The Thanksgiving holiday can have many meanings, but it always provides an opportunity to reflect with gratitude on the gifts of this world. Here are some reasons we’re giving thanks:
~ Living in this beautiful corner of the place we call Maine, homeland of the Wabanaki, the People of the First Light.
~ Dancing, singing, and making music with people of all ages (including at the recent OH! Flying Shoes dances at the Rockport Opera House!)
~ Program partners who help BFS bring participatory folk arts to the community. (Mark your calendar for our upcoming collaboration with Bagaduce Music: a weekend of Scandinavian music, song & dance programs!)
~ Celebrating 18 years of Flying Shoes on December 1 (time for the party hats and frivolity!)
~ Reminders that we “really ought to get down on [our] knees and thank providence” for what is good in our lives. (This Hidden Brain podcast helped us pay closer attention to gratitude!)
Flying Shoes programs are effective because they entail participation; the same is true of democracy, citizenship, and voting! Active engagement is the key!
Maine has one of the highest voter turnout rates in the nation, partly thanks to same day voter registration. Let’s keep rocking the vote, with high participation by eligible voters of all ages & demographics! (Just like the All Comers Band and the BFS dances.)
Here are additional nonpartisan resources.
Use them, share them, and get out there and vote! (If you’re from away, and can’t vote in Maine, get the scoop on voting in your state!)
Democracy Maineis a collaboration of three nonpartisan organizations, partnering on advocacy and education efforts:
Dancing and playing music with other people can bring lots of joy, and voting can be really FUN TOO! It’s a great chance to smile and see your neighbors. So, go out there and participate by voting!
On a gorgeous first day of November, it’s a delight to launch the Belfast Flying Shoes Annual Appeal by sharing this letter from Ethan Tischler, BFS Board Member. Hurrah!
After a steamy start to September, it’s feeling a bit more autumnal in Belfast. Time for some Rays of Sunshine!
Scandi Dance & Music:
Our recent Scandi programs with Bagaduce Music were a delight for all concerned. Folks dug in deep to the tunes at the musicians’ workshop, and the dancers learned new partner communication skills, some glorious slängpolska options, plus a really fun 4-person schottis. We’re already looking forward to Andrea’s 2024 visit!
Bagaduce director Bennett Konesni and Scandi dance leader Andrea Larson
Strung Together:
After a delightful collaboration at the Armenian picnic, we’re strengthening ties with the Makers Guild of Maine further. C’mon out to the Strung Together Old Time & Bluegrass Music Campout Sept 15-17! Contra tunes with Willy Clemetson & dancing with Chrissy Fowler, plus all the other good times on the shores of Penobscot Bay. Info: makersguildmaine.org/strung-together/
Willy Clemetson, fiddling at the shore
Summer Newsletter:
Flying Shoes has much to be grateful for, including these tidbits we sent to our nonprofit contributors, below. We’re glad you’re in the Flying Shoes community. Enjoy the upcoming equilibrium of the Equinox!
~ Chrissy & the rest of the BFS leadership team (Alessandra, Alex, Ethan, Jennifer, Kay, Margo, Mike, & Morgan)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
August 20, 2023
Summer is at its zenith in Belfast, and our shoes have certainly been flying! With all the good things happening, it’s an excellent time to pause and reflect on what BFS does in the community. Here’s an update on three of our programs:
BFS School Residencies:
In a new program, funded in part by a 2022 Expansion Arts Grant from the Maine Community Foundation, Flying Shoes teaching artists facilitated 112 class sessions of singing and dancing in pre-K through Grade 2 classrooms in RSU 71. With an additional three school residencies in the region, BFS connected with 380 students, 52 staff members, and 105 family members. Wow! The student artwork, above, gives a very clear picture — Smiling faces all!
Music Lessons at the Reentry Center:
In an ongoing program at the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center, a corrections facility here in Belfast, John Pranio has provided 27+ music lessons since January–plus an equal measure of informal mentorship and community connection. The Reentry Center residents are completing their sentences and preparing to return to their communities, and music-making is a powerful support in that process. John recently shared that a new student has been especially motivated to learn. Apparently, his mom always wanted him to play an instrument when he was a kid, but he never did… until now!
Dances on First Fridays and Beyond:
The First Friday series is thriving, thanks to a committed crowd of volunteer helpers, newly streamlined processes, and a collaborative organizing team. Whenever we see BFS dancers and musicians around town, they’re excited about all of the opportunities for dancing and playing: workshops, waltzing, a Scandi dance party, dances at the Rockport Opera House, a square dance, collaborations with the YMCA, and (we hope) another dance on the Armistice Footbridge.
We’re grateful to have so many lovely venues to dance in, at at the same time we’re dreaming of a future Belfast dance hall that will accommodate our joyful throngs of dancers and musicians. Do let us know if you have ideas!
We always love hearing about how BFS inspires you ~ so, please be in touch if you have feedback or thoughts! May you and yours revel in the delights of the season.
Cheers, Chrissy Fowler, BFS Executive Director
(on behalf of the BFS Board of Directors: Jennifer Armstrong, Margo Burnham, Alex Mann, Alessandra Martinelli, Ethan Tischler & Kay Zegel and the First Friday Committee: Morgan Cafferata, Mike Wright & Chrissy Fowler)
The Summer Solstice brought some gorgeous sunshine, and even though it’s raining again, we’re still feeling the figurative warmth of the season!
