Be it known by square dancers everywhere and others of good will that Stacy Rose having attended the College of Do Si Dos and Allemande Lefts and having completed the prescribed courses in Fun, Friendliness, and Good Fellowship and perhaps even having learned a little bit, is hereby awarded the degree and title of Bachelor of Square Dancing and well merits the privilege, prerogatives, and happiness accompanying this pleasant state. Thank you, Sherm Welch for the wonderful weeks of patient teaching.
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Invite a friend to folk dancing. You never know how it will end up. 35 years ago, my friend Elka invited me to her folk dance class. It was a community ed class held at the local community college. It was my first introduction to hearing all of this wonderful music from around the world. Every week, I would go with Elka and her daughter Raychel (far right in the picture above). Sometimes after class we'd stop and enjoy a piece of pie or french fries with brown gravy. It was social, recreational, and SO fun to learn those fascinating dance patterns. Our teacher was Linda Lowell. She wore calf-high red boots when she danced, and in my mind I can still see those red boots clear as day. As a beginner, my eyes were usually glued on Linda's feet! Linda had an amazing amount of energy and taught us tons of dances. She taught us to hambo. She taught us Cimpoi, Floricica, Trei Pazeste, Salty Dog Rag, Ciuleandra, and many more of what are still some of my favorite dances today. Linda helped us to sew costumes and booked us to do dance demonstrations in the community. In the picture above and below, our dance group was doing a performance as part of the Haydn Festival in Coos Bay. To share that experience with Elka (and so much more) makes her a significant person in my life. Last week, Elka came to my class! We hadn't folk danced together since our days together in the 1980s. It was nothing short of thrilling to dance once again with Elka. As we did Ma Na'avu side by side, it was as smooth
and easy as it was over three decades when we have done it last. I am forever indebted to Elka for inviting me to folk dance class - for introducing me to this wonderful hobby that has become so much a part of my life. The holidays came fast this year. Again. And here we are post-Thanksgiving about to embark on the December holiday whirlwind.
I'm so very thankful for my dance teacher mentor Loui, who has been a never-ending source of encouragement, and a vast resource of recorded music, ideas, information and trustworthy opinion. If not for Loui, I wouldn't have started teaching my Tuesday night class. How fortunate I was to have found her! I'm so thankful for the people in my community who participate in this strange, some might say exotic, hobby. I've always said that the reason I teach is because I want people to dance with. It's not NEARLY as much fun to dance alone. I'm very thankful for the regional folk dancing teachers and groups -- Vicki's group dances an hour to the south; Ellen's group is an hour to the north; Sally's group two hours inland. I look forward to more interaction between groups in the coming year. Plans are underway! For the next three weeks, I'm offering the Tuesday night class at no charge - my end of the year gift to the community. There is MUCH to be thankful for, and this is one small way I can extend my thanks. I'm thinking about fun ways to integrate holiday music into folk dancing. So far, I've learned that Jingle Bells is a polka (in addition to being a good AABB format tune for a contra dance) and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a schottische. The steps for Tzadik Katamar could easily be done to the music "I Have a Little Dreidel" and the steps for Ma N'avu flow nicely with the Hanukah song Sivivon. We'll see how those go over. It's the season of thankfulness. I'm truly thankful to be dancing -- to have a mentor, to know other dance teachers I can collaborate with, and to have people in this community to dance with. Thank you! I love dancing at Liberty Pub. There's something about the combination of good food & drink, the fine company of friendly dancers, and dancing to lively music that fills my heart with so much joy.
This week, dancers in my class teamed up with two dancers from the Florence international folk dance group and the local band Cultural Ecology to present a demonstration of dances from around the world. We presented the following dances: Hora Mare Bucovineana - Romania Tzadik Katamar - Israel Dashing White Sergeants - Scotland Godecki Cacek - Bulgaria Miserlou - Greek American Chilili - Bolivia Then we invited people from the audience to join us. I didn't know the dance floor at Liberty Pub could accommodate up to 20 dancers! We had LOTS of audience members come up and learn these beginning level dances: Savila Se Bela Losa - Serbia Zemer Atik - Israel Sasha - Russia Hora pe Gheata La Bastringue - French Canadian Waves - Hong Kong The audience members were great sports! They were willing to step out of their comfort zone and try a new kind of dancing. The dancers in my class were fabulous - they introduced the demonstration dances, they welcomed the audience members and really took great care of them. The evening was a fund raiser for South Coast Folk Week, a week-long celebration of traditional music, song and dance set for October 4-10, 2015 in Coos Bay. I don't think I can move my class to the pub on a regular basis, but I can't wait until the next time we dance in the pub! Dancers move out of the community, and we miss them. New dancers move to the area, and we eagerly welcome them. This week, our circle was temporarily broken by an unexpected, tragic loss. I'll never forget Estella's focused attention and quick aptitude for learning new dances, her smiles, and the kindness she shared with everyone in our class. We will all miss Estella. My heart goes out to her family and friends at this sad time.
