by Chrissy Fowler The contradance diaspora mourns when an important person passes, especially when the death is untimely. When Nat Hewitt died of complications of cancer in November, the loss was keenly felt by dancers, musicians, and callers across the world, and particularly in Maine, where Nat was the much-loved house fiddler for the Falmouth …
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Category Archives: Guest Posts
Celebrating the Spirit and Legacy of Nat Hewitt
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Leave a comment »Annie Fain Liden-Barralon Welcomed as Folk School’s Music and Dance Program Coordinator
by Cory Marie Podielski originally published by the John C. Campbell Folk School on May 3, 2013 in their blog Folk School Folks, Music! Dancing! (reprinted by permission) The Folk School is so happy to welcome Annie Fain Liden-Barralon to the position of Music and Dance Coordinator! I sat down with Annie Fain to find …
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Leave a comment »Singing and Dancing and Other Fun Stuff on May Day in China
As requested, three intrepid Morris dancers checking in from Shanghai, China where we have been having an interesting May Day celebration, both in the dancing sense and in the communist regime sense. Our May Day celebrations began last night when we decided to do a bit of busking in the busy commercial district by the river overlooking the China …
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Also posted in Features & Fun, Updates from the Office Tags: english dance, english dance music, morris dance 1 Comment »
1 Comment »Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, part 4—The Future is NOW!
by Mary Wesley, CDSS Education Associate This year was the third time I have attended the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend—for me it seems to be turning into something of a pilgrimage. It is difficult to put into words what it feels like to be at this unique event and why I plan to …
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2 Comments »“It’s Fun To Hunt”
by David Millstone Ralph Page gave this title to a regular column in his Northern Junket magazine, in which he shared information he had gleaned from looking through old newspapers in New Hampshire and Vermont. For those of us interested in dance history, he’s absolutely right. Late last month, CDSS member Karen Mueller-Harder heard a …
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Leave a comment »Square Dance History Project Launches New Website
by David Millstone A group of square dance enthusiasts has launched a digital library and website that takes a broad look at square dancing now as well as the historical antecedents of today’s squares. Please share this news and the link with others who might be interested! The project’s primary focus is to collect good …
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Bravo Brad—part two with video highlights!
by Rima Dael, Executive Director As promised, I said I’d follow up with another blog on the Bravo Brad event from the end of August with a video montage and thoughts from others. Here is the link to the video! Thoughts from others… David Millstone, CDSS Board President “Bravo Brad!” brought a series of CDSS …
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Leave a comment »EFDSS and the Olympics
by Katy Spicer, Chief Executive, English Folk Dance and Song Society Thanks to the good folks in London and Britain for putting on a splendid Olympic Games, and congratulations on all those medals. Here’s a story from our colleagues at EFDSS. Wish we’d been there! — Caroline The Olympic Games provided some opportunities to showcase …
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Leave a comment »Handing off the Music (literally!)
Handing off the music to the next generation? Absolutely, and with considerable flair and musicianship, don’t you think? CDSS president and videographer David Millstone describes this video of Bob McQuillen and friends: Contra dance enthusiasts may enjoy watching a recently-uploaded clip on YouTube that focuses on Bob McQuillen, the New Hampshire musician and tunesmith. Composer …
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Why we contra dance
A guest post from member Robbin Marcus. Thanks, Robbin! What stories would your dance community like to share? Let us know in the comments. For the last couple of years in Atlanta, amateur videographer Jim Crawford has embarked on an adventure in being a contra dance ambassador. Each week, Jim films the caller and band …
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