Flying Shoes Community Dance & Contras Fri 7/7
Hope to see you at the July 7 dances ! The All Comers Band, Benjamin, Willy, Lisa & Chrissy are on tap for the Community Dance! The contras will be glorious, thanks to Nils Fredland and Spintuition (Samuel Foucher, Willy Clemetson and Silas Hamilton), and sound by Lincoln Clapp.
We’d love your help!
To volunteer for 5:00 pm setup role or a greeter role during the contra dance, please email Morgan [email protected] or fill out this volunteer form. (In gratitude for your advance commitment, BFS will offer you free admission to both dances!)
With the end of the school year, we concluded several dance & music residencies in local schools. Flying Shoes teaching artists worked in a variety of settings this school year, including fourteen different preK-2 classrooms in 4 schools in RSU 71 (a project supported by a 2022 Maine Expansion Arts grant from the Maine Community Foundation), two 4th grade classrooms at Captain Albert Stevens School in Belfast, the Belfast Area Children’s Center in Waldo, and grades 5-8 at Ashwood Waldorf School in Rockport. We’ll share photos and a couple of sweet anecdotes in a future blog post. Family members, students, and teachers provided plenty of positive feedback, and we’re already planning residencies for the 2023-24 school year!
With spring in full bloom, all sorts of enlivening things are waving in the air – including our hands and our spirits!
Flying Shoes Community Dance & Contras Fri 6/2
We’ve been having a great time on first Fridays, and the June 2 dances should be really sweet! (The All Comers Band, Benjamin, Willy, Lisa & Chrissy are on tap for the Community Dance and the contras feature Hannah Chamberlain, Alden Robinson, Benjamin Foss, Bennett Konesni, & Alex Hennings.)
We’d love your help!
To volunteer for setup, greeting at either dance, or cleanup, please email [email protected] or fill out this volunteer form. (In gratitude for your advance commitment, BFS will offer you free admission to the dances!)
Other community organizers in our area are also cultivating new and familiar opportunities to dance. Here are some more dance-themed rays of sunshine! (We tried to send this last week, but something went awry, so we’re including some **past happenings among the rays of sunshine.)
Square Dance at Simonton Corner Sun. 6/11:
Once a hub of contra dancing in the region, the Simonton Corner Community Hall in Rockport will again be full of swinging & stomping and hooting & hollering on Sunday, June 11. Caller Will Mentor is coming to Maine for a Square Dance Party, with music by Emily Jeffries and Baron Collins-Hill. Dancing from 4:00-6:00 pm followed by a potluck and jam session for those who want to stick around a bit longer. More on the DEFFA listing or contact Emily at 205-789-7907 or [email protected]
Dancing at the Library in Searsmont Sat. 6/10:
Come on out for a *free* Community Contra Dance on the lawn near the Searsmont Town Library at 37 Main St S in Searsmont. This program is part of the STL’s “Live at the Library” series, made possible with support of Belfast Flying Shoes and a grant from the Onion Foundation. Saturday, June 10, starting at 4:00pm. Music by the All Comers Band, led by John Pranio, Toki Oshima & Benjamin Foss, with calling by Chrissy Fowler. BYO picnic to enjoy afterward. More on the STL website, the BFS calendar or DEFFA.org.
Maine Dances Galore – Contras & More!
DownEast Friends of the Folk Arts (DEFFA) is our statewide music & dance organization. Their website has lots of cool stuff – oral histories from influential dance leaders in Maine, performer directory, and scores of listings at DEFFA.org/events, including these regular dances:
English Country Dance at 317 Main in North Yarmouth- Every Thursday
English Country Dance in Brunswick – every other Wed in May, then Tuesdays for the summer
Belfast Flying Shoes Community Dance & Contras – 1st Fridays
Surry Community Dance & Contra Dance – 2nd Saturdays
Orono Contras – 2nd Saturdays
Brooks Contra Dance – 2nd Fridays (beginning 5/19, no dance in June)
Dover-Foxcroft Contra Dance – 2nd Fridays
Cherryfield Contras – now on 3rd Sat (beginning on 5/20)
Common Floor Contra Dance in Portland – mostly on 3rd Sundays
Otisfield Community Contra – 3rd Sundays
Kennebec Contras in Hallowell – 4th Saturdays
Well, that’s lots of sunshine to inspire you. Get out there and frolic like the lambs and kids, gamboling around to kick up your heels in joy!
**And below are the two offerings you may have missed but can catch the next time!
West African Dance & Drumming happened5/22:
The Belfast Dance Studio & Center for Embodiment at 109 High St in Belfast is flourishing! Shana Bloomstein is now managing the studio with support from others, including studio founder, Lisa Newcomb (one of the BFS community dance callers!) One exciting workshop happened on Monday, May 22. A full studio reveled in the community-building dance traditions of Guinea in West Africa, with beautiful teacher, singer, dancer extraordinaire, Nafi Domani Diabate and Portland-based drummer, Namory Keita, who was joined by local drummers Jeff Densmore & Jeff Wolovitz! Email Shana to find out about more opportunities at the studio! [email protected]
New Contra Series in Brooks launched5/19:
On Friday, May 19, another awesome Maine contra dance series kicked off, with dancing and music at the historic Union Hall (now known as the Marsh River Theater) in Brooks. JohnMcIntire called with Alden Robinson & Benjamin Foss. Good times were had! Contact Benjamin for info about the series [email protected] or see the DEFFA listing.