There are loved ones in the glory Whose dear forms you often miss. When you close your earthly story, Will you join them in their bliss? Will the circle be unbroken By and by, by and by? Is a better home awaiting In the sky, in the sky? A cute picture, isn't it? The truth is, for me and many others, dancing can turn around a mood, an outlook, even a situation. We have dancers in class who arrive tired after working all day, and leave less tired. In fact, dancers report being happier after class than when they arrived - they are more energized after exercising. Isn't that something!?
Last night in class, we gathered for the first dance. I started the line (open circle) with a typical hand hold (hands held relaxed at our sides). Dancers joined the line and held hands with the person next to them. But, instead of launching right into the first dance, I started talking about other things. Remarkably, none of the dancers let go of each others' hands. There we were, a group of adults, holding hands. Comfortably. Leisurely. It was wonderful! From health.com: Whether it's a squeeze of the hand, a big bear hug, a kneading massage, touch is shaping up to be the ultimate mind-body medicine. From lowering blood pressure and heart rate to increasing immune function and relieving pain, getting touched or doing some touching makes you healthier -- not to mention happier and less anxious. I believe that unless we intentionally create them, there aren't many opportunities during the course of a typical day to touch another person. Dance gives us a safe place to connect with other people, to hold hands, to hold people in our arms and smile at them. Dancing -- going to the Hokey Pokey Clinic -- gives us exercise AND physical connection with other people. I've often bemoaned, "why won't the local square dancers come to our contra dance??" Contra is SO much more fun than square dancing with that hokey music and those ridiculous costumes. At contra dance, we've got awesome live music! Anyone can walk in off the street and be contra dancing in minutes - you don't need to commit to 12 weeks of lessons!
To be honest, I don't know that I've ever personally invited a local square dancer to my beloved contra dance. Yet. Instead of whining and wondering why there isn't more cross-population between the local contra dancers and square dancers, I decided to do something radical. I decided to "be the change" that I wanted to see happen. I went to my first square dance lesson today. They let new people come during the first three weeks of the series. But today was week four, and past the time for new people to join. I was told that I might not be able to start so late, but they'd let me try today - the caller kept a close watch on me to see if I could keep up. There are a lot of calls similar to contra dancing, and I had done some squares in the context of a night of contra dancing. I must have "passed the audition" because they said I could continue with the lessons. The hardest move for me was the "star through" - the lady (woman/follow/girl) gives her left hand to the gent (man/lead/boy), who takes it in his right hand and they basically trade places, then stand side by side. I instinctively wanted to offer my right hand. The music was indeed ridiculous - "without love, where would we be now... sides promenade...". The people were very nice. The floor isn't wood, and I am concerned about that. However, unlike folk dancing, there's no stomping, so it may not be an issue. The calling was great. It was spot on. Sherm did a really good job with the teaching, too. I think I can learn a few things from him. I loved that after dancing each square, those 8 people did a group hug and together said, "Thank you!" At the end of the evening, all the dancers and the caller made a large circle and gave thanks. That was sweet. It's a new day dawning. Operation cross-over has begun. I can't wait to show Katlin the new name tags we're using in class. Katlin draws pictures for me every week. (Often she brings me flowers.) She's got a big, generous heart. The background for this website and the name tags is one of Katlin's drawings. It's a picture of all the dancers in class. I love that girls have curly hair and boys have straight hair. I love that everyone wears a dress. It's one of my favorite pictures. I can't for Katlin to see her new name tag. The same week our dear Louise embarks on her trip to New Mexico, we welcomed a lovely new dancer to class - Anne. She's new in town... moved to our community to start a new job... she moved here from New Mexico. Thank you, Universe.
Louise has been a dancer in my class for the past four years. She has attended regular classes, advanced dance classes, she's gone on group road trips to dance in other towns, been a regular at the local folklore society's monthly dance party, and participated in public demonstration dancing ("does anyone really know where Macedonia is?"). She has reliably interjected warmth, good questions and laughter in class. It's hard to believe that Louise is leaving our community -- taking off in her RV and heading south.
There are folk dance communities all over the place. However, the town where Louise is going doesn't have a regular folk dance series. Yet. I'm hoping Louise will make that different. If you are traveling, there are online resources to find dancing. A quick Google search connected us to dancers within an hour of Louise's destination. An email brought multiple immediate responses from people who were so willing to share information about their dances and nearby dances. Open, welcoming people! Lucky people - who will get to dance with our Louise. |
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