FolkMADS sponsors Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos contra dances, concerts, camps, and other special events. "Contra" dances include contras, squares, mixers, and couple dances. Unless noted on the calendar otherwise, admission is $5 for members, $6 for nonmembers. You need not come with a partner. Free instruction for beginners starts at 7:30 p.m. Dances begin at 8 p.m. and are smoke-free and alcohol-free. Children and teens are encouraged to participate if supervised by an adult.

Albuquerque Dances 1st and 3rd Saturdays. Location as noted on calendar.

Santa Fe Dances 2nd and 4th Saturday contra dances and 5th Saturday English Country dances. Odd Fellows Hall, 1125 Cerrillos Road (south of Cordova Drive on the western side of Cerrillos).

Taos Dances 3rd Saturdays, Holy Trinity Parish Hall, Arroyo Seco.

Megaband Practices All musicians welcome.

ABQ Megaband Albuquerque Megaband practice is held at the Blue Dragon Coffee House, 1517 Girard NE,Albuquerque, the Tuesday before the 3rd Saturday dance. Bruce Thomson, 268-6003, or email Jane Phillips (remove "NOSPAM" when emailing) for more info or to be added to the listserv.

Santa Fe Jam Sessions First and third Thursdays, 7:00 p.m., at Katherine Bueler and Gary Schiffmiller's, 924 Osage Ave. 995-1125, for details. Rumors of SF Megaband revival.

Acoustic Jam 7 p.m. before the Albuquerque dances. All acoustic musicians are welcome and all types of music are played. Call Jay Cutts for more information, 281-0684.

2005 Officers/Directors

Ongoing Events

Hotpoint Stringband, a dance band characterized by their own brand of sizzling hot contra dance tunes, high-energy squares, and string swing. Known for their ability to maintain a deep groove at any tempo.

Al and Emily Cantrell cast a magical spell with their airy, joyful acoustic songs.  Emily sings in a fluid, jazzy style while Al plays a spirited fiddle and a dazzling mandolin.

Callers Becky Hill (known for her smooth dances and friendly style with quick, clear, and concise walkthroughs) and Nils Fredland (known for helping people feel a wonderful sense of belonging).

New Mexico's Own Bayou Seco, cross-cultural music celebrating cultures that eat hot food and play spicy music. Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie from Silver City N.M. will be joined by Scott Mathis and Linda Askew.

Working with Callers

Recently we played a dance up in Santa Fe that was a bit of a struggle in the first half.  The dancers weren't getting into it and the caller was having to work harder than necessary.  At the break I asked Richard Wilson, one of the most experienced and best callers around, what the problem was.  His take was that the caller was calling complicated dances with lots of movement and the band was playing too fast.  We switched to more melodic and slower tunes and the second half was much more successful for all.

Later I called Doc Litchman, another superb caller, and asked for his ideas of desirable attributes in a good band.  His first thought was good communication between the caller and the band.  Of course, the band needs to watch the caller for cues about tempo and when to stop.  But the caller may also ask for changes in the tune or sometimes key if the dance has a singing call.  The band and caller should coordinate their signals before the dance starts to avoid confusion.

Doc also expressed appreciation for bands with a diverse and interesting repertoire.  He reminded me that one of the first questions he asks a band is "can you play jigs?"  If so, he can then expand the types of dances he calls resulting in a more interesting and varied evening for all.  He related his experiences in Europe where most good bands read music and can slip in a Klezmer or Balkan tune if the caller is really adventurous.  Finally, instead of everybody playing in unison all night long, he suggested that bands should explore alternative instrumentation so that the mandolin, dulcimer, or banjo takes the lead occasionally.  This draws attention to the music a little, and makes the dances more interesting.

We'll discuss caller-band relations in future columns.  If you've got thoughts on this or any other topic send 'em to me.

The tune of the month is a Cajun waltz from an old LP of the Blue Flame Band.  Cajun waltzes are the best!!

