Above: Square dancers in motion at the Ashokan Center.
Good clean mountain air just makes you wanna kick your heels up and dance sometimes. If you’d like to polish that urge into a style that generation after generation of mountainfolk have tried and tested, that works ecstatically well, why not learn some square dance? C’mon, you know it looks like fun. Or maybe you’re already hip to the joys of flailing fiddles, swirling skirts and flying feet.
Either way, your moment has arrived. The good folks of the Pine Hill Community Center, together with the Catskills Folk Connection, are hosting a session on the afternoon of Sunday, July 28 entitled “Swing Your Partner (In the Right Direction)" that sounds like a blast for beginners and aficionados alike. Beginners will be gently taught the moves by Ginny Scheer of the Folk Connection. Old hands can glory in the quality of the music: Third-generation fiddler Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks -- plus Kelly's protégés, fiddler/callers Henry Herman and John Jacobson -- will keep the place hopping. It's a Master Class in a fine folk art that will leave you exhilarated and exhausted.
You’ll be able to get your next fix on August 10, whether you live down near Shokan or up in Lexington. The Ashokan Center is sponsoring a Cajun, Squares, and Contras Southern dance party under the outdoor pavilion, with the sweet Catskills sounds of Jay and Molly and the Red Stick Ramblers. Bring the kids and make a night of it; they’re serving dinner and camping’s available. And if you still have questions, there’s instruction right before the main dance.
In Lexington, meanwhile, also on August 10, the appropriately named Big Barn Event is being held potluck-style. It's in the barn of Adam and Alice Cross, and features square dancing and line dancing with some Catskills cultural history thrown in. “It’s a big barn,” they say, “bring a dish, bring your family, bring a friend or two.” This event is part of Lexington’s Bicentennial, a town-wide 200th birthday party that's being celebrated all year long.
On Sunday, August 18, a second Master Class with the same top talent will be held at the Pine Hill Community Center – just in time to get ready for harvest celebrations.
Swing Your Partner (In The Right Direction): Square Dancing Master Class with Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks, Henry Herman and John Jacobson. Sunday, July 28 and Sunday, August 18, 1pm. Pine Hill Community Center, 287 Main Street, Pine Hill. $7; children under 12 free. For more information, see the PHCC's website or Facebook page.
Southern Dance Party with Kathy Anderson, Jay and Molly and Friends, and the Red Stick Ramblers. Saturday, August 10. Dinner at 6pm; lesson at 7:30pm; dance at 8pm. Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Road, Olivebridge. $15; $5 for children 12 and under; children under 5 free. For more information, see the Ashokan Center's website or Facebook page.
Big Barn Event at Adam and Alice Cross's Barn. Saturday, August 10, 4pm. Grinnell Road, North Lexington. For more information, see the Lexington Bicentennial's website.
