From info at syracusecountrydancers.org Tue Sep 9 23:12:34 2008 From: info at syracusecountrydancers.org (David Smukler) Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:12:34 -0400 Subject: [syr-contra-news] Upcoming Schedule Message-ID: Dancers, (Scroll down if you want to cut to the chase and see our upcoming schedule.) I know that my chatty newsletters have been coming less frequently. Gretchen Ziegler does such a fine job sending the weekly reminders that I'm beginning to feel superfluous! We are considering merging the lists, which are very similar in any case. We'd then use that single list both for the weekly reminders and the occasional chatty notes. I know that there may be a few people who would just as soon not receive our emails weekly. If you are one of those, feel free to reply to this note and let me know. If we go to a single list, I'll remove you. We had a wonderful double English dance last weekend. There was a dance for experienced dancers in the afternoon, followed by a potluck dinner and regular evening English dance. We think this may become the model for an annual event to kick off our fall season. Here's an alert for those of you who love our English country dances. Beginning in 2009, we will be moving those from the first weekend of the month to the third weekend, still on Saturdays. This is because we tend to need to move the dance location more frequently on first weekends. Since the contra dances occur more often, we feel they are better able to absorb such change and irregularity. We have another special event coming up on September 20th. We will start with a "Cracking Chestnuts" workshop in the afternoon, followed by a potluck dinner and evening dance. David Smukler leads the workshop. He's the author of a soon-to-be-released book about contra chestnuts that CDSS is publishing. These older dances have been experiencing something of a resurgence lately. Come find out why so many of us love Chorus Jig, Hull's Victory, Money Musk, etc. The band, Dick Bolt and Tom Hodgson, will provide excellent musical support. We also have a silent auction planned for September 20th. This was a hoot last year! The auction is to raise money for the upcoming Phylla Mae Fall Fest (more about that below). If you have any item you would like to donate, contact Gretchen Ziegler, either by emailing gretchen (at) syracusecountrydancers (dot) org, or phoning her at 315.682.0627. You can also just bring donations to the dance this weekend or on the 20th. EXTRA EXTRA! It's time to register for the Phylla Mae Fall Fest!! This year's weekend, October 17-18, looks to be one of the finest yet. Callers include Nils Fredland, Pamela Goddard, Katy Heine, David Smukler and more. Featured musicians are Ethan Hazard-Watkins, Anna Patton, Karen Axelrod, Megan Beller, Charley Beller, and John Wobus. The schedule includes contra and English country dancing, special workshops and discussions, jamming, yoga, and more. Please take a look at for details about performers, schedule, etc. All we need to make the weekend a total blast is YOU!! Take your browser to and download our registration form. There's an address on the form. Mail it today. There is still space! Other opportunities to dance abound in upstate NY. Here are a few: - Every Thursday in Rochester - Every Friday in Ithaca - English dancing 2 Sundays/month in Rochester - Dances in Oswego to the north and Binghamton and Owego to the south The Hands Four of Ithaca Dancers also have one of their exciting events coming up on September 20th, and there's a fine dance you won't want to miss in Morrisville at Madison Hall on September 27, with Bob Nicholson calling and music by Rachel Bell, Jane Knoeck and Tom Santarsiero. You can get more specific info about CNY dances by starting at our website . So, that's the current news. Here's our upcoming schedule: ===================== Sep 12 Carmen Giunta Three Wheel Drive Sep 20: Cracking Chestnuts Workshop, 4-6 PM, followed by potluck David Smukler Dick Bolt and Tom Hodgson Also on Sep 20: Regular contra dance, 8-11 and silent auction to benefit the Phylla Mae Fall Fest Sep 26 Mike Jones Confluence Oct 4: English country dance at Madison Hall Bob Nicholson Nottingham Fair Oct 11 Bob Nicholson Eileen Nicholson and Jill Smith Oct 24 Sarah VanNorstrand Arugula Nov 1: English country dance Mary Jones Four Hands Round Nov 7 David Smukler The Usual Suspects Nov 15 Caller TBA Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand Nov 22 Bob Nicholson Hope Greitzer, Kathy Selby and Tom Hodgson Nov 30: NO DANCE Dec 1: English country dance David Smukler Eileen Nicholson, Laurel Sharp and Jane Knoeck