The
64th annual Spring Mountain Folk Festival is scheduled at Berea
College April 14 and 15 with events for both registered groups and the
public.
The festival promotes folk dancing for young people. Started as an
outreach program of the College, the festival has trained both dancers
and dance leaders who have carried on the cultural folk traditions of
the area.
Traditional music and dance from both the British Isles and Denmark
are taught to registered groups of children from the fourth grade
through high school. Events open to the public are a Friday evening
dance and a dance demonstration and Gala Performance and Dance on
Saturday evening. There will be a $2 per person admission charge for
each dance.
The dance on Friday will take place from 7 - 9 p.m. in Old Seabury
Gym. Bob Dalsemer will be the caller and live music will be provided
by Al and Alice White, Ben Griffith, Donna and Lewis Lamb and Peter
Slowkowski.
On Saturday, a celebration of English seasonal display dances,
called Morris dances, begins as 6:15, on the Main St. side of Boone
Tavern on the College Square. The dances feature colorful costumes,
including bells and ribbons, incorporate large staffs and
flower-bedecked garlands, and have traditional characters such as the
Hobby Horse and a "fool."
At 7:15 p.m., following the Morris demonstration, the dancers and
festival participants will process to Old Seabury Gymnasium carrying
colorful "branches of May" from flowering trees. A Gala Performance
and Dance at Seabury will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. Bob
Dalsemer will again be the caller, and music will be provided by Al
and Alice White, Ben Griffith and Peter Slowkowski. The audience will
be invited to join some of the dances.
For additional information on the festival, contact coordinator
Pamela Corley, 606-986-4434.
|
