We made it in the Monday October 5, 2015 edition of the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. Read the story below!
Photo caption: Stan Bradeen, Eric Kite and Erika Mitchell perform traditional songs for the monthly ‘Dance, Sing and Jump Around’ program at the Plainfield Opera House.
PLAINFIELD — On Sunday afternoon, the children all were given star stamps on their right hands as a teaching tool to help them learn a traditional rural New England dance move.
“We are playing a typically New England style of Contra dance music with a little bit of original tunes thrown in,” said Kenric Kite, a fiddle player and one of the three musical volunteers performing for the occasion at the Plainfield Town Hall Opera House.
“Most of the tunes we are playing go back a couple hundred years or at least to the nineteenth century. Many of them are from Vermont or this local region,” he said, adding that musical selections from Quebec, the British Isles, France and the Maritimes are also mixed in.
It’s all part of the all-ages “Dance, Sing, and Jump Around!” series in Plainfield. Sunday’s was the fourth installment in the monthly program that encompasses circle and line dances, singing games and live music.
According to Merry Shernock, one of the program organizers, many of the dance moves that are being taught come from English country dancing. However, when that dance form came to America it was merged with Irish, African American and Scottish dancing styles.
She described that merger of musical and dancing styles as lively and compared it to the scene in the film “The Wizard of Oz” when the movie moves from black and white to color cinematography.
“It’s our music,” Shernock said. “It never really died out in New England. It’s very much alive.”
Liz Benjamin teaches dance moves and leads songs. On Sunday she was on the dance floor with a group of children singing a traditional 1950s African American jump-roping tune, in between music sets played by Stan Bradeen on flute, Erika Mitchell on guitar, and Kite on the fiddle.
Dance moves like forward-and-back, the star-right, and the promenade are commonly taught during “Dance, Sing, and Jump Around!”
“The idea is to introduce children and family to traditional style dancing with live music in the hopes that they will continue to be interested in this and enjoy it all their lives,” said Benjamin, who has been contra dancing for 30 years. She has also worked as a kindergarten teacher and as a minister of religious education.
“I love children and I love music, so I love putting the two together,” she said.
Even though she teaches primarily children aged three to nine, all are welcome to the dance event. Benjamin also said one doesn’t need to have kids to attend. She described the dancing as slow paced and fun, while still retaining constant motion — and jumping around.
An event is planned for once a month through April, and organizers are always grateful for any financial assistance to help support the all-volunteer series. That includes funding a crossing guard to help young and old alike safely navigate the busy Route 2 highway to get to the Town Hall and Opera House. On this occasion it was local pizzeria Positive Pie that helped out along with town support for liability insurance.
Shernock hopes that through dancing the past will be retained by today’s children.
“It’s to try to transmit to this generation the heritage of rural New England music and dance,” she said.
Photo caption: Stan Bradeen, Eric Kite and Erika Mitchell perform traditional songs for the monthly ‘Dance, Sing and Jump Around’ program at the Plainfield Opera House.
PLAINFIELD — On Sunday afternoon, the children all were given star stamps on their right hands as a teaching tool to help them learn a traditional rural New England dance move.
“We are playing a typically New England style of Contra dance music with a little bit of original tunes thrown in,” said Kenric Kite, a fiddle player and one of the three musical volunteers performing for the occasion at the Plainfield Town Hall Opera House.
“Most of the tunes we are playing go back a couple hundred years or at least to the nineteenth century. Many of them are from Vermont or this local region,” he said, adding that musical selections from Quebec, the British Isles, France and the Maritimes are also mixed in.
It’s all part of the all-ages “Dance, Sing, and Jump Around!” series in Plainfield. Sunday’s was the fourth installment in the monthly program that encompasses circle and line dances, singing games and live music.
According to Merry Shernock, one of the program organizers, many of the dance moves that are being taught come from English country dancing. However, when that dance form came to America it was merged with Irish, African American and Scottish dancing styles.
She described that merger of musical and dancing styles as lively and compared it to the scene in the film “The Wizard of Oz” when the movie moves from black and white to color cinematography.
“It’s our music,” Shernock said. “It never really died out in New England. It’s very much alive.”
Liz Benjamin teaches dance moves and leads songs. On Sunday she was on the dance floor with a group of children singing a traditional 1950s African American jump-roping tune, in between music sets played by Stan Bradeen on flute, Erika Mitchell on guitar, and Kite on the fiddle.
Dance moves like forward-and-back, the star-right, and the promenade are commonly taught during “Dance, Sing, and Jump Around!”
“The idea is to introduce children and family to traditional style dancing with live music in the hopes that they will continue to be interested in this and enjoy it all their lives,” said Benjamin, who has been contra dancing for 30 years. She has also worked as a kindergarten teacher and as a minister of religious education.
“I love children and I love music, so I love putting the two together,” she said.
Even though she teaches primarily children aged three to nine, all are welcome to the dance event. Benjamin also said one doesn’t need to have kids to attend. She described the dancing as slow paced and fun, while still retaining constant motion — and jumping around.
An event is planned for once a month through April, and organizers are always grateful for any financial assistance to help support the all-volunteer series. That includes funding a crossing guard to help young and old alike safely navigate the busy Route 2 highway to get to the Town Hall and Opera House. On this occasion it was local pizzeria Positive Pie that helped out along with town support for liability insurance.
Shernock hopes that through dancing the past will be retained by today’s children.
“It’s to try to transmit to this generation the heritage of rural New England music and dance,” she said.