Jude's Journal Issue 2009-1

Jude’s Journal 

by Jude Conroy

WHERE ARE THEY?

Bon Voyage to our Toni Charbonneau. She’s part of a sailing crew moving a boat from Panama to Florida! Fair winds to ya Toni!

Donnalyn just came back from Mallorca, Spain where she was visiting her son and his family. I am anxious to hear all about your adventure Donnalyn .

Correction: Bill Ossa. He’s in Africa, not China. Good thing, we don’t want him getting into anything made with melamine! He’s teaching at the Morogora Teacher College. Go Bill! Teach the folks how to contra, spread the word and dance steps!

Ellen ~ we miss you gal! Ellen is looking after her dad up in c o l d Wisconsin. The day I received her e-mail it was MINUS 20! Burrrrrrrrrrr! 

APPLAUSE & HURRAH

Kudos to the wonderful music Simon Kiefer has been booking on our dancing behalf! Music and callers have been outstanding. Lots of good dances being called on our S.B. wonderful sprung floor! How lucky we are!

More kudos to our regular dancers, who in the course of an evening help out our newcomers (potential continuous community dancers). Steering a newcomer in the correct direction with your hand movement, eye direction and body language is very helpful. 

I remember being a newcomer. Wow, it was confusing for a long time and I really appreciated those of you who took a little time out to help my direction along the way. Sometimes I still need direction! HA! (No comments from the peanut gallery thank you very much.)

Our New Year's Dance in Ojai was just wonderful. Kudos to Karin Dron for all the work you do to make our Ojai dance possible. Our dancing friends from L.A., S.B., and Riverside helped fill the hall with smiles, laughter, warmth, fun, twirls and synchronized stomping. What a wonderful way to bring in the New Year! YES!

Dance Floor Courtesy: Please, no perfume, heavy scented lotions or aftershaves. 

Many thanks to the persons who change their shirts/blouses during the course of an exuberant evening of fun dancing .

DANCING PROTOCOL

One of the most noticeable and attractive points of contra dancing is eye contact. Some of us have a problem with eye contact but eyebrow, nose or forehead eye contact is ok too! Just check out how eye contact on the popular TV program “Dancing With the Stars” looks. Could you ever imagine them not looking at each other!  

Eye, eyebrow or nose eye contact also keeps one from getting dizzy!

CONTRA CORNERS: When I first had to do this complex move, oh my gosh! Confusing, you betchya. Little hint: if you were to put your arms out into a ‘V” shape, you would be heading to the person across from your right arm, go around this person and meet your partner in the middle, half turn with your partner then off to the person you pointed to with your left arm, then back to your partner. Congratulate yourself and dance on with a smile .

PASS THROUGH: Ok, which shoulder of the person across from you do you pass? Right or left? Explore this with your fellow dancers ~ Gary or Donnalyn will teach or answer this question on the dance floor.

CONTRA CARNIVALE was held in San Luis Obispo (SLO) January 16-18. What a wonderful weekend of music, dancing, making new and reacquainting with friends from all parts of the USA. The weather was delightful, hall was beautiful and our hosts did a fabulous job of hosting. Kudos SLO chapter . One of the best parts of a dance weekend is getting to know people better. I haven’t been disappointed yet!

Some up and coming dances are Fiddling Frog in Pasadena, Monte Toyon near Santa Cruz, Balance the Bay, May Madness in Prescott, AZ, Labor Day Dance Away in Julian, Dance in the Desert outside Tucson (November).

Want to know about many local and away dances? Contact louise-danceinfo [at] earthlink [dot] net. Tell Louise you would like to be added to the mailing roster. Tell Louise you are a part of the SBCDS (Santa Barbara Country Dance Society) community.

Another source of info is on a corner of the SBCDS website: http://www.sbcds.org/festivals/

Want to become part of the SBCDS Group on line community goings on notices? E-mail Gary Shapiro at:

garys [at] sbcds [dot] org

 Contra Community Artistic Members Showings:

Mary Thompson’s Sculptures in Faulkner Gallery at

the SB Library, 40 W. Anapamu St, SB ~ now, 

until 2/28

Let Jude know your comings/goings/celebrations. This column is for this dance community. Respond to cloud-merlin [at] roadrunner [dot] com.

Fiddle the Day Away

The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise is pleased to announce that on October 5, 2008, the 37th Annual Old-Time Fiddler's Convention and Festival returns to the historic Stow House in Goleta.

This event celebrates and preserves the distinctly unique "Old Timey music" originating in the Appalachian region, the birthplace of American Folk music. It's a day of family entertainment with contestants competing for prizes.

The Performance Stage will offer a great line-up of acoustic bands, which in past years has included the Gap Tooth Mountain Ramblers, J.T. and the Zydeco Zippers, and Molly's Revenge.

This year they will be offering a special commemorative T-Shirt in memory of Oakie Adams, a well know fiddler and banjo maker who passed away this past year. Kick back and enjoy the music with a cold drink and some fine food under a weeping willow tree.

Next year the program will expand to include square dancing and contra dancing in the newly refurbished dance hall. For more info please visit: http://fiddlersconvention.org.

