For Info on Dances in Trail contact: Ida 250 364 1420

Tuesdays Weekly Dance Practices in Trail ! This is an Invitation to all levels of ballroom dancers wishing  to practice the dance moves once learned but now a vague memory.  We are renting the K.P Dance Hall at 942 Eldorado St in Trail, ( above Shoppers Drug Mart ) every Tuesday evening from 7:15 to 8:45 for practice, starting this Tuesday September 8th.  The music will be mainly focused on ballroom style dancing (similar to the music that the Dancing Beat Society played at the Playmor Dances) using the same 2 songs per genre system.  There will be a $10.00 / couple / month charge for rental. This is an alcohol free venue.  The floor is hardwood so a change of shoes is requested to preserve the wood and keep a clean dance area.  Keep in mind that these are non-instructional practices.For more information please contact: Al Crockett at acrock@shaw.ca or by phone 250-693-5590 or Carol Bublitz at 250-364-2388

 

Folk Dancing in Rossland

Greetings!

I'm pleased to announce that the Folk Dancing series in Rossland will recommence this September!
We have the good fortune to have the cooperation and administrative assistance of the Rossland Recreation
department, and the Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC), whose sound system we use in the Miners Hall. 

I thank them both for their continued support of our little band of dancers!

This year, we are shifting to Friday evenings, keeping the same times, from 7:00PM to 9:30PM.
We'll continue to start the evening with some English Country dancing.
Then, we take a short break for pot luck dessert and a little conversation.
And, we launch into some energetic Contra dance, before finishing the evening with a short waltz.

We have a good core of experienced dancers now, and this group experience makes it much easier
to accommodate newcomers to the group.  Thus, now is an excellent time to bring new people
to the dance, and a good time will be had by all.

The dates are ... all Friday evenings... generally the 2nd Friday of the month, with some deviations.

2009: Sep 11, Oct 9, Oct 30 [ 5th Friday ], Dec 11,
2010: Jan 8, Jan 29 [ 5th  Friday ], Mar 12, Apr 9, May 14, Jun 4 [ 1st Friday ]

You can purchase admission to the entire series through Rossland Recreation ( 250-362-7396 ).
Rates are $40 for 10 dances... or, drop in admission is $5.

Further information is available on http://www.2cats.net/Folk%20Dancing/

Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Yours,

    /dc
--------------------------------
-- Dave Cornelius e-mail dc@2cats.net http://www.2cats.net Box 973 / 910 Earl St Rossland, B.C. V0G 1Y0 Canada 250-362-3319 (voice) 250-362-3335 (fax) 408-608-9104 (cell) http://preview.tinyurl.com/yr8gfw

For newcomers, there's no need to wait until you have a partner to come dancing; you'll learn more quickly dancing with our group than you could with your sweetie... but you will get to dance with them, too!

For more information: Dave Cornelius e-mail dc@2cats.net

*Contra dance: high energy, traditional New England dances, steps similar to square dance with 2 lines facing each other, lots of fun, good exercise

We dance 'about' once a month, during the September to June time frame. There are two kinds of dances we're doing, English Country dancing, and [ American ] Contra
dance. There are similarities between these two, but the English is more sedate with more grace and poise, whereas the Contra is a bit more jaunty.

The English Country dancing hails from the 17th to 18th century, in the days of the courts. Think of the 'Jane Austen' era, as portrayed in recent films, Emma, Pride and Prejudice. Although many of the dances are collected from that era, there are modern compositions too, drawn from an active community of dancer/choreographers.

The Contra dancing ( from the French ‘contre’: opposite ) is more similar to American square, though set formation is longways ( a line men opposite or ‘contre’ a line of women ), not square.

Both styles of dance are socially interactive: you dance with your partner, and others, as the music and figures flow along.

Although both styles of dance are done with couples, it's best for newcomers to dance with experienced dancers, to quickly get the hang of things. So, if you have a partner, bring them along, but a partner isn't required. And, if you do have a partner... you'll probably not be dancing more than 1 or 2 dances with them in the evening, although you will dance with them along the progression of the dances, for a moment.

We have been dancing to recorded music, but there is a group of local musicians who have been practicing some of the English tunes, and working on their jigs and reels for the contra!

All of the figures are taught; all of the dances are walked-through. The dance leader ( caller ) prompts the dancers through the figures, too.

References:

http://www-ssrl.slac.stanford.edu/~winston/ecd/history.htmlx
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lghNoyVe-2o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance
http://youtube.com/watch?v=18Cq86IAq6U
Globe and Mail article on Contra

Organized by: Dave Cornelius ( dc@2cats.net ) 250-362-3319