DanceFlurry News Published annually by the DanceFlurry Organization Volume 4 August, 2010 Eileen Parzek and Don Bell created a Facebook page Inside This Issue for the Flurry Festival and the DFO which now has DFO News and Notes ..................................... 1 close to 700 fans. We invite you to become a fan and How I Got Started… ..................................... 1+ contribute to DFO community discussions about tra- Looking Back With Bill Matthiesen ................. 2 ditional dance. Flurry Festival 2011 Performer Highlights ....... 4 Making Connections Behind-the-Scenes ......... 4 Youth Initiatives One major DFO goal is to foster Keepers of the Dance .................................... 6 more involvement of young people in our activities. A Sound-sational Experience ......................... 8 Rosalee Ruediger-Hamelin and Naomi Wimberley- DFO’s New President: Jen Brown .................... 9 Hartman have been working on two important youth Meet the New DFO Board Members ............... 9 projects: an in-school residency for musicians and a Who’s Who With the Dance Series ............... 10 summer program scholarship for two high school in- terns. Maura McNamara launched a great, youth- DFO News and oriented contra dance “Megaband” (see article). Flurry Festival Despite the challenges of working DFO Outreach Activities The Outreach Committee around the City Center construction this year, we had (John Guay, Terry Kinal, Jason Fenton, Don Bell, Ian another successful Flurry Festival. Much thanks and Hamelin and Linda Wicks) has been busy promoting praise to the Festival team of Peter Davis, Ian Hamelin dance and music by setting up displays and live music and Chrissie Van Wormer and the 25-plus volunteers at farmers’ markets and events such as health fairs. on the Flurry Festival Committee for organizing and We welcome your help at future events. producing a great event! In 2011 we look forward to DFO Finances Finance Director Chrissie Van Worm- expanded facilities, with additional dance and perfor- er reports that the organization is in good financial mance venues all in one location. shape. The Finance Committee has improved the Adirondack Dance Weekend In addition to the usual budgeting process, another major board goal. A suc- high-level contra dancing, this year will feature great cessful Flurry means we have the resources to put on English Country dancing. There will be some swing another great festival in 2011. Our financial stability and couple dancing, too. The line-up of bands and allows us to continue to support local dance series. callers includes Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, (most of) Bare Necessities, Spare Parts, Steve Zakon, Scott How I Got Started . Higgs, Will Mentor, and Jacqueline Schwab. The theme of this newsletter issue is “how we got DFO Web site Upgrade In order to take advantage of started” dancing, playing music, or calling. You’ll new technology, communicate more effectively with find these stories scattered throughout the issue. One theme our community and attract more young people to our that’s common to many of the stories is a first encounter that dances, DFO vice president Don Bell worked with came about because someone invited us (or dragged us) to a consultant Arlen Johnson on a major upgrade of the dance, or out on the dance floor, or up to the microphone. That’s DFO Web site. (There are also plans to revamp the good to remember—posting fliers and sending out e-mails is im- Festival Web site section.) Johnson, an RPI senior portant, but often it’s the web consultant whose own company is Dogen Media, person-to-person invitation provided pro bono services beyond his consulting that makes the difference. work. The new system enables dance organizers to Of course, you may invite update their own dance web pages and provides a folks who try it once and master dance calendar of all events. Thanks to Kevin never come back, but DeLaughter, who updates all DFO contra series on don’t let that discourage the Google calendar and Web pages, and to Jim you—keep on asking! Dolen, who does the same for the Swing dances. K Wardle DanceFlurry Organization PO Box 448, Latham, New York 12110 www.danceflurry.org DanceFlurry News August, 2010 Page 2 How I Got Started . Nicole Syrlik: I was in Woodstock one Looking Back Saturday night looking for something to do with Bill when I noticed a flier announcing that Ei- Matthiesen leen Ivers was playing at the Community By Don Bell Center. I had heard her perform before and really en- joyed her playing. So I walked to the hall and paid my After at least 13 six dollars. I looked around