I'll be there, too. Wouldn't miss it! Allow me to put in a plug for one session-- Saturday morning from 9-10:30, I'm giving a talk on dance history. I've done this before on half a dozen occasions, in locations from Denmark to New Mexico, and over time it's taken on a nice shape.
It's a look at contra dance in particular (with some attention paid to squares as well) through the ages, and it does a good job-- sez he, modestly-- of giving audience members a sense of how the dancing has changed over centuries, as well as useful and interesting information about some of the key figures in various revivals in the 20th century. I know that when I first prepared this talk, it was helpful for me to take all the bits and pieces I knew and pull them into some kind of coherent order. Then I had the pleasure of going out to learn more about those areas where I knew I didn't know enough. It's not just me talking, never fear-- there are audio clips as well to spice up the presentation. I guarantee than anyone who comes will go away equipped to answer the perennial question, "So why is this called contra dance and where does it come from?" David
