Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Event date: Sunday, May 16, 2010
 
New England Style Contra and Square Dance featuring Mockin'bird. Time: 4-7PM at  Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by caller Ted Crane. Beginners welcome. Come with or without  partner. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+),  $5; family maximum, $15. Info: http://dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 687-7195.

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Event date: Sunday, April 18, 2010
http://dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 687-7195.

New England Style Contra Dance featuring Osgood, Jankiewicz and Co.. Time: 4-7PM at  Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by caller Pamela Goddard. Beginners welcome. Come with or without  partner. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+),  $5; family maximum, $15. Info:

May 24:  Contradictions (Vikki Armstrong calling)

May 17:  Thrill Dogs (Sarah Van Norstrand calling)

May 10:  Kathy Selby & Friends (Katy Heine calling)

March 29:  O'Shanigans (Hilton Baxter calling)

The Cornell Contra Dance Club is having its first dance in just two weeks!  It will be on Monday night, March 15, from 7 PM to 10 PM at Willard Strait Hall, Memorial Room.

Nancy Spero is calling, and the new Here and There band is playing (Twy, Jerry, John, Wash, Nora and Sue).  Admission is $4 for students, and $7 for others.

We'd love to see you there, to help us launch our first dance on campus!  It's a beautiful location, a fantastic band and caller, and sure to be lots of fun.  Please invite your friends...

If you'd like to help even more, please volunteer to help us with setup, cleanup, or at the door-- a 45 minute shift will get you free admission!  Contact Dennis at dk429@cornell.edu to sign up.

You can also bring treats, to get free admission. And, we could use small, clean yogurt cups (not worth free admission, but we will name a water cup after you!)

Here's the schedule for the remainder of the Spring (all are Monday night dances at Appel Commons 3rd Floor, 8 PM to 11 pm):

March 29:  O'Shanigans (Hilton Baxter calling)
May 10:  Kathy Selby & Friends (Katy Heine calling)
May 17:  Thrill Dogs (Sarah Van Norstrand calling)
May 24:  Contradictions (Vikki Armstrong calling)

Starting in September, we plan to have a weekly dance-- most likely also on Monday nights.

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Sunday, March 21, 2010
 
New England Style Contra and Square Dance featuring Long John and the Tights. Time: 4-7PM at  Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by caller Bob Nicholson. Beginners welcome. Come with or without  partner. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+),  $5; family maximum, $15. Info: http://dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 687-7195.

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

February 21, 2010

Attached is info on our next dance.
 
George Wilson Tom Hodgson Feb 21 2010

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

January 17, 2010

New England Style Contra and Square Dance featuring the O'Shanigans band. Time: 4-7PM at  Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by caller Ted Crane. Beginners welcome. Come with or without  partner. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+),  $5; family maximum, $15. Info: http://dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 687-7195.

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Andrew & Noah VanNorstrand Coming to Owego December 20
 
Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand of the Great Bear Trio is the featured band for the Sunday, December 20, 4-7PM, contra and square dance at Tioga Trails Café, corner of Lake and Main, Owego.
 
 Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand are two of the most exciting and creative new faces on the acoustic music scene today. With stunning ability as both performers and composers, their energetic stage presence featuring cutting-edge arrangements make Andrew and Noah truly stand out in a crowd. At the age of eight Andrew started learning fiddle by ear. Noah started teaching himself fiddle shortly after and soon both boys had begun working on mandolin and guitar as well. Ten years later they have mastered the title of "multi-instrumentalists" by being proficient at more than twenty different string and percussion instruments between them. In 2000 Andrew and Noah formed the Great Bear Trio with their mother Kim on piano. Great Bear since has become one of the hottest contra dance bands on the circuit and has performed for enthusiastic fans at festivals across the country. In 2004 Andrew and Noah appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion as finalists in the nationwide Talent from Twelve to Twenty contest.  Celtic and Appalachian fiddling traditions are at the top of the list of the musical ingredients Andrew and Noah use in their original material. There's also Andrew's appreciation for Scandinavian harmonies and Noah's background as a world-beat percussionist. Other influences range from old-time Country and Bluegrass to Jazz and Swing; New England contra dance and Cajun/Zydeco to classic Rock, Alternative and Blues.
 
Sarah VanNorstrand will be teaching and calling contra and square dances. Contradancing, like square dancing, is done to a walking step and is easy to learn. No experience is necessary. All dances are taught and prompted. Bring friends, family, or come by yourself.  Partners not required.
 
General admission is $7: students and seniors (55+), $5:  family maximum, $15.
For information call Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067.
 
This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program administered locally by The ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes.

 

Phil Shapiro of Bound for Glory fame writes:

Hi, All,
        Please let's publicize this in the area.  I think a lot of Ithacans will be interested.

