While I was chatting with one of my caller friends, he used the term “secular religiosity” to describe the contra dance community. I have no idea if he coined the term or not, but really, the more I think about it, the more apt it seems to be. A lot of contra-dance-inspired goodness has crossed my radar lately, so I pass it along here:
Nils Fredland: Work/Life BALANCE? -- It’s easy to forget that the itinerant callers and musicians are folks traveling far from their families for weeks at a time. This offers an interesting perspective as someone who lives it.
Inside Nancy’s Noodle: Why Can’t Churches Be More Like Contra-dances? -- this is from 2009, but it still seems relevant; a pastor more explicitly makes the correlation between her church life and her contra life. Whether or not you share her faith, this makes for interesting reading.
How To Make Life a Celebration -- A fairly recent post by Sarah Goshman talking about a techno contra she attended and how it’s really a celebration, and how this is a good and positive thing.
Contra Dance Pandora Music Station -- Dancer Josh Telecsan kindly made this and shared it with the “Stuff Contra Dancers Say...” Facebook community. Others who are not in that Facebook group might benefit, so I boost the signal here.
Erica Nielsen’s Blog -- this is in support of a book published about the contra and square tradition last fall, but the author is apparently touring in support of her book and recording her experiences here. Take a look!
The esoteric art of great sound -- interesting article focusing on making EDM sound good in a dance hall; at some point I’d love to chat with someone who’s done sound for an EDM event and an acoustic event to find out what makes them different, sound-tech-wise.
Kickstarter: The 2013 Contradance Calendar by Doug Plummer -- fans of 2012’s edition may be interested in this.
Catapult! Showcase -- Steve and I are headed here this upcoming weekend; smaller-time and regional bands and callers get a chance to show their talent to a national stage. It will be wonderful to see old friends and make new ones!
Nils Fredland: Work/Life BALANCE? -- It’s easy to forget that the itinerant callers and musicians are folks traveling far from their families for weeks at a time. This offers an interesting perspective as someone who lives it.
Inside Nancy’s Noodle: Why Can’t Churches Be More Like Contra-dances? -- this is from 2009, but it still seems relevant; a pastor more explicitly makes the correlation between her church life and her contra life. Whether or not you share her faith, this makes for interesting reading.
How To Make Life a Celebration -- A fairly recent post by Sarah Goshman talking about a techno contra she attended and how it’s really a celebration, and how this is a good and positive thing.
Contra Dance Pandora Music Station -- Dancer Josh Telecsan kindly made this and shared it with the “Stuff Contra Dancers Say...” Facebook community. Others who are not in that Facebook group might benefit, so I boost the signal here.
Erica Nielsen’s Blog -- this is in support of a book published about the contra and square tradition last fall, but the author is apparently touring in support of her book and recording her experiences here. Take a look!
The esoteric art of great sound -- interesting article focusing on making EDM sound good in a dance hall; at some point I’d love to chat with someone who’s done sound for an EDM event and an acoustic event to find out what makes them different, sound-tech-wise.
Kickstarter: The 2013 Contradance Calendar by Doug Plummer -- fans of 2012’s edition may be interested in this.
Catapult! Showcase -- Steve and I are headed here this upcoming weekend; smaller-time and regional bands and callers get a chance to show their talent to a national stage. It will be wonderful to see old friends and make new ones!
