Proposals

I grew up dancing in Kentucky and I'm excited to share some of my childhood dance tradition with you all! In this workshop, folks will learn basic Appalachian Clogging steps (starting with learning how to make the shuffle clogging sound). We will start slow and progress at the speed that makes sense for the group. No prior dance experience necessary. If you like Appalachian folk music and want to learn how to incorporate some percussive dance into your life (whether that's while dancing, waiting in line, or just in your kitchen), come join us!Participants should bring some sort of leather or smooth bottomed, flat shoe to wear. Shoes like sneakers are designed to keep you from slipping so do NOT work well for clogging, where your foot needs to slide one the floor 

I've been thinking a lot about what it looks like to be a fulfilled and happy person during the pandemic. I think it's unrealistic to just sit around and wait for "the world to return to normal." Instead, I want to figure out how to build a new world that is safe, social, and sustainable regardless of whether there's a pandemic happening. This workshop will take the form of a group brainstorm about what we all need to be happy people who aren't going stircrazy, and how to get some version of those things while social distancing. It will look at how we might re-design social and recreational activities like dancing, travel, potlucks, and dating to be both satisfying and safe. It will also explore how to reframe our thinking about the activities which are still available to us during social distancing to make them more satisfying. My personal goal is to get some great brains together to think about how to design safe spaces for dancing outside this summer (an outdoor dance floor in a community space big enough for dancers to stay distant from each other? Workshops in shadow waltzes? An upswing in solo blues dance?) I also want to think about how we might handle social activities this winter (if we need to carry on isolation at that time) without freezing our bums off outside!**note: I would also be glad to hold this workshop as an outside-but-in-person workshop with a small group in the Burlington VT area, if anyone is interested!**

In this workshop, we will learn how to cook a healthy vegetarian dish called 'Chana Masala' i.e., Spiced Chickpeas. All you need are a few locally available ingredients (list will be provided beforehand). This dish is often a party favorite.

The closest thing swing dancers have to a line dance, the shim sham is often done in the middle of a swing dance while the band is on break.  As a solo jazz routine that is usually done communally, it's a great way to feel the shared-ness of dance without having to be physically close together.  Come get moving and learn it! If you want a sneak peek, here's the dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2FyvoAi2ew (Please note, though it originated as a tap routine, I will be teaching the variation I learned from swing dancing.  No tap shoes required!)