ABC Notation

X: 41

T:Pop's Waltz

M:3/4

L:1/8

C:Dennis McGee

S:Blue Flame String Band, FF-275

N:Transcribed by Bruce Thomson

K:C

|z2a2g2|:"D"^f2 (3f/2g/2f/2 e fe|de ^fg af|"C"e2e2eg|ed cA ce|
"D"^f2 (3/2g/2f/2 e d2|"G"B2 (3B/2c/2B/ A G2|"C"c2 c2 cc|
[1[E2c2]a2g2:|[2E2[Ec][E2c2][Ec]|:"G"d2 BA BA|GA Bc dB|
"C"e2 e2 eg|ed cA ce|"G"d2 BA BA|Gg ^fa ge|"C"c2 c2 cc|E[Ec][Ec][Ec][Ec][Ec]:

Bayou Seco On March 5, Scott Mathis and Linda Askew will be coming down from Denver to play Albuquerque's dance with Ken and Jeanie. Doc Litchman will be calling. Ted Seeley and surprise guests will play with Bayou Seco for Santa Fe's March 12 dance. Ken and Jeanie will be giving two fiddle workshops, too (read on).

From the left: Scott Mathis, Jeanie McLerie, Ken Keppeler, and Linda Askew. Collectively known as Bayou Seco.

Fiddle Workshops

Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie will be hosting two fiddle workshops before their dances on the double fiddle styles of Louisiana (mostly Dennis McGee and Canray Fontenot), and of the Tohono O'odham (Elliott Johnson) of Arizona. The first workshop will take place at 1:00 p.m. on March 5 at Chris and Christina Carlson's house in Albuquerque, 7405 Euclid Ave. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, 505-232-2425. The second workshop is on March 12 at 2:30 p.m. at the IOOF hall in Santa Fe.

The workshops will be 2 and 1/2 hours long and will include a packet of some tune transcriptions and a CD of the music as played by them and some of their mentors. Cost $25.00. Limit 12 persons. Mandolin and guitar players are welcome to attend, but the main thrust of the workshop is the fiddle. For reservations call 505-534-0298 or write us at bayouseco@NOSPAMaol.com (remove NOSPAM from address field when emailing).

Second Sunday Dance Series Moving AGAIN!

We're listening to your feedback about the Second Sunday Elegant English and Zesty Contra Dance. You working folks asked us to go back to the old starting time of 7 p.m. But Lloyd Shaw is not available to us to set up for a 7 p.m. start. So we're trying a new place in March and April.

The March and April dances will be held at the First Congregational UCC Church, 2801 Lomas NE, Albuquerque. The church is easy to find; it's the northwest corner of Girard and Lomas, just a few blocks east of UNM Hospital. Enter the building on the east side. There is lots of parking. The dance will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m.

On March 13th Richard Wilson will be calling to the fine tunes of Hey!

On April 10th Noralyn Parsons and Merri Rudd will be calling to the tunes of Gemma DeRagon and Della O'Keefe.

Don't forget to bring your "frequent dancer card" to be stamped. Attend only four dances and get in the fifth dance for free!

Call Noralyn at 275-1944 or Merri at 268-3318 if you have questions or suggestions for the series. Or email them at mrsparsley@NOSPAMcybermesa.com or abogada@NOSPAMaol.com (remove NOSPAM from address field when emailing).

Other Events

June 26 - July 2. Rocky Mountain Dance Roundup near Colorado Springs, CO. This adult camp includes Contra, Square, English, Rund, and International dencing to live music. Sponsored by Lloyd Shaw Foundation. Information at www.lloydshaw.org or 303 741-6375. (Or look for flyers on the dance table.)

Traveling to Moab? Wanna Dance? The folks up in slick-rock land send word of the new Moab Contra Dance on the First Friday of each month at the Moab Arts & Recreation Center (MARC).  Dances start at 7:30 pm. and feature the Moab Community Dance Band and local callers. The next dance is April 1, for which they are asking a $5.00 donation to support the Moab Youth Garden Project.

Albuquerque Dance Location Cheat Sheet

March 5, 2005: Enchantment Ballroom March 19, 2005: Albuquerque Square Dance Center April 2, 2005: Enchantment Ballroom April 16, 2005: Albuquerque Square Dance Center March 13 and April 10, 2005 -- Second Sunday Dances: First Congregational Church, 2801 Lomas NE, Albuquerque. 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Albuquerque Square Dance Center 4909-15 Hawkins NE, one full block west of I-25 and 1/2 block north of Ellison. Take the Ellison/San Antonio exit, go west (away from Sandia mountains), turn north (right) at the first intersection past the motels. Enchantment Ballroom 337 San Pedro NE (across from the fairgrounds). Parking lot behind the ballroom, one block west of San Pedro. NOTE: Bring clean dance shoes that don't leave black marks.