NORTH ALABAMA COUNTRY DANCE SOCIETY NEWSLETTER - November 1995

DANCE ETIQUETTE: Always accept an invitation to dance or don't dance this dance.

DANCE TIP For experienced dancers: If you see a couple, both beginners, dancing together when they'd be better off with experienced dancers, try recruiting another experienced dancer to approach the new people with you, and ask both of them for the next dance at once, This has two advantages over the solo approach: It defuses the idea that "this person is hitting on me (or my date)," and it doesn't leave one member of the new couple stuck without a partner. (Reprinted from the CDSS News)

 

And, new to this newsletter, I hope to reprint an occasional "Ask Ms. Joyce" column from the Birmingham Country Dance Society newsletter, published by Joyce Cauthen. I think you'll enjoy them! Space is limited this month, as usual, but here's one that just fits in.

 

Dear Ms. Joyce: I would like for you to address the problem of turning single after going down the hall. I cry when I have to turn alone without interaction --you know what I mean, Signed, Lonely on the End

 

Yes, Lonely, I know what you mean. Christmas can be a lonely time, especially when you are going down the hall, four in a line, and reach the bottom -- only to have the person you are with turn away from you and make intimate eye contact with the dancer on the other side, while you languish on the end. Your only consolation might be that the same has happened to the dancer on the end of the line to your right and you can cast each other knowing and sympathetic looks.

You should try not to take this as a personal slight, however. Whether to turn singly to the left or right is one of the finer points of dancing, and it is likely that the offender has not yet realized the significance of the choice. Because you took the time to write, you have brought the matter to the attention of many dancers and thus may have made Christmas a happier time for those who will no longer be Lonely on the Ends. (Reprinted from BCDS newsletter 12/89)

 

CAJUN DANCING is happening at Gorin's Ice Cream & Sandwiche Shop at 101 Washington St. (corner of Clinton Ave). Normally every fourth Wednesday, this month it will be the fifth Wednesday, Nov. 29, after Thanksgiving, from 7 to 9 PM. Cajun music from cassette tapes or CD's will be provided. Gorin's has great food too, so you needn't leave hungry!. Contact Rebecca Zurn (882-2627), Louis Maus (544-0484) or Bob Weaver (205-233-0052) for more information.

The Steering Committee met, and Has Spoken: There shall be advance ticket sales for the Christmas dance after all, so that we can count our dollars in advance and plan the event with less nail-biting and swallowing of Tums. December 2 at 7 (instruction) and 7:30 (dancing) is the time; Eastside is the place!

$6 per person is the cost if you buy in advance; $8 tickets will be available at the door for last-minute types. The band will be that wonderful group SOMETHING FISHY from Birmingham , with DONNA MCALLISTER, from Knoxville, calling. One of the attractions of the Christmas Dance is always the wonderful munchies that people bring to share, so start looking through your recipe files. Call Bryan Walls for those tickets (837-0656) or buy them at the next dance.

MORE DANCING was also discussed, and we will forge ahead with plans to add 3rd Saturday Eastside dances, so that there will be a dance opportunity in Huntsville every weekend. In fact, in months with a fifth Saturday, there may be a "jam session" dance giving fledgling callers and musicians a chance to try out their stuff.. Practise up, you guys!

 

Another idea kicked around by the Committee was for NACDS to put on dances at Panoply and similar arts events, including demonstration, and participation/learning for audience who chose to join in..(call me if you have any ideas on implementing this, or, say, connections with the Panoply folks) This would allow people with minimal or no exposure to old-time country dancing to see what it's like and participate. As a result, more happy people in the world! Also, more dancers, to help pay the bands, the callers, the sound technician, and the rental fee for the dance hall, a great added benefit, since we teeter on the edge, most of the time, of making ends meet. Which ties in neatly with our next topic:

 

Bryan is getting tired of hauling those T-SHIRTS around. Wouldn't your Mom be tickled to get one for Christmas? And how about your kid sister (size small fits both my eleven year old son and myself)? Bryan will be putting the rest of the shirts in cold storage for a while, but you can still call (or e-mail) him (837-0656) and he'll be glad to bring one to the next dance for you, or let you pick one up. If you've ever wondered why any organization bothers with selling T-shirts and such...Yes, the group will make a couple of dollars profit on each shirt, which will help us pay the band on evenings when the crowd is small. They're still a bargain at $10. In addition, we hope you will wear your shirt around, and some person who has always had a deep-down hidden empty spot in their life will feel a strange attraction when they see "North Alabama Country Dance Society", and will be impelled to ask you about it, and there we are: another fellow dancer is born!

 

Is it time to renew your membership? Check your mailing label. Make your check for $8.00 to Katrina Coupland and mail to 109 Nolen Circle, Huntsville, AL 35801 for a one year renewal; or pay at the next dance. Comes with $1 discount on dances, both Burritt and Eastside.

 

 

North Alabama Country Dance Society

Editor: Katrina Coupland 109 Nolen Cir. Huntsville, Al. 35801 (205)536-2190

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