It’s been a sunny week in Belfast. On Friday, May 22, Belfast Flying Shoes had scheduled an English Country Dance with three talented ECD performers: Adina Gordon calling, David Knight playing fiddle, and Dave Wiesler playing piano. Click their names for more info on their good work and where you can send them some love and support. We plan to reschedule for May 2021, but we wish they were here now!
Not all of us can dance a two-hand turn or a hey-for-three right now, but… everyone can “set and turn single” to their heart’s content! In that spirit, here are some ECD resources to cast light on your days.
First, the North Star Sisters (Elaine Malkin, Fredi LaPorte & Gail Lipfert) and callers John McIntire & Nancy Rosalie aren’t hosting their 5th Sunday English Country Dance in Belfast right now, but you can still enjoy their music.
- Elaine teaches fiddle at Maine Fiddle Camp and they’re going virtual! (And 40 people joined her pre-camp online class last weekend!)
- Fredi plays with the Belfast Bay Fiddlers, who are hosting Sunday eve online jams
Many other groups and individuals around the world are being wildly creative with their online offerings, including folks like these, who are passionate about English Country Dance. Enjoy!
- Carolina English Country Dance has an amazing collection of “dances choreographed for dancing alone or in households during the pandemic, and generously shared in the effort to keep us all on our feet and dancing together even if we are alone.” Dance Pandemic List Links
- Scissortail Traditional Dance Society in Oklahoma is having an online ECD/Contra dance party on Friday 5/22 at 7:15 OK time (featuring some of the repertoire in the Carolina ECD collection) Scissortail Zoom Dance
- Karen Axelrod (of Peregrine Road and other bands) has been playing with bandmates on Tuesday evenings. Even if you’re not on Facebook, you can see the videos on Karen’s Facebook Page.
- This video and (racy!) out-take from the Playford Pandemic Ball was utterly entertaining–from the titles of the dances to the inventive partnering. As a FB poster notes, “Love my mum and dad… I think lockdown has finally sent them over the edge.”