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An evening of contra dancing.
Learn contra dancing, the internationally popular form that's New England's own gift to the wide world of folk dance styles, along with old-time squares, big circle mixers, play party and singing games and couple dances.
Your leaders, native Vermont musicians and instructors Pete and Karen Sutherland - backed by talented musical friends dedicated to the groove - have shared their expertise with thousands of folks of all ages for over thirty years.
Beginners learn the basics quickly enough to join right in, while more experienced dancers acquire new steps and new ways to move with the music. All have a chance to experience the true form of community that the Sutherlands believe is at the heart of contra dancing.
Pete and Karen Sutherland - Monkton, VT - caller/instructors and instrumentalists on fiddle and piano
Additional musicians available as needed:
Jeremiah McLane - Sharon, VT - accordion and piano
Colin McCaffrey - Plainfield, VT - guitar and fiddle
Will Patton - Fairfield, VT - mandolin and bass
Lausanne Allen - Starksboro, VT - fiddle and caller
General community dance instruction appropriate for ages 8 and up. Programs are available specifically tailored to younger dancers ages
4 and up. Other programs can be tailored to special needs populations.
For a 2 hour dance with instruction, PA system and live
music:
- The Sutherlands: $385 plus mileage
- Each additional musician: $175 plus mileage
Contra or line dancing along with the related social dance forms of circle mixers (aka "Paul Jones") and squares (or quadrilles) native to Vermont and New England have their roots in France and Great Britain, homelands of the first white settlers. Modern contra aficionados, as well as folklorists often see diverse echoes of military maneuvers, medieval court dances and country harvest rites in the long ways figures. In their heyday nearly every central New Englander lived within a horse and buggy ride of a Saturday night dance, where one could easily pursue a bit of community gossip with a 'neighbor', give the eye to a possible ‘partner' and enjoy the talents of the local fiddler.
After a disruption and near extinction bred both by access to radio and other mass media and two world wars, a "back-to-the-land-er'- led revival in the 1970's saw contra dancing not only regain its former territory but spread across the country. Today's community dance, again featuring both traditional and newly-composed contras, squares, circles and couple dances done to an increasingly eclectic musical accompaniment, is a vital link between new and old neighbors and healthy exercise for a car- and desk-oriented lifestyle in a uniquely multi-generational social setting.
Pete Sutherland
PO Box 123
Monkton, VT 05469
Phone: (802) 453-3795
Email: epact@sover.net
Website(s): www.epactmusic.com