Square Dancing Returns! May 21st at Halcott Grange

 

"Left Hand Star!"

If you have enjoyed square dancing in the past .. or think you might like to try it - now's the time.  Catskills Folk Connection is once again offering in-person square dances at locations in and around Delaware County.  

Just over the Delaware County line in Halcott - north of Fleischmanns -  on Saturday, May 21 at 7 pm the Tremperskill Boys will play for a traditional old-time square dance with John Jacobson and Dane Scudder, fiddlers and callers.  Accompanying them there at the Halcott Grange will be Amy Lieberman on bass fiddle, Sheila Addison on guitar, and Ginny Scheer on flute.  It will be an evening of familiar squares, with a few new ones thrown in, round (couple) dances and songs.  All dances will be taught.

One of the featured callers, Dane Scudder, grew up in Halcott and attended many dances at the Grange.  He has been heard to say that before he left for college, the main source of live music in his life was Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks at the Halcott Grange.

  

Granges and community halls were common sites for square dances through most of the 20th century. In the 19th century, and for a time in the 20th, a dance was more likely to be organized as a  "house  dance."  A farm family would put out the word and hire a fiddler.  Guests would arrive after evening milking and would help move the living room and dining room furniture out of the way ( on to the porch...even on to the lawn!).  The fiddler would set up between the two rooms, perhaps accompanied by a neighbor on the piano, or another musician on guitar, and call dances so familiar that everyone knew them.  Like the children who came to the dance with their families, the dancers had grown up going to house dances and might sing the calls along with the caller.  

The Halcott Grange is at 264 Route 3 in Halcott Center, a large agricultural valley north of Fleischmanns.  From Route 28, from either direction, turn off into Fleischmanns.  From Main Street turn by the gas station on to Lake Street (County Route 37); approaching from the east it is a right turn; from the west it is a left turn. Go a little less than 3 miles where you will see a sign that the road number has changed to County Route 3.  You will have just crossed into Greene County.  Go about a quarter of mile further, and the grange will be on the right.   

Masks are recommended, and by the 21st may be required, due to the unpredictability of Covid infection rates. The safest plan for dancers would be to plan to wear a mask and to arrive in a group of eight, and dance only with that group.  (Square dances are usually much more democratic than this, but these are not typical times!) Windows and doors will be open as much as possible to increase ventilation, and seating can be arranged for social distancing.  Check here just before the dance to see if Covid data has caused the dance to be moved to an outdoor location or to be changed to a concert.

For more information contact Ginny Scheer at gscheer.mcs@gmail.com or  607-326-4206.

We hope you will be able to attend Catskills Folk Connection's first square dance in over two years!

See you in Halcott at the Grange on Saturday May 21 at 7 pm. 

Catskills Folk Connection is sponsored by the Roxbury Arts Group, and is funded in part by the NYS Council on the Arts Folk Art Program, by Gov. Hochul and the NYS Legislature, by Action and Vision Grants from HumanitiesNY, and by the O'Connor Foundation.