Sounds fabulous!! Thanks for sharing. I wish I could've been there.
Janet Levatin



On Dec 23, 2008, at 3:15 PM, Will Loving wrote:

> Dear friends,
>
> I’d like to share with you a lovely experience I had last Saturday  
> night, an
> experience unique in my 27+ years of contra dancing. The event was the
> second of two consecutive nights of dancing with Wild Asparagus  
> during which
> the music for the entire dance was being recorded. The Guiding Star  
> Grange
> hall (Greenfield, MA) was filled with mostly experienced dancers who  
> braved
> the snowstorms and the stage was filled with extra musicians and  
> miles of
> microphone chords to support both the recording and the sound to the  
> hall.
> Lisa Greenleaf was calling so that George Marshall could focus on  
> playing.
>
> At most regular dances we have a walkthrough once, maybe twice, and  
> then
> four beats for nothing to start. This night was different for a  
> number of
> reasons to accommodate the recording. First, most of the bands  
> intros were
> longer, 8 or 16 beats, and second, the dancers were asked be quiet  
> during
> the intro and the first round of the dance (as well as during the  
> waltzes).
> In addition, in order to keep things quiet, there was no calling for  
> the
> first three moves or so of the first time through the dance.
>
> In order to make this all happen smoothly, Lisa did two careful
> walk-throughs followed by the entire hall listening to and then  
> practicing
> the introduction and first few moves a couple of times. In so doing,  
> we were
> able to all know when to come in and perform the first part of the  
> dance
> without cues. After that, Lisa would come in quietly as required.
>
> Now here’s the magical part: You have an entire hall of dancers,  
> three sets,
> standing in long wavy lines ready to balance. It’s completely quiet.  
> Becky
> Tracy starts playing the introduction on her fiddle and 16 beats  
> later, you
> hear 100+ bodies balancing right, balancing left, and then sliding  
> (ROM) to
> the right – all with no talking and no calls, just the sound of the  
> music
> and everyone dancing in unison. And it continued from there and was  
> repeated
> throughout the night with each new dance.
>
> Of course, people can’t be quiet for long, especially when Wild  
> Asparagus is
> playing, but those first few moments were an extraordinary  
> experience. The
> Greenfield dance is often so noisy during the walkthroughs and  
> dances and it
> was sheer joy (for me at least) to have it all pared down to just the
> essence of the music and the swish and step of dancers moving  
> together.
> Perhaps someday, if I get the opportunity and support from the  
> dancers, I’d
> love to ask everyone to try being quiet just for the first time  
> through a
> dance, just to have some experience of that again.
>
> Thanks to Lisa for her masterful management and calling and to Wild
> Asparagus (extended) group on stage for the fabulous music. When the  
> CD is
> released, you are all in for a treat.
>
> Will Loving
> Amherst, MA
>
> -- 
>
> "A contra-dance is like an amusement park that we make for ourselves."
> (Unknown)
>
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