People who knew her better can say more than me, but I'll just add that she taught me to call when I was a student at Oberlin College in the early aughts, so she's really the one who started it all for me, for which I'm very grateful.
Harris Lapiroff Dance Caller and Organizer Boston Intergenerational Dance Advocates Board (Cambridge MA) Pinewoods Camp, Inc Board (Plymouth MA) https://chromamine.com/contra/ On Wed, May 15, 2024, at 12:55 PM, Cindy Harris via Contra Callers wrote: > We knew Becky well here in Pittsburgh. She was the heart and soul of the > Cleveland contradance community and often came our way to call dances in > Pittsburgh. And as some have said, she was a lovely and gracious caller. > > Do any of you remember the week when the World Trade Center was destroyed? > I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers what happened in Pittsburgh a few > days later. That Friday there was a regularly scheduled dance in Pittsburgh, > and Becky was the caller. As we lined up for the first dance, Becky looked > out at the floor and realized that we were all experienced dancers, there to > dance with our community after a rough week. So she put us in Becket and > started to teach a dance that was a bit more challenging than she would have > taught at a usual community dance. She was about two figures in when a group > of 10 or so newcomers who she did not recognize as regular dancers entered > the hall. So she asked us all to promise our partners that we would dance > with them later, and to take one of the new dancers as a partner. And, of > course, we all did. We lined up again in duple improper, and Becky taught a > simple dance that she knew we could help inexperienced dancers through even > though there had been no lesson. So we all danced, and that’s how the rest of > the evening went. > > It was a very sad thing when Becky developed dementia and stopped coming to > call for us. The Cleveland community can probably tell you more about that > time, and since she traveled so much I’m sure there are many other stories > like ours out there. > > Cindy > > Director, Small Harmonies <http://bridgeofvoices.org/> > > 2023 International Autoharp Champion > > Have you experienced GrayScale ContraBand <https://grayscalecontraband.com/>? > > ============== > > > On Wed, May 15, 2024 at 11:09 Emily Addison via Contra Callers > <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: >> Hi folks, >> >> Over the past year, I'm realizing how many dances written by Becky Hill I >> absolutely adore. So, naively, I wrote to Becky Hill (this one! >> <https://www.rebeccahill.org/>) whom I admire thinking that it was her who >> wrote dances. Turns out that flatfooter and old time square dance leader >> Becky Hill is not the same Becky Hill who wrote the contras and square that >> I have in my dance box. >> >> So... I naturally became curious ... who is the other Becky Hill??? >> And this is all I've been able to find >> <https://www.heritagecremationsociety.com/obituaries/rebecca-ellen-becky-hill>. >> >> Did any of you know Becky? Any further information on her? >> I know that many of her dances are super popular and called by so many folk. >> >> Thanks, >> Emily Addison in Ottawa ON >> _______________________________________________ >> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net >> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
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