On Saturday evening, Jan. 5, the next dance in the 40+ year-old Montpelier Contra Dance series features caller Sarah VanNorstrand, with music by Frost & Fire!
Join us at 7:30 PM for a new-comers' instruction session led by Sarah, with the full dance happening from 8:00 to 11:00. The instruction session will give you a taste of the way the dances go--but every dance is taught as the evening goes on as well. Our dance has a reputation as welcoming newcomers, as well as people who have danced for years, and we'd love to have you come!
Sarah VanNorstrand has been calling contra dances since 2006, at her "home dance" series in Syracuse, plus across the country at dance weekends, dance camps, and other dance series. She says she "enjoys working with everyone from first-time dancers to decades-long contra veterans. Above all, my goal as a caller is to make sure the dancers are having as much fun as I am!" Frost and Fire has been a favorite band for Vermont contra dancers (and also concert-goers) for years. The band features Aaron Marcus on piano, concertina, banjo & foot percussion, Viveka Fox on fiddles, bodhran and djembe, Peter MacFarlane on fiddle and low whistles, and Hollis Easter on flute, guitar, mandolin and...bagpipes! They play traditional tunes, their own compositions and other wonderfully danceable tunes.
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.
Whoever you are, we invite you to share a warm evening of friendly, 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