Dancing

Nancy, Joanne, and Aaron

Germaine firing up the fiddle

The all-comer's orchestra at the Chestnuts dance at the Grange

Dancing

On Friday Nancy called the Burlington Queen City Contras dance with Joanne Garton and Aaron Marcus playing. It was a really nice dance and went smoothly. We've helped to organize this dance for about five years or so and its been heartening to see it become a healthy flourishing dance over time.

There is a woman named Germaine Leclaire who has been the person stationed at the table taking money and offering stories of her life for twenty-five years. At the break she was given a plaque and a big thank-you from the dancers. Later on she played a few of her favorite tunes on Joanne's fiddle. Germaine was born in Quebec and married a farmer from Charlotte.

Saturday we went to special dance that featured what are known as "chestnuts", which means they are older traditional dances--often dating back to the early days of American history or even earlier. These dances tend to a little less aerobic then modern contra dances, but have a charm that is really a nice to experience now and again. The band was an all-comer's event and they sounded great. Rebecca Lay came and called the dance on short notice and did her usual excellent job.

Lastly, Nancy called another dance this afternoon here in town as a benefit for the school. I've gone with her to many of these events, so I opted to remain at home and continue work emptying the garage. I did show up for the lasagna dinner afterwords though.

All in all a fun weekend of dance and music. Good stuff.