Julie LW sent on November 20 2020
Still not Dancing in Lansing :-(
Hi all - just wanted to touch base. It has been so long since we have been able to “Take Hands 4 and the ones cross over”.
Of course events that involve gathering in large groups are generally not happening right now.
Someone said if you wanted to invent something to spread Covid- it might look like contra dance. And boy, the daily Covid numbers in Michigan lately have been way too high.
The dance committees from both Looking Glass and the Ten Pound Fiddle met back in July and decided that we will not dance until we get to Phase 6 of the Michigan Covid plan. ( see attached screen grab) That is no more spread of the virus- sadly, that is not going to be happening until sometime in 2021 - we hope. I know Pfizer announced that one of the vaccines it was testing seems to be working quite well. I’m interested to see how we vaccinate 300,000,000 (or so) in the most efficient way.
There is a fair amount of contra dance video on YouTube- just search for it.
Also some groups are trying virtual Contra dances. There is one this coming Sunday, Nov 21- with calling by Emily Abel and tunes by contraforce. go here for more info.
I think I’ll check it out for a bit, even to just listen to some great music and those familiar dance sounds.
Basically you hear the band and caller and dance around your living room - with a partner, or without. It’s moving and music, and if you close your eyes, I bet you can imagine the feelings of dancing with your friends.
Also check out the website of the Country Dance and Song Society - www.cdss.org - for more info about what is going on all over the country as we dancers navigate this strange new world.
This will take you to the events page- mostly on line - presented by folks all over
https://www.cdss.org/community/events-calendar
Bonnie noted that Emily Rush has put together movement workouts (yoga too) to contra music. I quickly found them on YouTube by searching “Emily Rush contra workouts”
I hope you are finding ways to stay busy- and also being good to yourself. I still haven’t done anything with my photo albums. Though the boxes in the basement are a bit more organized. small steps will eventually get us there.
Have a nice holiday season and stay safe!
Julie LW