Please join us for dancing and fun at the Capital City Grange Hall on Saturday night. We'll be starting off with a lesson for newcomers about 7:30 PM, followed by dancing from 8:00 to 11:00.
Well known caller Nils Fredland, who has called across the state, the region and the U.S. will teach the newcomers' session, and also will teach and call the dances for the whole evening. You can check out this Youtube video if you'd like to see & hear him calling, and see lots of people having a great time dancing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SB8AVI_50s
Riptide describes their music as "wicked good" traditional music for contra dances. One of the most energetic contra dance bands on the scene today, they love the tunes they play, and their repertoire contains literally hundreds of tunes from New England, Quebec, Ireland, Appalachia, and a few other places. Riptide features Glen Loper on mandolin, Alden Robinson on fiddle, Owen Marshall on guitar, and the legendary Mark "Pokey" Hellenberg on percussion. The band is based in Maine but travels througout the U.S. and beyond. There are lots of videos of them on Youtube as well, or check out their website: http://riptidedanceband.com/ You can buy their album there also!
Special note for the Montpelier dance--guitarist Owen grew up dancing at our dance--always a pleasure to have him back. The other band members have played here before, in a variety of bands over the years, before forming this band.
Contra dances are 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturdays at 8 PM at the Capital City Grange Hall in Berlin (located on Northfield Street/Route 12 just south of the I-89 overpass), 8–11 p.m. Admission is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids or low-income, $15.00 for dance supporters–choose the right price for your budget--additional contributions are welcome, and will increase the amount the band and caller get paid! We suggest light, comfortable clothing, and bring a water bottle to refill at our water fountain/bottle filler. And please bring clean, soft-soled shoes, to help us protect our beautiful dance floor.
We are a friendly and open dance community! Beginners, singles, and all ages are welcome; all dances are taught. Whoever you are, we invite you to come share the joy of dancing with us! Capital City Grange Hall is at 6612 Rt. 12, Berlin VT 05602. It's about 1 mile south of Montpelier, just beyond the I-89 overpass if you are coming from Montpelier.
Questions? call Tim Swartz at 802-225-8921 for more info, or see the Contra Dancing page on the Grange website: http://capitalcitygrange.org/dancing/contradancing/ .