Contra dance tonight!

The previous dance was the very successful 25th anniversary dance. It was fun but very crowded, as you can see below. There were five lines of dancers instead of the usual two or three.

We should be getting back to normal with tonight’s dance.

January 26th

Caller: Mike Jones

Mike is a member of Toronto Country Dancers. He has been calling contra dances since 1998 in southern Ontario and northern New York. He has a clear voice and good command of language. He enjoys calling a variety of dance figures and looks for good flow in the dances that he calls.

Band: The Puffins: Jamie Snider, Shelley Coopersmith, & Rose Bolton

The Puffins were formed in 2000 to perform Newfoundland fiddle music and songs, and to take advantage of their knack at spontaneously creating beautiful three part fiddle harmonies.

Their reportoire now crosses Canada; from Ukrainian dance music to Métis, Ontario Don Messer style and Québec dance

See Toronto Country Dancers for location and times.

Toronto Country Dancers 25th anniversary dance

Judy Greenhill introduces the rest of the “instigators” of Toronto Country Dancers.

The dance floor was full! We had five lines instead of our usual three.  

Look for more pictures at TCD 25th anniversary.

Contra dancing, Christmas party

It’s the last contra dance of the year and everyone who remembered brought in treats. Some volunteers came early and decorated the hall with strings of lights and quantities of silver tinsel.

My son and grand-daughter came to dance and I met them there.

We all arrived in good time and the dance ran an extra half-hour, so I got as much dancing as my toes could stand. I must get more comfortable shoes–real dancing shoes, perhaps.

The band was TuneScape, I think… They were very good and came all the way from Pennsylvania to play for us.

And the caller was Judy Greenhill. She called many contra dances and a square dance; we also had a couple of waltzes.

The percussionist brought an unusual musical instrument from Sweden. It’s a kind of keyed violin.

Next dance: January 12.

Contra dancing

Last night was another contra dance evening with a new band, a familiar, reliable caller, and a large, enthusiastic crowd. Next dance: December 28.

I left a BookCrossing book and someone picked it up.

Underwater dance extravaganza

This is a very cheering video clip: Doug & Dax’s underwater dance extravaganza.

A new contra dance season

I missed the first dance of the season because I was in Wisconsin. But I made it to the second one!

The dance was good - and so was the music - contra dancing is always done to live music. There were lots of people, so we had three sets of dancers down the hall. And there were lots of young people, including several children.

I like my underexposed pictures because they give a sense of the motion.

See Toronto Country Dancers for location and time.

Contra dancing

My son, his daughter, and I went contra dancing at St. Barnabas Church last night.

The music was good…

The caller was good…

And the dances were a little more complicated than usual–which was also good.

Contra dance special event at Flying Cloud Folk Club

Sunday evening, Feb 18th, there is going to be a special concert about the roots of contra dance. They’ll explore that history in a combination of music, dance demonstrations and brief talks. Did you know that the roots of contra dance go back at least 500 years? The concert will start from the Renaissance(!) and go from there.

The Flying Cloud Folk Club is located at 292 Brunswick Ave (just south of Bloor Street, west of Spadina) and starts at 7:30 pm. We’ve arranged for Toronto Coutry Dance members to get the member rate for the concert, $12 instead of $14.

There is a wonderful lineup of musicians:

• Saskia Tomkins is an all-Britain Fiddle Champion. She has traveled the world learning different violin genres, playing with people such as Uriah Heep, Crispin Mills (Kula Shaker), the English Shakespeare Company, Sonja Kristina (Curved Air), Sin E, Toronto Tabla Ensemble, Laurie Anderson and various U.K. Dance troupes. Her recording career covers over 30 albums and numerous Radio broadcasts including work for the BBC.
• Steafan Hannigan is a Belfast born and raised musician who plays over 40 musical instruments! He is a respected teacher of Irish Traditional Music and works as a live and studio engineer as well as a session musician. He has worked with many top artists including Lorenna McKennett , Jeff Martin, Toronto Tabla Ensemble, James Keelaghan, Art Turner, Il Divo, Julian Lloyd Weber, Pete Lockett, Bjork, Depeche Mode, Gary Barlow, Uriah Heep, The Afro-celts, John OConnor Startrekkin!) and yes Michael Flately.
• Stephen Fuller is well-known to contra dance regulars for his over 20 years of great fiddle music at local dances. He also plays a wide variety of other music, from classical to country, and has also appeared at festivals such as Mariposa, Earthsong, The Cambridge Folk Festival, Toronto Place, and Harbourfront.

Some local members of the dance community are going to help out with dance demonstrations and there will be the opportunity for at least one contra dance, space permitting.

Contra dancing family

We went dancing last night to some very sweet fiddle music: jigs, reels, and a couple of waltzes. More and more young people are coming out to the dances, both teens and children down to about 7. A good time is had by all. There’s a break for cider and sometimes cookies half-way through the evening. See Toronto Country Dancers for location and times.

Andie danced with her dad, people came from Newmarket and Peterborough, new members showed up and after a bit of doubt, at first had a good time.

BookCrossing note: I left three books out: two were taken and one has had a journal entry made on the BookCrossing Web site.

Dance and swim

We went swimming this afternoon at the community centre. It was a free and cheerful way to move around a bit. Tonight some of us are going contra dancing. That should be a good combination. Swimming is relaxing and restful; dancing is a little more tiring.

The music should be especially good tonight, as it is played by Mark Sullivan and Friends. Mark Sullivan was the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion in 2005, 2004, and 2001.

Come if you can! It’s right on the subway. There are practice sessions for beginners before each dance. And here you can brush up on Good Manners for Dancers. See Toronto Country Dancers for location and time.