"Money Musk", called and danced gender-role-free, Boston Gay & Lesbian
Contra dancers, First Church of Jamaica Plain (U.U.), J.P., MA. Second
dance after the break. About 40 dancers. Caller: Bob Golder, Band:
Dogtown (Norb Spencer, Becky Miller, Tom Randall). Well received by
all, including several attendees for whom this was their first contra
dance. ... Bob
Robert Jon Golder
164 Maxfield St
New Bedford, MA 02740 USA
508-999-2486
On Jan 27, 2009, at 10:47 AM, David Millstone wrote:
Country Dance and Song Society has published "Cracking Chestnuts," a
collection
that celebrates the living tradition of classic contra dances. David
Smukler is
the primary author and I also contributed some pieces. You'll find
detailed
articles about seventeen dances, with suggested tunes typeset by Randy
Miller,
an appendix with an additional 20 dances, an introduction to triple
minor
contras, and some suggestions for how to introduce and teach chestnuts
at your
local series. The book (can be ordered from CDSS (it's $20 plus
shipping), and
David and I have copies that we're selling at our gigs. I'm also
filling mail
orders, so contact me off-list if you're interested.
As it happens, David and I are each holding book release parties on
March 14, he
in Syracuse, NY (with George Wilson and Tom Hodgson) and I in Norwich,
VT (with
Northern Spy) at which we'll each present a full evening program of
chestnuts.
At the recent Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, talking about these
simultaneous
similar events, we came up with the idea of each of us calling Money
Musk as the
first dance after the break, sometime around 9:45 or 10 PM. "Hey," we
thought,
"let's invite others to join us!"
So, if you have a dance scheduled for Saturday, March 14 and if you
have
musicians who can do justice to the tune and if the dance would be
appropriate
for your dancers that night, we invite you to join us in bringing back
Money
Musk. [If you're of a Dudley frame of mind, you may refer to it as
"The Money
Musk."] And let me know if you did, and who was playing the music and
calling,
and where this took place, and about how many dancers were in the hall
at that
time, and we'll tally the results. (Callers in other time zones, you
could call
it at about 9:45 or 10 PM your local time and we'll count that, too.)
Note: If you're thinking of doing this, please check with musicians
ahead of
time. Many musicians will be happy to work up the tune if given some
advance
warning, but it's not something to spring on them on just before you
announce
the dance!
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
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