Tee hee! Slate just dug up a nineteenth-century cheat sheet for contra dancers ( Read more... )

In other news, we were learning this dance called "Ca' The Ewes Tae The Knowes." The name of this dance caused a bit of confusion, as we are none of us native speakers of Scots Gaelic (it means "Call the Sheep to the Hills"), and it led to some discussion about sheep. Were the dancers supposed to represent sheep? Baaaaaa. Well, my name means " ( Read more... )

I've discovered a whole new subset of Scottish Country Dances. They're the ones that I'm starting to call "Platypus Dances." These would be the dances that appear, at first glance, to be completely random collections of figures, strung together with no rhyme, reason, or any visible means of connection between them. After you dance them a few ( Read more... )

Hillel sponsored an all-night Holiday Of Learning last night in honor of Shavuot, so I got to teach a Yiddish song workshop. I think it went pretty well -- I had five (eventually six) enthusiastic participants, who all sang, and who seemed to have a real interest in the songs of Yiddishland. We did some table songs, some folk songs, a lullaby, a ( Read more... )

The other nice thing that happened at contra dance a couple of weeks ago (besides winning a prize for style) was meeting a nice, non-skeevy boy who was also a good dancer. He gave me a standing invitation to a Renaissance dance class that meets on Wednesday nights. Wednesdays are my busy days (two seminars), so I told him that I would probably ( Read more... )

Last night, I got to go to the university's monthly contra dance. It was the first time in absolutely ages -- somehow, I don't think I made it at all last year. For a variety of very good reasons, of course, including Being Very Sick, but still. I'd missed it.

It was fantastic. The band came from New England, the calling was good, the teaching ( Read more... )

It is mind-numbingly, fantastically, booger-freezingly cold outside ( Read more... )

Very musically crowded weekend, covering styles ranging from Java to Scotland to Alabama.

I attended the Chicago New Year's Ball on Saturday night, which is always a fun event. How many people can realistically say, "oh, I have to go get dressed now, I'm going to the Ball," and mean it? Gowns/cocktail dresses, gentlemen in kilts and Bonnie ( Read more... )