This weekend I'm off once again to the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, New York, where I will be teaching four sessions which cover almost the entire range of historical dance: 1589 all the way to the present day. Here's the list:
10:00-11:15am Saturday
Victorian Contras & Squares
By
modern standards these are quite gentle dances with beautiful figures
generally taken at a relaxed pace, though I have a couple of dances
with galop segments on my list as well, time permitting. Very
beginner-friendly. Musical accompaniment by Spare Parts.
3:15-4:15 Saturday
Having a Branle! French Circle Dances
I
wish this one had been a little more helpfully labeled -- the era is
relevant. These are easy sixteenth-century (Renaissance) dances with
simple steps, hops, and jumps and little "miming" segments. A few of these have been discussed on Kickery and may be found in the Arbeau category. Music will
be provided by The Flying Romanos.
9:00-10:15pm Saturday
Flashback to 1978 Line Dances
This is a repeat of the very successful session of disco line dances I did last year. Perfect for anyone who still feels nostalgic about Saturday Night Fever, though last year I actually had plenty of attendees who were considerably younger than the film. I've posted quite a few of these dances in the Disco category here on Kickery. This session will use recorded music.
10:00-11:00am Sunday
Cross-Step Waltz
This is a beautiful,
flowing modern waltz form that works best with slow music and
incorporates moves from many different dance forms. I mostly do
historical dance, but I have a special love for cross-step and its immense variation. Musical
accompaniment by Mary Lea, Jacqueline Schwab, and Dan Beerbohm.
The Flurry is a huge, fabulous festival that takes over much of downtown Saratoga and covers a wide range of social and performance dance styles. If I have enough energy between teaching sessions, I'm hoping to dance everything from contra to Texas two-step to Balboa to Hambo. While it's not primarily focused on historical dance, I can't recommend it highly enough as an overall experience for general dance junkies like myself.
Check out the Flurry website for the full program and the list of performers. And if you read Kickery, please do say hello after one of my sessions!
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