Hoe Down at Vinnie's Jump and Jive!

Hey everybody - the Hoe Down is back!

This Saturday December 10th
8pm-10pm
$10 general, $6 students
Vinnies Jump and Jive, 424 Main Street

Country-line dancing and square dancing for all! Come kick up your heels to a mix of current and old-timey tunes. The dances are easy and fun and some basic instruction will be provided so we can all have a great time dancing together. Led by caller Jim Gregory.

Beginners are most welcome.
Bring friends or come on your own, no partner is necessary.

For more info on ALL our dance classes and events, check out our website! You can also email trolle@chc1.com.

Bring friends and cowboy boots - cowboy hats will be provided! Yee-haw!

Return of the Contra

From Emily Troll

Contra dance is back!

Our first contra of the year is less than a week away -

Friday, October 2nd
8:00-11:00
Beckham Hall

We have two fabulous musicians coming from Western Mass to play for us: Karen Axelrod on piano and Mary Lea on fiddle. Quality. Please join us and bring friends. It's easy and fun and everyone is welcome.

We'll also be having dances on November 13th and December 11th - mark your calendars!

We need some help to put on a big event like this, set-up, clean-up, snacks, dinner, sound... If you're interested in getting involved please email etroll@wesleyan.edu. Volunteers are always treated to a free homecooked dinner beforehand (plus it's fun).

For those of you who may not have tried this before - come check it out. It's easy to pick up, there are plenty of people to help you along, and it's fun just to listen too. If you have questions or want to know more before you come, feel free to email etroll@wesleyan.edu.

Last Chance Contra Dance

Tonight! Come to the last contra dance of the semester, Beckham Hall on Wyllys Avenue on the Wesleyan campus, 8 pm, FREE!

No experience or partner necessary. Good music and company guaranteed.

For more details: http://wesleying.org/2009/05/04/9010

Photo is from the April 10th Contra Dance at Beckham Hall.

Contra Dance tonight!

Never been to a contra dance? Here's the definition:

Contra dance is a folk dance style in which couples dance in two facing lines of indefinite length

What that doesn't tell you is that the music is great and the company is fine.

Now's your chance! Come to the Contra Dance tonight (Friday) and join a couple hundred other people as they swing their partner and try to figure out what comes next.

Good for the brain, good for the body, good for the spirit. No experience necessary.

Details:
When: 8 to 11 pm, April 10th
Where: Beckham Hall on Wyllys Avenue, Wesleyan Campus
How much: It's Free!


This recycled photo is from the January '09 contra dance at Wesleyan.

The Contra Dance

I stopped by the Contra Dance this evening at Wesleyan's Beckham Hall. While others danced, I mostly sat on the side, enjoyed the music and chatted with friends. There was a wonderful feel of community in the room -- contra dance regulars, Wesleyan students, Middletown folk & local teenagers all sharing the space.

Here's a photo of the dance in full swing.



Mark your calendars for the next contra dance on Friday, March 27th!

Wesleyan claws back but loses by a fingernail to Tufts

The Wesleyan men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker this evening to Tufts. We arrived with 8 minutes left in the game. Tufts was up by about 5 or 6. The Jumbos soon extended that lead to 7, but two consecutive three pointers (one by the tallest man on the team that brought incredulous hoots from his friends behind us) put the Cardinals within 1 with only a minute or so left. Things looked promising until a Wesleyan power forward was called for traveling while trying to drive the lane. There had been a questionable traveling call earlier in the game, but this one looked reasonable. With only 9 seconds remaining and still down by one, Wesleyan was forced to foul as soon as Tufts inbounded the ball. This put Tufts on the free throw line. Tufts then proceeded to miss the front end of a one-and-one. Poor boxing out however allowed one of the Tufts forwards to snag the rebound. Wesleyan was forced to immediately foul again, putting Tufts on the line yet again. And again Tufts missed the front end of the one-and-one. But Wesleyan decided they didn't want the rebound this time either, and let the shooter grab it instead. Wesleyan fouled a third time, and again Tufts went to the line -- and yes, you guessed it, the Tufts player missed again. Finally the Cardinals decided to grab the rebound and fed it to the guard, who drove the ball up the right side of the court. The clock was at about 5 seconds, ticking down. It almost looked like there might be a replay of the Amherst game, but the long shot fell slightly short and rattled of the rim and backboard. Fortunately, the Wesleyan center was perfectly placed to push the ball back in, but his attempt fell just shy -- and the clock ran out.

A tough loss, but a great game nonetheless. Particularly impressive were some of the set offense plays. One involved a tricky double pick, where the inside pick rolled slyly to the basket and was fed the ball by the guard for an easy lay-up. This was with about 4 minutes remaining.

And if all that wasn't exciting enough, we then headed over to Beckham Hall and caught the last two hours of the jam-packed Contra Dance. Lots of dancers of all ages, and a wonderfully talented band.

[photo courtesy of Mark Masselli]

Post-script: The Wesleyan men's basketball team plays Bates tomorrow at 2. And the women's ice hockey team plays Connecticut College at 3.

Contra Dance at Wesleyan Tonight

If you like traditional folk music, and dance, and you haven't made it to one of these events yet, shame on you.

The young men and women of Folk Revival Initiative have proven that folk musics have an evergreen quality which continues to attract generation after generation of enthusiastic listeners and performers.

These dances encourage newcomers, since for so many of the students this is a first attempt at organized dancing.

Tonight's dance features music by Ethan Hazard-Watkins, Anna Patton and Owen Marshall with calling by Rebecca Lay.

Kudos to Emily Troll for being a major force behind keeping trad music alive at Wesleyan.

Contra Dance
Beckham Hall
Wesleyan University
8-11 pm

The news from Wesleying

There's nothing like being inspired by the young and creative.

The Middletown Eye might never have opened, if it wasn't for the inspiration provided by the intrepid bloggers of Wesleying, providing a view of the Wesleyan University from the ground up.

If you want to know more than you ever wanted to know about our youthful neighbors, who are paying upwards of $55,000 to spend 8 months a year in our fair burgh, you've got to check out this lively, irreverent, informative blog.

For example, if you visited today, you'd know:

That an outdoor concert, by Barefoot Junction, on Fountain Avenue was shut down by the Middletown Police, without incident.

That there's a contra dance (with live musicians, I assume), in Beckham Hall tonight.

That Black Snake Moan is playing at Film Hall tonight.

Or that there's a website that records every tree that the Wesleyan Grounds Department has cut down, or plans to cut down.

There's plenty not of value to Wesleyan outsiders, but there's lots of stuff thats interesting, gossipy, and strange, that's simply fun to know.