Thanks,
Phil

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Julie Kriston
Clemens Center, 733-5639 x231
juliek@clemenscenter.com

NATALIE MACMASTER
Christmas in Cape Breton
Equally at home on the concert stage or at a Folk festival, Cape Breton Fiddler Natalie MacMaster is one of the most versatile and exciting young musicians on the Folk and Celtic music scenes. The musician will be coming to the Clemens Center in Downtown Elmira for one performance only on Monday, December 21, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.  For tickets contact the Clemens Center Box Office at 734-8191 or 800-724-0159 or visit www.clemenscenter.com 
Tickets:  $30.00/$18.50.  Groups of 10 or more receive a 10 percent discount and groups of 20 or more receive a 20 percent discount. 
Her many projects have seen her collaborate and perform with Alison Krauss, the Chieftans, Paul Simon, Pavarotti and most recently, Yo-Yo Ma.  In her Christmas show, Natalie invokes the holiday traditions of her native Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  Foot-tapping rave-ups, heart-wrenching ballads, and world-class step dancing combined with Natalie's fiddling fireworks on Celtic melodies and Christmas carols, generate a "Traditional Fusion" delivered with ferocious energy felt by the musicians and audience alike.

"MacMaster's a ball of fire, performing jigs and reels with unstoppable, foot-tapping energy and ballads with irresistible, keening passion."
-Los Angeles Times
Natalie has a signature sound that has resonated with world audiences through 10 albums, multiple gold sales figures and 27 years; numerous Juno and East Coast Music Awards; two honorary degrees (from Niagara University, NY, and Trent University) and an honorary doctorate (St. Thomas University); the Order Of Canada - and a reputation as one of Canada's most captivating performers.
She also has the respect and admiration of the crème de la crème of top-notch musicians: master violinist Mark O'Connor, whose camp MacMaster frequents as a guest instructor; legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma - who recently invited her to prominently participate as a guest performer on his 2008 holiday-themed album Songs Of Joy & Peace; banjo prodigy Béla Fleck; fellow fiddling marvel Alison Krauss; spiritually electrifying superstar guitarist Carlos Santana - the list goes on. But to Natalie MacMaster, her beloved family now shapes and informs her musicianship as much as the jigs, reels, air, waltzes, strathspeys, marches and traditional folk that feed her spiritual soul.
Take a peekŠnataliemacmaster.com

####
--

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Sunday, October 18
 
New England Style Contra and Square Dance featuring the band, The Contradictions. Time: 4-7 PM at Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by caller Vikki Armstrong. Beginners welcome. Come with or without  partner. Dances are open to the public, and are held every third Sunday. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+),  $5; family maximum, $15. Info: http://dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 687-7195.

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Nor’easter Storms Owego August 16
 

Nor’easter on tour from Boston is the featured band for the Contra and Square Dance Sunday, August 16 4-7PM, at Tioga Trails, corner of Lake and Main, Owego. Nor'easter draws on Irish, Scottish, Quebecois, Cape Breton, and New England musical traditions to create an exciting, joyous sound for toe-tappin', feet-stompin', shoe-shufflin', heel-clickin', and booty-shakin'. The band consists of Ceder Sanistreet on fiddle, Max Newman on mandolin and guitar and Julie Valliment on keyboard. Loren Bienvenu on drums will be joining them for their New York tour.
 
Cedar studied violin at the Crane School of Music and is equally at home with both traditional fiddle and classical violin. He has recorded and performed with the New York band Quickstep and currently studies violin making at the North Bennet Street School in Boston. His spirited, rhythmic playing and clear tone keep dancers on their feet. Max has played traditional music widely at dances and sessions for most of his life, sharing the stage with dance musicians like Amy Larkin, CW Abbott, and Emily Troll and traditional Irish musicians like Caitlin Warbelow, Jimmy Noonan, and Dan Gurney. His dynamic playing adds improvisatory punch and counterpoint to the band's sound. Julie's roots are in classical, folk, and rock music, spending a number of years as a classical pianist and organist before being drawn to dance music. She has since studied with Mary Cay Brass, Rachel Aucoin, and Jacqueline Schwab, among others. A natural dance pianist, she anchors the band with driving rhythm and thoughtful harmonies.
Jack Mitchell from Durham North Carolina will be teaching and calling contra and square dances. Contra dancing, like square dancing, is done to a walking step and is easy to learn. No experience is necessary. All dances are taught and prompted. Partners not required. Bring friends, family, or come by yourself and join us for late afternoon fun dancing or just great listening.
 
General admission is $7: students and seniors (55+), $5:  family maximum, $15.
For information call Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067.
 
This program is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program administered locally by The ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes.
 

On June 13, the Binghamton Community Dance will have George Wilson and Selma Kaplan playing and Hilton Baxter calling in the Sarah jane Johnson Memorial Church (a special summer location)

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Andrew & Noah VanNorstrand Coming to Owego November 16
 
Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand of the Great Bear Trio is the featured band for the Sunday, November 16, 4-7PM, contra and square dance at Tioga Trails Café, corner of Lake and Main, Owego.
 
 Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand are two of the most exciting and creative new faces on the acoustic music scene today. With stunning ability as both performers and composers, their energetic stage presence featuring cutting-edge arrangements make Andrew and Noah truly stand out in a crowd. In 2000 Andrew and Noah formed the Great Bear Trio with their mother Kim on piano. Great Bear since has become one of the hottest contra dance bands on the circuit and has performed for enthusiastic fans at festivals across the country. In 2004 Andrew and Noah appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion as finalists in the nationwide Talent from Twelve to Twenty contest.  Celtic and Appalachian fiddling traditions are at the top of the list of the musical ingredients Andrew and Noah use in their original material. There's also Andrew's appreciation for Scandinavian harmonies and Noah's background as a world-beat percussionist. Other influences range from old-time Country and Bluegrass to Jazz and Swing; New England contra dance and Cajun/Zydeco to classic Rock, Alternative and Blues.
 
Sarah VanNorstrand will be teaching and calling contra and square dances. Contradancing, like square dancing, is done to a walking step and is easy to learn. No experience is necessary. All dances are taught and prompted. Bring friends, family, or come by yourself.  Partners not required.
 
General admission is $7: students and seniors (55+), $5:  family maximum, $15.
For information call Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067.
 
This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program administered locally by The ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes.

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Sunday, October 19: New England Style Contra and Square Dance. Contranella is the featured band. Time: 4-7PM at Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by Ithaca caller Pamela Goddard. Beginners welcome. Come with or without partner. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+), $5; family maximum, $15. Band info: www.contranella.com

Stu Johnson of Tioga County Contradance writes:

New England Style Contra and Square Dance. David Kaynor with Kitchen Chair and Nancy Spero make up the featured band, Too Much Fun. 4-7 PM at Tioga Trails Cafe', corner of Lake & Main, Owego. All dances taught and prompted by Syracuse caller David Smukler. Come with or without partner. Dances are open to the public, and are held every third Sunday. General Admission, $7; students & seniors (55+), $5; family maximum, $15. Info: http://dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067.

Stu Johnson of Tioga County Contradance writes:


SUNDAY, AUGUST 17: NEW ENGLAND STYLE CONTRA AND SQUARE DANCE, 4-7 PM, at the air conditioned Tioga Trails Cafe', Lake and Main, Owego. Featured band: Confluence from Olean. All dances taught and prompted by Ithaca caller, Katy Heine. Come with or without partner. For information go to http:/dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or call Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

SUNDAY, JULY 20: NEW ENGLAND STYLE CONTRA AND SQUARE DANCE, 4-7 PM, at the air conditioned Tioga Trails Cafe', Lake and Main, Owego. Featured band: Brackney String Band. All dances taught and prompted by Syracuse caller, Bob Nicholson. Come with or without partner. For information go to http:/dance.clarityconnect.com/owegocontra.html or call Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067

Stu & Joyce Johnson of Tioga Country Contradance write:

Rosie's Ready Mix is the featured band for the Contra and Dance this Sunday March 16, 4-7PM, at Tioga Trails, corner of Lake and Main, Owego.

Like a time tested recipe Rosie's Ready Mix has been a long time rising. There is nearly a century of playing experience between Curt Osgood on dulcimer, Hope Grietzer on fiddle, and John Wobus on piano. They are all long standing ( and or sitting) late night jammers absorbing and banking tunes by ear. Rosie’s Ready Mix is particularly drawn to the drive and energy of contra dance melodies of the "Northern" style but also delve into the breakdowns and barnburners of the south. Appearing with a number of dance and performance ensembles throughout the northeast, each member of Rosie’s is involved in folk organizing as well.

Bob Nicholson from Syracuse will be teaching and calling contra and square dances. Contradancing, like square dancing, is done to a walking step and is easy to learn. No experience is necessary. All dances are taught and prompted. Partners not required. Bring friends, family, or come by yourself and join us for late afternoon fun dancing or just great listening.


General admission is $7: students and seniors (55+), $5: family maximum, $15.

For information call Stu (607) 687-4034 or April (607) 657-8067.

This program is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program administered locally by The ARTS of the Southern Finger Lakes.





(FYI - Tioga Trails is now serving Sunday lunch till 4)

Theresa Souchet writes:

Join me on Saturday, March 22nd for an evening of fun-filled contra dancing at the Women's Community Building (8-11p.m.). Playing will be Laurie Hart on fiddle, Rick Manning on fiddle/mandolin, Tom Hodgson on guitar and Harry Aceto on Bass. Bob Nicholoson (from Syracuse) will be calling. Tickets are $10. All proceeds go to benefit Waldorf Education in Ithaca.