The next dance in the "Montpelier Contra Dance" series will be this coming Saturday. We'll start with a newcomers' instruction session at about 7:30, led by the dance caller for the evening, Luke Donforth. If you are new to this type of dancing, or just want a refresher, come at 7:30! We'll follow this with 3 hours of fun dancing starting at 8:00. Music will be provided by Brendan Taaffe on guitar, banjo, and maybe fiddle, with Joanne Garton on fiddle.
Luke Donforth has been calling dances for years, and is a founding member of the Mad Robin Callers' Collective. He's called many times at the Grange, as well as in at least 17 states and 2 Canadian provinces! He's written a lot of dances as well.
Brendan Taaffe lives in Brattleboro, plays a wide variety of instruments. He plays for dances in a variety of bands, as well as leading singing groups and workshops in schools. He's been known to burst into song while playing, so be ready for anything!
Joanne Garton lives and teaches fiddle in Montpelier. She plays in dance bands including Turning Stile and Blind Squirrel, and has played fiddle on recordings with Aaron Marcus. She is also an enthusiastic dancer in the Irish & Scottish traditions.
Contra dances with great live callers and bands like these are presented on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturday evenings, at the Capital City Grange Hall in Berlin. The Hall is located 6612 Rt. 12 (aka Northfield St), Berlin VT 05602 (for GPS) 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--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. Come by yourself and find partners at the dance, or bring your friends!
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