the hall, and the only years as a Board chairs there were lined up along the wall. Then a member including woman came up to me and asked me to dance, and the five years as light dawned. I was at a dance, not a concert! I told President, Bill her I didn't know how to do this. She smiled and said Matthiesen is now a that she would show me. She did, and I danced the board member emeritus of the rest of the night away. After that, I was hooked. I was DanceFlurry so very lucky to stumble into the hall that night and Organization. have Eileen Ivers play for my first contra dance. She rocked the hall and made me a lifelong dancer. Janet Haseley: Although we had been square danc- aking music and dancing through life started ing, when my husband Ed and I went to a contra M early for Bill Matthiesen. Luckily, when he be- dance with my brother Jack, we thought it was boring gan taking piano lessons in third grade, his teacher in- to do the same thing over and over and over. But af- troduced him to swing music. He continued with les- ter Ed died I started attending contra dances again, sons and played in a swing band in high school. As and now I am thoroughly addicted. It’s okay to go as for dancing, Bill was in sixth grade in the late 1950s, a single because at the end of each dance the caller when schools were still giving after-school dance les- says “Find another partner.” There’s a walk-through sons. He learned the fox-trot, waltz, and swing dance for each dance and you meet everyone as you progress steps and enjoyed dancing with girls at “sock hops” up and down the line. You meet people that you met (literally, shoe-less events held in gyms where coaches at other dances somewhere else. It’s fun! didn’t want dancers to damage the gym floors). Kids decorated their socks with colors and sequins to make Doug van Auken: Prior to college, I had been active them more unique. in rock ‘n’ roll, ballroom, and square dancing. At Cor- nell University, I discovered musicians and dancers by Unfortunately, while he was at Williams College, the score. On my “library night,” I would walk past Bill’s early ballroom dance career was cut short by a the weekly International Folk Dance session. The mu- 1960s cultural tsunami – the Twist and other rock ‘n’ sic was captivating and the dancers were having so roll free-form dancing. Instead of connecting with a much fun. I quickly changed my library night so I partner, dancers began doing their own thing and im- could sit in on a few sessions. The leader had to drag provising. Bill didn’t re-connect with dancing for me into the lines—but I soon enjoyed every moment quite awhile, not until he was in his thirties and a of folk dancing. From that first session, I joined in woman dragged him off to a large contra dance in most of the line and circle dances, sandwiched be- Pittsfield. Immediately hooked, he became involved in tween experienced dancers. What really flipped me the Pittsfield Dance organization, booking the musi- out was the cians and contra callers. After only a few months of friendliness of dancing, he attended English-American Week at Pin- traditional ewoods Dance Camp (near Plymouth, MA). He had a dancers. For great time learning contra and English dancing and me, dance is cooling off in the ponds in the scenic landscape. nourishment Segue to Spare Parts Bill met his wife, Liz Stell, for the soul. through work and contra dancing. Liz and Bill’s band, Spare Parts, was created the first time they played for a Buhrmaster Barn Dance dance, joining a fiddler friend from Hartford. The Sue Gersten, photo band name became even more appropriate as they DanceFlurry Organization PO Box 448, Latham, New York 12110 www.danceflurry.org DanceFlurry News August, 2010 Page 3 continued playing for dances with a variety of other about this time, Bill and Liz decided to take ballroom musicians, including George Wilson and David Kay- lessons at the eba Center for Dance and Fitness in Al- nor. From the beginning, the specific "Spare Parts du bany. They learned to do the waltz, fox-trot, rumba, jour" depended on the genre of music required and the and cha-cha, as well as Cajun and Scandinavian danc- location of a dance event. David and George were ing. both very strong influences on the band’s music and Bill met DFO founder Paul Rosenberg when Paul approach to playing for contra dances. With Bill on was starting to call contra dances and shortly before he keyboard and Liz on flute, the band has recorded got involved with the Flurry Festival. Bill and Liz be- many CDs and travelled as far afield as Alaska and came a staple of the Flurry—playing whatever music California.