It’s been quite a long time since I’ve written much in the way of music and dance related articles or stories, but I’m trying to find more time for that sort of activity so here’s a story about the Deerfield March 2012 dance.
Dancing in Deerfield, March 2012, and a Related Story
Peter Yarensky ~ March 5, 2012
It was advertised to include workshops in the afternoon, a pot luck supper, and then a dance. The workshops included a music workshop led by Sylvia Miskoe, and a dance calling workshop led by Chris Ricciotti who was calling the evening dance. We didn’t make it to the workshops but we did make it only slightly late to the pot luck supper. We arrived and there were lots of cars. Once inside we saw there was a good-sized crowd and an excellent pot luck supper. It was an enjoyable social occasion, and featured lots of good food.
As the time for the dance approached we considered going upstairs. At some point I wandered up to the second floor, and as I arrived the band started playing. They were playing Petronella as a warmup tune and for the sound check. The band consisted of Sylvia Miskoe (accordion), Vince O’Donnell (fiddle) and Justine Paul (piano) with Paul Lizotte and a few others as sit-ins. Needless to say the music sounded great! Well, after one or two times through the dance there was a long set of people dancing Petronella.
A number of years ago Dudley had a party celebrating 50 years of calling. Carol Ormand, who I believe was living in Minnesota at the time, came out for the party and stayed over with us at Teresa’s. There’s a story related to the Deerfield dance that came out of it. I wrote it down at the time and here’s an extract (from the Seacoast Country Dance Newsletter, Nov. 2006):
“We wondered why one of the dynamic, more modern dance callers wanted to come over a thousand miles to New Hampshire just for a party! The answer was to see something that was perfectly normal to us, but that just couldn’t happen where she comes from. It was a great party, with many of the best musicians and callers from New England and beyond having shown up as well as many excellent dancers.
“At the appropriate time we took a break, and of course we all knew what came after the break. Some people started lining up as it seemed like it might be time for the dancing to begin again, as often used to happen in many New Hampshire town halls for exactly the same reason. No one seemed to be ready to call or get things organized so eventually some musicians showed up. They knew what they were supposed to do too, and they started playing Money Musk. Teresa and I had been busy socializing and heard the music, and jumped up and ran over to join the line. Somehow the long set figured out who was active. We didn’t need a caller since we all knew the dance. Maybe we called the dance ourselves; I can’t remember. But we had a great time dancing it in a very long set that ran the length of the hall and into the study, all dancing forward and back together, almost like it had been orchestrated. And that was what Carol had come for: to see and experience the situation in which everyone just knew the dances and after the break Money Musk would just automatically happen without anyone telling people to line up or teaching it. It was so normal to us, and worth a trip across the country to her!”
When everyone started spontaneously dancing Petronella with music played by a band that’s played Petronella an uncountable number of times and knows what it’s supposed to sound like, and without calling, it reminded me of that party. What a great way to start the dance!
Chris is a marvelous caller, and although he doesn’t get to do it often, he loves calling the old square dances. He grew up with those dances, and learned to call them at a fairly young age. He was obviously happy to be calling for a group that appreciated his squares and appreciated the chestnut contras he called. We danced “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight”, “On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine”, “Mary Anne” and “Dip and Dive” to the tune Redwing for squares. After Petronella we also danced “Hull’s Victory” and “Rory O’More”, as well as some more modern contras. For one of the last contras the band played a marvelous set of “Scotland the Brave” into “Meeting of the Waters”. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard those tunes sound a whole lot better! The last waltz was a marvelous tune written by George Wilson from upstate New York called “Sweet Journeys”.
Between the excellent music and calling, the choice of dances, and the nice group of dancers present, it was overall one of the best dances I’ve attended in a long time.
