
Cailen Campbell has been thrilling contra dancers all over the southeast and around the country for over a decade. His innovative, highly improvisational, lyrical fiddling has been heard in numerous acclaimed regional dance bands, including The Atomic City Rhythm Rascals, The String Beings, The Rocket Boys, The Gypsy Hicks, in addition to a dynamic duo with renowned Asheville area guitarist and banjo virtuoso David Brown. Campbell recently played with the Greasy Beans on behalf of the North Carolina Dance Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
Connie Carringer, a recent master’s degree graduate at Appalachian State University in the Community Counseling/Expressive Arts Therapy program, is relatively new to contra dance calling but has shown great progress in her second career. Part of her training was the “Callers Week” at the John C. Campbell Folk School last summer. She also plays old time banjo, sings and writes songs.
Contra dancing is a traditional form of American folk dance that evolved from the long ways country dances popular in English society centuries ago. Contra dance communities now thrive all over the country. There are websites that can direct you to contra dances in most states. The modern contra dances provide dancers of all ages and experience levels with the opportunity to smile, move, connect, flirt and create an evening of dance nirvana with each other. No previous dance experience is necessary. No fancy footwork is required. If you can walk and count to eight, you can contra dance!
Contra dances are community events. At almost any contra you will find people of all ages and all dance skill levels, from young to old, beginner to expert. Contra dancers form a very open and welcoming group of people. You can come alone or with others since it is a tradition to dance with a variety of partners throughout the night. It is perfectly acceptable for either a man or a woman to ask someone to dance. It’s a great way to make friends with someone they haven’t met before. You will find contra dancing a great way to make new friends.
For more information, contact event organizer, David Wiley, at 423-913-3246 or visit www.historicjonesboroughdancesociety.org and the Historic Jonesborough Dance Society on FACEBOOK |
