Knoxville Contra Dance is pleased to invite you to our annual Cabin Fever dance weekend, February 7-10, 2025.
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You may register and pay online or by bringing a paper registration form and payment to the event.
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A printable schedule is also available.
Performers
Supergroup Ice Cream Truckers consists of Noah VanNorstrand, Kelsey Wells, and Helen Kuhar. Noah, fiddle, mandolin, and foot percussion, is known for his work with Great Bear Trio. Helen drives the truck forward with their guitar playing. They often play with well-known New York fiddler Tim Ball. Kelsey is a champion fiddler and clawhammer banjo expert also known for being half of the duo Turnip the Beet. With their varied experience and stylistic expertise, Noah, Helen, and Kelsey bring many different flavors into the tastiest scoops of cool contra dance tunes
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New England contra-band Spintuition has played everywhere on the east coast from Atlanta, Georgia to Montreal. Silas Hamilton (guitar, piano, fiddle, foot percussion), Willy Clemetson (fiddle, foot percussion), and Samuel Foucher (accordion, piano) present a compelling mixture of spicy new tunes and glorious old ones in the styles of trad-Irish, French-Canadian, and Old Time..
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Asheville-based caller Claire Takemori has taught dances from Hawaii to the West coast, Idaho, Texas, and up & down the East coast. Claire brings the joy of dance, no matter the age range or occasion.
Workshop Descriptions
Chestnuts. Money Musk, Chorus Jig, Petronella, and Rory O’More are historically important contra dances that go along with specific tunes. Emphasis in this workshop will be on Money Musk, a triple minor dance. Don’t know what that means? Come to this workshop to find out!
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English County Dance. Lively and elegant 17th and 18th century English country dances. These are longways and set dances from the time of Jane Austen. No previous experience with the form required
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Introduction to Swing Dancing. Swing and lindy hop are six-count American partner dances originating from the late 1920s that remain the basis of a thriving social dance scene even today. Cherry Lemonds and Geoffrey Yerem will lead you through a basic routine in this style.
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Morris Dance is the venerable ritual performance folk dance of the English Isles. Varied styles feature rhythmic stepping to live music by fantastically costumed dancers who sometimes hit each other with sticks. Come find out more.
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Role Swap. Learn the advantages of dancing both roles. Topics include how the other dance role is different; tips for swapping roles with your partner; and parallel play with other couples. This workshop will be mostly dancing, with little teaching.
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The Salty Dog Rag is an exuberant American couples dance that goes with a 1952 hit tune of the same name. It has been commonly danced in folk dance and contra dance events for many years.
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Square Dance Dances in longwise sets, like contra, are only part of the American folkdance story. Come learn about contra's raucous country cousin, square dancing, which is done in a set of four couples.