Dancing with the Little Ones

By Shane Butler

In my 22 years of contra dancing, I have gone from being a Romeorouge lothario of the dance floor to a loving husband and doting daddy of two dancing daughters. This evolution of perspective has given me tremendous insight into the difference between dancing with women of my own age to dancing with new-to-the-dance-floor preteens.

In the younger generation we have the future of contra dancing and it is dependant on us to make their dancing experience as positive and nurturing as possible. With this in mind I want to pass along a few things I’ve learned that could help make dancing with kids fun for you and a helpful learning experience for them.

Keep it grounded: We know you’re very strong and also how much fun it is to swing kids around and around without their feet touching the ground. But this teaches them nothing and makes some of them very nervous. It takes away their sense of control and their connection with the dance as a whole. Imagine yourself being flung around willy-nilly by a stranger and being too shy to ask them to stop. Let’s leave the airtwirls for their own daddys to do!

Personal space: An adult may enjoy being cuddled or squeezed close during a swing, plus they can definitely let you know when they don’t. But a child is not always going to be as comfortable in this situation or as forthcoming enough to let you know when they are not. The whole dance environment is intimidating enough for young beginners without somebody getting a little too close for comfort.

Flirting: Let’s keep it age appropriate! Amorous advances, regardless of how playfully intended should only be directed at adults and preferable to the ones you already know.

Most of all make it fun: This is all new to them, instruction and guidance can be useful, but most of all we want them to thoroughly enjoy their dancing experience and be eager to return.

A good rule of thumb is to treat all young dancers as you would want a child of your own to be treated. 

Remember: How a child, or anybody for that matter, feels about themselves when they get home will determine if they want to come back.

Don't Miss 'Lefty Lucy'

We have a new band in town. Mark your calendar for Sept. 16th for the debut of Lefty Lucy, This local, all-girl, stringband plays Celtic and old-time music. This exciting young band includes Barbara Taylor, on lead fiddler, Nicola Gordon on second fiddle, Nancy Cohen on guitar, and Donna Lynn Caskey on banjo. Their repertoire of lively hoedowns and gritty, romantic old-time waltzes is drawn from the traditional music of the Carolinas, West Virginia, and Kentucky. This is sure to be a fun evening with many new dancers following them down from UCSB.

Ojai's the Place!

The lovely Ojai Art Center has been sponsoring contra dances for almost 22 years. Along with a playhouse theater they provide a cozy, art-filled space with a vintage 1930’s wooden dance floor, lively acoustics and a charming patio. The hall is just a couple of minutes walking distance from downtown for those who wish to come early and have dinner in one of Ojai’s fine restaurants. 

Coming up Saturday, November 29, from 7:30- 10:30 pm the Ojai contra dance community welcomes Susan Petrick, from Northern California, to call the Thanksgiving Weekend Dance. Joining her will be The Michael Mendelson Trio, featuring Michael on fiddle & guitar, Kurt MacInnis on mandolin & guitar and Bill Flores on banjo, fiddle, saxophone & dobro. 

Please contact Karin Dron at (805) 933-0660 or e-mail her at karincontra [at] juno.com for car-pool or overnight housing information. Come alone, or bring friends and family, to enjoy this community-oriented dance! Admission $9 Art Center members $8. 

Watch for details in the winter edition of the Dance Star for a NEW YEAR'S EVE DANCE featuring Susan Michaels & Bonfire with Frank Hoppe.

The Dance Star Is Back!

After a couple of years vacation, the Dance Star has returned. Under the watchful eye of its new editor, Shane Butler, it will bring you stories of local interest and relevant articles cribbed from other publications. The focus will be on upcoming events that our dance community may want to know about, and it will be a forum for ideas and discussions on relevant topics.

The paper will only be distributed locally and will be available online. We are looking for written contributions, and an artist who works in pencil or pen who would like to help with an occasional drawing.

We encourage and greatly appreciate contributions from the community.

Articles can be reprinted with permission. For more info please contact Shane at: 805-665-8852 or send email.

Free Halloween Costume Dance

Free Halloween Costume Dance

on November 2, 2008

in celebration of

Bettine and Lawrence Wallin's

40th wedding anniversary.

Please come and celebrate Bettine and Lawrence's 40th anniversary. The Wallin's have been supportive of and sharing with the dance community for many years. This dance is being sponsored in recognition of and thanks for their contribution to the Santa Barbara contradance community as well as their still being newlyweds after 40 years!

Please, no gifts. Your presence is enough. Cards, letters or other expressions of delight are welcome.

If you are interested in helping with the dance planning, food, or decorations. Please contact Paul Hartloff or Linda Wise at 648-5858.

–from the Dance Star, Fall 2008

Dance Star Editor: Your Name Here

Keith Connes was the volunteer editor and producer of the Dance Star for several years. He has had much experience in this field, and has done a fantastic job with the Dance Star, the articles and the biographies.

Unfortunately, Keith has not been able to continue. Anyone interested, please contact Gary Shapiro at 805 682-5523 or via email or better yet, in person. Note that this doesn’t have to be a job for just one person.

And ask about the perks!