FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 12/8/09
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
www.macicehouse.org - 304-258-2300

TRADITIONAL DANCE PARTY KICKS OFF ROOTS YEAR

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV -- The Morgan Arts Council launches a year of roots arts activities at the Ice House on Sunday at 3pm with a community traditional dance party for all ages. Local musician, John Devine and dance caller Leslie Milbourne, are the core of the event. They are joined on Sunday by fiddler, Joe Herrmann, and hammered dulcimer player, Sam Herrmann.

The kick-off dance and week of traditional dance activities in the Morgan County schools are sponsored by Homeopathy Works.

To prepare for the party, a free traditional dance workshop is scheduled for Friday at 8pm at the Ice House. Devine and Milbourne are joined for the Friday workshop by Linda Whitesett on hammered dulcimer. "We'll be instructing people in some of the basic moves used in traditional dance including contra dance," says Milbourne. She lists moves including do-si-do and allemande right. "People will learn the trick of swinging your partner," she says. "We'll also walk through a couple dances."

Sunday's dance starts with a short beginners workshop. "We'll be doing everything from long way sets to Sicilian circle dances," says Milbourne. "We'll even throw in some waltzes." During the break, students at Milbourne and Devine's Wind Dance School perform a sword dance demonstration. "After the break, we'll do more advanced dances," she says explaining that contra dances are considered advanced since they have complex patterns and more moves.

"People can come singly or as a whole family," says Mary Hott, MAC's Executive Director. " Traditional dances don't require you to come with a partner."

Milbourne and Devine are working at the Intermediate School and at Greenwood Elementary through the week as part of MAC's Adopt-a-School program.

John Devine has been a performing traditional musician for more than 30 years and is noted as an exceptional singer and talented guitarist. Milbourne has been involved with dance camps for more than 15 years. They carry their attachment to a traditional lifestyle beyond music. Their Wind Dance Farm in Morgan County is an Education Center and Agriculture Program. " Living simply is a major focus of my life," says Devine. " I chose traditional music because it is simple and rooted in the daily life of ordinary people. Its rhythms harmonize with the natural rhythms I feel in my work on the land." Devine's CD, "Live In Brasstown," is available in shops around the region.

"With all MAC does today, it's easy to forget that it all started in the late 1970s with square dances at the fire hall, high school and in the streets," says Jeanne Mozier, MAC's founding president. "Within the first couple years, folks started a community string band to play for the dances," she recalls. "The Berkeley Strings even performed at an Apple Butter Festival."

Although traditional old time music launches the year of activities, other roots music forms are featured in the months to come. "We have concerts planned in jazz, big band, country and gospel," says Hott. "There is something for every taste."

The Morgan County Music Census forms are available for the first time at the dance kick-off. "Looking at initial lists of Morgan County singers and musicians, we're expecting more than 1000 people to participate in the census," says Mozier who is chairing that aspect of the Roots year.

The Ice House is located at Independence and Mercer in downtown Berkeley Springs. For more information on the full schedule of Back To Our Roots, check online at www.macicehouse.org or call 304-258-2300. Back To Our Roots is a collaborative project led by MAC and the Morgan County Library. It is funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, WV Commission on the Arts and hotel/motel taxes from the county and town.