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Counting down to the 57th Bavarian Festival

August 18, 2008 at 12:56 PM

On Friday (hurra, a holiday in the part of Bavaria where I work) I went to see my old caller buddy Thomas to rehearse for the 57th Bavarian Festival. Thomas plays the guitar in a church band and - apart from being an accomplished caller - he is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays guitar, ukulele, mandolin, accordeon, piano, drums, ... and has come up with the idea that we will offer an introduction to contra dancing with live music.

For me, this will be an exciting new experience, since I have never played in a contra or square dance band before. Playing for dancers is a lot of fun, but I have only done it for standard dancers, never for my own favorite dance form.

I sometimes play with a contra dance band. When we play, we play for all the dances that night. It is something of a marathon, but it's so much fun! I love to watch the dancers and enjoy their interactions with the band as we play. The music itself is fun, too. You'll love it. You can read a description of the dances here (http://www.fridaynightdance.org/) and follow links to the tune list (extensive and very well organized)and podcasts of the band playing live at the dances. Enjoy!