Our community turns out in droves for political events; dance events
are just as crucial if you imbue them with crucial energy. Think of the
capacity for dance to cause global movements. To meet with fellow
community members and improvise to music is one of the most ancient and
resonant ways to connect. What a great liberty it is to be able to move
your body at all, with all of the disadvantage in the world, or better
yet what a great privilege it is to live in a society where it is
possible to be happy enough to want to dance, or be allowed time to
dance.
Dance is the mother tongue, the universal language. Why should we not
then strive for fluency, for physical as well as mental grace? If we
are in a recession, one that is being likened to the Great Depression,
why don't we embrace dance the way it was embraced then, when it was
more or less ubiquitous to shift into a non-verbal musical mode when
socializing?
Think before you go to a political event that requires you to sit in a
chair motionless and listen passively or talk and think cerebrally,
that it could be just as revolutionary to go out to dance. To interact
with others to music and defy your limitations, your preconceptions
about your neighbors and the sedentary and physically contrived state
we live our modern lives in. If nothing else, get on the dance floor to
recover from having to drive yourself as a way of life!
Being a performance artist and having grown up a professional dancer, I
have made it my project for the last three years to scavenge the
countryside for dance excellence. It can be very slim pickins in a
state as sparsely populated and rural as Vermont. But, in spite of
this, I have discovered some very happening scenes. If you want to
improve your dance here, or to have hard-core dance thrills, you may
have to travel on a regular basis.
Finding a local class in the Mad River Valley is possible. There have
also been efforts to establish dance nights, like the salsa night that
was on Wednesdays at Timbers, which I was never able to go to but heard
was great.
There is a thriving tango scene in Vermont -- event listings can be
found at queencitytango.com. Last summer, I went to a tango weekend
called Moonlight in Vermont at the Brandon Inn. There were many men and
women there of varying ages (it was a sold out event). In general, it
was an attractive, skilled crowd. I took a private 30-minute lesson and
danced at their Saturday night milonga (tango dance party).
When I went to the 2005 Stowe Tango Festival, I learned there was a man
named Joe Fish who had built a private tango hall (Palais de Glace) on
his property. Who would a thunk? It wasn't until 2007 that I made it
there. Mr. Fish throws a milonga one Sunday a month and offers class,
practice and dinner, all for about $20. He often invites Pablo Navarro
and Tito Castro to play live tango music (they are very well respected
in the tango scene in New York City). Fish's scene in Stowe has
integrity as well as generosity of spirit. It is a must for serious
partner dancers in Vermont.
Last summer, in the Warren Town Hall, I attended a red-hot Senegalese
African dance workshop with Caro Diallo at the Warren Town Hall (a
gorgeous dance space). There must have been 30 people there, many of
them had studied with Diallo in Senegal and already knew the
combinations. He worked us for three hours; it was grueling but one of
the best classes I have been to. It was organized by a woman named
Betsy from Bristol.
There is an African dance class that takes place in Middlesex on
Mondays, which I haven't been able to catch. One Studio, in Waterbury,
was offering an African class on Sundays with Jordan Mensah of Ghana,
which was unfortunately cancelled. I attended several times and found
Jordan to be first rate. The cancellation was tough to take!
On Monday (10:30 a.m. to noon) and Saturday (10 to 11:30 a.m.)
Jazz/Funk is offered at the Sugarbush Health and Racquet Club. The
class is 90 minutes and is for all ages and levels. The studio at SHARC
is outstanding -- as good or better than many dance spaces in New York.
The class is taught by a New York City professional (yours truly) and
explores jazz and funk traditions with music by such artists as Betty
Davis, Miles Davis, Django Reinhardt, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock,
Parliament, WAR, Ohio Players, Jimmy Smith and others.
Recently, the company Noche Flamenca was in Burlington at Flynn Center
for the Performing Arts. I attended a Flamenco class there, my first.
Soledad Barrio (Noche Flamenca's principal) is considered to be one of
the world's best flamenco dancers. The only letdown was that there was
no guitar accompaniment, no music at all. Otherwise, the class was
informative and challenging. Soledad was compassionate, comical and
intense and, of course, a stunning dancer.
At the Grange in Montpelier, regular contra dance events are to be
found. Live bands are featured. Contra dance is something I had not
heard of before coming to Vermont. I am bound for one of their parties,
as I am curious what the dance is like and I know I will enjoy myself.
When haven't I when I am in a crowd of dancing, ecstatic people? See
you on the dance floor...and remember Dudley Moore's line in the film
<MI>The Bedsitting Room<D>, "Keep moving, keep moving!"
Karen Cormier
