[MusicFriends] First Friday & Saturday Dances, Fredonia, Buffalo, March 3 & 4

[Howard Blumenthal]

  FREDONIA MARCH 3RD
Fredonia First Friday Community Contra Dance

Friday- March 3, 2006  8 pm

Fredonia Grange Hall

58 West Main St

Fredonia, NY

Live Music by Buffalo’s Trefoyle  Distinctive Traditional Irish  Music

Anne Maroney - fiddle

Mark Warford-guitar and Irish Bouzouki

Brendan Brown-Button Accordian


Everyone welcome-come alone or with friends-   All dances taught and  
called-easy and fun  info-672-2716

   Dances taught and called by Kathy Fox



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BUFFALO MARCH 4TH

Queen City Contra Dancers
First Saturday Night in March, the 4th
Dance 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Unitarian Universalist Church
Elmwood and West Ferry
Buffalo, New York
In the heart of the Elmwood Village.

Let's celebrate the dance, and our enthusiastic dance community this  
Saturday night, the first Saturday in March with two favorites.....

  Toronto's warm, subtle and patiently magnetic caller, Bev Birnbaum  
together with the lyrical melodies and haunting harmonies and rhythms  
of our talented locals, Hey Diddle Diddle!

Hey Diddle Diddle!
Four musicians who perpetuate the exciting traditional music of  
Ireland and New England by providing lively acoustic music for dances  
in Western New York and Canada.
Anne Maroney on the fiddle, Jodi Austin-Blumenthal on piano, Howard  
Blumenthal on mandolin and fiddle,
and Tom Santarsiero on mandolin, banjo, guitar and percussion

Come join the fun, and the community of contradancing in Western New  
York!  All ages and groups welcome...no partner or experience needed.


Check out our NEW QCCD WEBSITE, http://www.qccd.org


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              Try Contradancing and discover wonderful live music  
that compels you to move, a community that extends great hospitality  
to new dancers and a style of dance that is very easy to learn. Much  
of contra's popularity is in its simplicity: if you can walk, you can  
contra dance. It doesn't matter if you have two left feet. (Contra  
dancing  ses a walking step so it doesn't matter which left foot you  
start on.)

               Encounter a place where the whole community dancing  
together is more important than any one person or any couple looking  
good. "I had previously taken some dance lessons that were horrible  
because the instructor kept chastising us for every small mistake.  
Worrying about getting each step right meant that the evening caused  
more stress than it relieved. The contra dance floor, on the other  
hand, was a playful oasis.

               Everyone was very patient with teaching someone who  
was new, had no idea what was going on and lacked a good sense of  
rhythm. I was hooked. Since then, it's seeped into my blood as I've  
danced thousands of  dances and have discovered a source of deep joy  
and great playfulness."

              What is contra dancing?

               Contra dancing is a communal folk dance in which you  
and your partner dance, eventually, with everyone else in the hall.  
Before the dance starts, you and a partner join a long line of  
couples and take hands with a couple that's next to you. A caller  
will lead you through a series of moves. After you've gone through  
the series once, you and your partner have switched places with the  
other couple and the two of you have a new couple to dance with, and  
so on.

               The caller's role is to guide and support you through  
the dances. Most callers start an evening with the easiest dances and  
teach every new move as it gets introduced into the night's  
repertoire. Think of contra as a language with about 16 main words  
that are combined in a variety of ways to make sentences. You start  
with               simple sentences and build from there. The  
caller's goal is to set you up for success. He or she will walk you  
through a sequence of moves a few times until you are comfortable and  
confident. Once the music starts, the caller may prompt you with cues  
so you can remember the next move. Since the dance is a  pre-arranged  
set of moves, you don't need to decide what the next move will be.  
This simplicity is one of contra's advantages over other styles of  
dance, where the leader (usually the man) has to be constantly  
thinking about what the next move will be. In contra, that decision  
is already made, so you can turn off that part of your brain and  
simply be present to the music, your partner and your fellow dancers.  
If you're an experienced dancer, you can throw in embellishments and  
make the dance even more challenging and more fun. Since the dance is  
a combination of a series of moves, the partner you're with, the  
other people in your line, and the band that's playing, you never do  
the same dance twice.

               Some people refer to contra as "an eye contact sport."  
While part of this is functional (looking into your partner's eyes  
prevents dizziness when spinning) part of this is a result of the  
friendly nature of these dances. Since part of the enjoyment is being  
with others, most dancers will look you in the eye and smile.  Where  
else can you go and have people smile at you for a couple of hours?  
It's hard to not feel good about yourself after being showered with  
that kind of affirmation. One thing I love about the dance  
communities I've encountered across the country is that they seem to  
be groups filled with genuine affection.  In contra dancing, a "good"  
dancer isn't one who can do fancy moves or who never makes a mistake.  
A good contra dancer is one who enjoys the dance immensely; adapts to  
his/her partner smoothly; recovers from mistakes playfully; helps his/ 
her partner "look good" gracefully; and, most importantly, increases  
the joy of everyone else in the line easily.

               Why do people enjoy contra?  I enjoy contra dancing  
because it's a place where time stands still. I can dance for hours  
and it seems like a minute. It's a place where I can turn off my  
brain and just relax. Contra dancing, like no other activity, compels  
me to live in the present. When I'm dancing, I'm not regretting the  
past or worried about the future.  I'm totally focused on the  
present, a discipline that leads to happiness. I love contra dance  
because it's a communal event. The focus is on the whole group  
dancing together, an entire line playing in unison. The live music is  
compelling, the moves are simple and the sense of moving as a group  
is awesome.

               Other people who dance a lot are very enthusiastic  
about it. You'll hear descriptions such as:

               "I love meeting people in a smoke-free, alcohol-free,  
meat market-free environment."

               "When my co-dancers and I are in the groove , I feel  
like we're trapeze artists. I love the 'Zoom.'"

               "The music is irresistible and often hypnotic. I love  
being compelled to smile."

               "It's amazing to have so much fun with people I have  
never met before."

               "It's an adrenaline rush that lasts for days."

               "I love the contact on so many different levels: the  
feel of other people's balance, transfer of weight, a safe

               sense of touch, and genuine eye contact..."

               "It's like flying."

               "The most fun part of my exercise program."

               "It's less stressful than other dance forms where the  
man has to continually be thinking ahead to the next

               move."

               "Ecstasy — the state, not the drug"

               "I'm touched by the communication that happens without  
any words."

               "Transcendent — the closest I get to organized religion."

               "People who come here have a genuine friendliness  
that's refreshing."

               "I enjoy turning my brain off for a couple of hours  
and melting into the music."

               What type of person would like contra?  Contra appeals  
to a wide variety of people. Gregarious folks love interacting with  
dozens of people in a few minutes. Shy people enjoy meeting others  
without needing to talk much. Analytical people admire the intricate  
patterns we effortlessly form while more emotional folks enjoy the  
personal bonding. Athletic people enjoy the energetic style of dance  
while sedentary people enjoy the most fun way to get in shape without  
really trying.

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OTHER LOCAL CONTRA DANCES

  Thursday Night Dances in Rochester,
Country Dancers of Rochester,
Covenant United Methodist Church
1124 Culver Road
Rochester, NY

Second Saturday of each month, you can dance at 7:30 PM
Social Hall of St Stephens Episcopal Church
112 South Clinton Street
Olean NY.