Susan de Guardiola, Social Dance Historian
Happy new year!
Since I didn't really get a holiday break in December, and I'm traveling overseas again the first week in January for a conference, the rest of January will be my Official Post-Holiday Break — the first time in several months I won't be preparing a gig, preparing a paper, preparing to travel, or recovering from some/all of the above.
It feels like November is going to stretch for two more days as I wind up an intense trip to the UK that has so far involved two days of teaching and visits to three different libraries and archives in three different cities/towns. Today and tomorrow will be library #4 in yet another town. On Saturday I fly home and have one entire day there before turning around and heading to Boston for my last public event of the year: DJing once more for Bluesy Tuesy! I'll be sneaking in some research there, too. Weather permitting, this may include a cemetery stroll…
Edited 12/20/23 to add:
Okay, one more public event: I will be teaching some Lancers (quadrille) at Yiddish New York 2023! It's a long story….
This month will be very, very quiet for sixteen days. Then it will be very, very busy for ten days as I ricochet from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to London, England, leading balls and teaching. Whee!
After my London weekend I will be wandering around the UK for a few days doing research. Dorset, here I come!
Life and dancing return! October is going to be filled primarily with a two-week trip to Europe for a conference and a very special dance workshop, then home to Connecticut to prepare for a crazy late November.
To sleep, perchance to actually get rested? Once again, I have a non-gig calendar for the month, though I will be making a couple of personal trips, including an Actual Vacation for the first time since 2018. See you in October, when things get lively again!
We are now on May, Take III, and I have nothing original to say about it except that I am really looking forward to autumn. I'll make a short trip to Boston for DJing and library research, then back at home again for research and writing and all the mundane life stuff.
For the first time in four years we have a non-gig calendar! Previous July plans have been postponed, so I will be hibernating quietly at home this month, getting things prepared for later in the year (autumn will be lively!) and taking care of non-dance business.
June feels a bit like May, Take II: a quick trip to Boston early in the month to DJ and do a bit of library research, then holing up at home for research and writing…and yardwork and home renovations and all those little things I do when I'm not working.
Tra la…it's May! Waltz workshops and DJing a waltz afternoon in Boston early in the month, then I'll be taking a break from travel for some needed time at home for research and writing!
As April begins I'll still be on my March Chicago trip, now extended to Wisconsin. Then after a couple of weeks at home, I'll be on the road again to the amazing New England Folk Festival (NEFFA) and a Civil War ball in Pennsylvania, with a bit of DJing tucked in between. I'm looking forward to a fabulous and eclectic month!
Susan de Guardiola, Social Dance Historian
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