Please join a crowd of your friends and neighbors for a night of contra dancing on Saturday evening, Dec. 29th, at the the Capital City Grange Hall. We'll start off with a lesson for newcomers, about 7:30 PM, which will be led by the dance caller for the evening, Nils Fredland. Nils is a regular caller at our dance--and also teaches and calls contra dances at community dances and dance weekends around the country.
After the newcomers' session, the dancing will run from 8:00 to 11:00 PM, featuring the music of "Polaris", with Nils continuing to teach and call every dance. Polaris is a dynamic four-piece band, featuring: Jesse Ball, on accordion, guitar, hammered dulcimer & feet! Marta Bartholomew, on fiddle, Rose Jackson, on fiddle, and Sam Zakon-Anderson on piano! They have wowed the dancers at the Grange Hall before, and this is your chance to join their fans. Nils will be calling a variety of dances old and new, teaching every one with a "walk-through", before the musicians play their exciting tunes and help you move your feet.
Contra dances with great live bands and callers are presented on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturday evenings, at the Capital City Grange Hall in Berlin. The Hall is located on Rt. 12 (aka Northfield St), just south of the I-89 overpass, a mile from downtown Montpelier. The Contra Dance Umbrella, the volunteer committee which puts on the dances, wants everyone to come and have a good time. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids and low-income. Or be a dance supporter and pay a bit more, almost all of the money goes to the caller, the band, and the sound person, plus rent to the Grange.
We suggest light, comfortable clothing, clean soft-soled shoes to protect the beautiful dance floor, and a water bottle to keep hydrated--you can fill it at the water fountain/bottle filler.
We are are friendly and open dance community, which welcomes new dancers of all ages and all types. Whoever you are, we invite you to share a warm evening of social, high-energy dancing! 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 To learn more about Polaris, check their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Polaris-1631137390525811/ Nils Fredland has been a dance caller for about 20 years, I'm posting a 7 Days article about him on the Grange website Calendar listing for this dance!