Contra Dancing in Berkshire County

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Contra dancing is all about community. That seems to be the opinion of everyone interviewed for this article. Dancers, musicians, callers all agree: it’s the friendliness, the acceptance of everyone, beginners and experienced, young and old, that sets contra dancing apart. “With contra dancing, the culture is pretty open, and the community is generally pretty open,” said Ethan Plunkett of Pittsfield. “I think one of the things that sets it apart from many dances is how social it is – you tend to dance with different people.” Joe Baker of Monterey, a member of the contra band Mountain Laurel, said, “I like contra dancing because for the dancers, it’s a non-threatening way for everybody to dance with everybody. At our dances, we’ve always featured teaching and dancing for everyone.” “It seems to be a way to counteract the decay of communities, in a way,” said Eric Buddington, a North Adams dancer and fiddler with the Flying Garbanzos. “People used to have more reasons to see each other, front porches and maybe everybody in the neighborhood working in the same place, which doesn’t happen so much anymore. Contra dancing can work the other way.” Contra dancing is a traditional New England dance, according to Plunkett. In many ways, it is similar to square dancing. It is a partner dance, and many of the moves, such as do-si-do, swing your partner and promenade, are shared with square dancing. The tunes, usually jigs, reels or hornpipes, are similar to familiar square dance tunes such as Turkey in the Straw, Pop Goes the Weasel or Arkansas Traveler. There is even a caller like in square dancing, telling the dancers what to do next. Plunkett, who has been calling contras for about 5 years, said there are some differences as well. “In square dancing you start out with 4 couples in a square and in contra dancing you start out in long lines opposite your partner,” he said. “In a square you dance with just those 8 people, but in a contra, you progress either down or up the line with your partner, coming to new people every time through. So functionally there’s a difference. I think there’s a less easily defined stylistic difference. I think contra dancing as it’s practiced tends to be a little higher energy.” That energy is especially apparent among the younger dancers, according to Elena Traister, another musician and dancer from North Adams. “Contra dancing is moving around, and a lot of young people will move themselves around very vigorously and enthusiastically. A lot of the older people will be a lot more subtle about what they’re doing, but when you dance with them, you still feel that they’re moving in exactly the right direction.” At least part of the reason for that exuberance is the energy that the musicians put into the dancing music. “For me, it’s dance groove," said Liz Stell of Lanesboro. She is a contra dancer and the flutist with the band Spare Parts. "If a tune doesn’t have some innate swing or drive, then we have to put it in there, which we can do. Driving is what the dancers respond to most.” Spare Parts consists of Stell and her husband Bill Matthiesen, as well as other Spare Parts scattered around the country including musicians in Albany, Seattle, Arizona and Boston. They are nationally known as a ragtime and Victorian ballroom dance band, yet they still like playing contra dances. “It’s my first love, even though I like all this other music,” Stell said. “I can just mess around with contra and have such a good time. It’s where I learned to play music really.” Jared Polens of North Adams is a dancer and hammered dulcimer player with the band Wintergreen. Hes been dancing and playing contra tunes for 18 years. Asked what he liked about contra dancing, he replied, “The energy, the community and how everyone just dances together with the music. The connection with the music and with all the different people – there’s a very set structure to it, but within that structure, everyone is doing their own variations.” There are several contra dances each month in Berkshire County. Mountain Laurel has been holding contra dances at the Sheffield Grange on Route 7 for 24 years. Their dance is on the fourth Saturday each month except December. The Flying Garbanzos have a dance at the St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall on Summer Street in North Adams on the third Friday each month. The Country Life, Dance and Music Society of Pittsfield sponsors a dance on the second Saturday of each month September through June at the Pittsfield Grange on Upper West Street. There are other dances in the county not on a regular schedule, and there are dances every weekend in the Greenfield and Albany areas. More information about dances in the area can be found at http://www.tedcrane.com/DanceDB/ and http://www.dancegypsy.com/ Plunkett, who frequently calls at the Garbanzos’ North Adams dances, said, “There are plenty of dances around where you can find a lot of young people dancing, and I find that really exciting. It’s great that there’s energy but it’s also great that it’s not a dying dance form. It’s thriving and it’s definitely changed for the times. It’s different but it’s a wonderful thing.”
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McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course. 
 
The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication. 
 
"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."
 
LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates. 
 
"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.
 
The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.
 
"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back. 
 
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