This page will always have online edition of the current issue of the Seacoast Country Dance Newsletter. It’s as similar as possible to the downloadable version; I have to adapt it in various ways for web publication. To fit everything in and keep it readable I’m dispensing with the usual navigation tools on this page. Clicking on the Newsletter Main button will take you back to the Dance Newsletter About page. Clicking on the Download button will take you to the Download page where you can download the Newsletter and a Subscription Form in PDF format.
Download a Copy. Click on the link to go to the Newsletter Download Page and download the current Newsletter and a Subscription Form in PDF format.
Newsletter Main. This returns you to the Dance Newsletter About page which has all the navigation tools to get to the rest of the web site.
guess I should say something about why the newsletter is even later than usual. Basically it’s too complicated and involved to be worth bothering, involving multiple computer problems, trips to the dentist and the vet, and who knows what else, leaving me without even the time to prepare the usual e-mail updates for those on the e-mail list. Do you keep a current backup of your computer, or at least of your important files? If I didn’t you wouldn’t see any April or May newsletter at all! Do you have any software to help diagnose and repair problems on your computer? Even if you’re not very knowledgeable about computers, it’s not that hard to use; and if I didn’t have it, again, you wouldn’t see an April or May newsletter; and I would have had a hard time with teaching and many other things as well. They say we should do these things, and I got two completely independent illustrations of why within a week. Fortunately, while not as good as I should be, I believed “them”, and my loss was minimal other than several hours of my time that I couldn’t afford.
So, returning to music and dance ... I’m sure many of you remember Chrissy Fowler. She’s in Maine these days for those of you who didn’t know where she went, and is still calling and doing a lot of neat stuff. I got an e-mail from her today about a series of 3 workshops for new callers in the Belfast area. It’s not close, but it should be a great way to learn, and thanks to sponsorship from Downeast and CDSS, it’s only $20 for the whole series. I’ll put the entire announcement on my web site with links from the newsletter page and the announcement section of the main page, or contact her directly (207-338-0979; ktaadn_me@hotmail.com); leave adequate contact information.
Have you been to a Dover dance recently? We’ve been having some excellent dances the past few months. Quite a few students have been attending from UNH, as well as other younger dancers. They may not be as refined in their style as those who have been dancing for 5, 10, 20 or more years, but they learn quickly, and bring great energy and enthusiasm to the dance that can easily rub off on some of the dancers that have forgotten what it’s like to see the dancing as such a fresh experience. Furthermore, they’re generally a very nice bunch of people, and it’s nice to see such a group at the dance, as they represent the future of contradancing.
It makes me wonder when I first started going to the dances thirty years ago only slightly older as a graduate student from UNH what the older dancers said about me and the others from UNH; hopefully they viewed us reasonably favorably. I think in many ways we were very similar, although in other ways we were a rather different group.
I’ve had some great musical experiences recently. There have been times where I’ve gotten annoyed or worse at some of the music I hear at dances. A few weeks ago I was listening to the Canterbury Country Dance Orchestra recording that was rereleased on CD, and I was thinking, this is what it’s supposed to sound like! I got to the Concord dance, and Old New England was playing, with Tony Parkes calling, and I danced to some of the best music I could ever hope for. The week before that we were at John Rogers’ 60th birthday party with the Sugar River Band playing (the Orzechowski family), and again the music was excellent. Recently we went to the Hutchinson’s for Maple Sunday and played music, and then went to a great music party at Frank and Susan’s where one of the highlights is always playing the old square dance tunes that we all enjoy that aren’t played in most such settings.
It’s nice to get a fresh dosage of excitement about our music now and then; and as the place that kept contradancing alive, I’d guess that we’re in the right place for that!
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