I have heard about the New England Folk Festival for years, and was thrilled to participate as a caller this year.
I met many great callers, all of whom were so helpful to me as someone who has never experienced the NEFFA and didn't know quite what to expect.
I started the weekend by getting to be one of the callers with Nor'Easter at the historic Scout House dance on Thursday night! I opened the evening with "Heartbeat Contra" by Dan Flaherty.
On Saturday night, Eric Black pulled me in to help him with this "surprise double-caller" dance. He's calling Moon Dance, and I'm calling Sun Dance, both by Robert Cromartie.
I'm calling with Contrail. The dance is Gene Hubert's "The Gang of Four."
It's a Gene Hubert night - His classic "Sarah's Journey."
Deux Francois (Sarah Mitchell, Bill Dudley, Jasmine Hart and Frances Pisacane) are one of my favorite Florida bands. As with so many musicians, they have day jobs that prohibit them from doing much travelling. I had long wanted to take them on tour and show them off, so worked with my connections along the East Coast to play a short tour in November.
Our stops:
November 11: the Grey Eagle in Asheville North Carolina (Tim Cape of Atlanta is sitting in for Frances and Jasmine who joined us on the next stop) The dance is "Joel's in the Kitchen" by Sue Rosen.
November 13: Wednesday night dance at Lovely Lane in Baltimore. The dance is a no-walk-thru, "Glint" by Rick Goss
November 15: Friday night dance in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. The dance is "Trust" by Chris Page.
November 16: Saturday night in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Donna Hunt was already scheduled to call but graciously offered me a slot on her program. The dance is "Autumn Air" by Cary Ravitz.
November 17: Sunday night in Glen Echo Maryland. The dance is "Ants Marching" by Ron Blechner.
So many fine people opened their homes to us on this trip! I loved visiting these other communities that love contra dancing.