YDW 2015

September 25–27, 2015 at Kinhaven Music School, Weston, VT. The 6th annual Youth Dance Weekend, and the 5th year at Kinhaven.

Talent

Michael Hamilton — Calling contras

Michael Hamilton has a smile so big, you can hear it as you are dancing. He first stepped off the dance floor and behind the microphone at his local dance in Peninsula, OH in 2008, under the mentorship of Carol Kopp. He became a mainstay caller in the northeast Ohio dance communities and has roved further afield calling dances and dance weekends wherever he goes. Plus he plays banjo!

Melissa Running — Calling English

Melissa Running discovered she could take folk dance for PE credit in college, and never looked back. She started playing for dances and then calling English in the Philadelphia area. She now lives in Silver Spring, MD, calls nationally, plays piano for English and Scottish country dancing, and plays the nyckelharpa for pleasure and for Swedish dancing. She’s written a number of dances and a larger number of tunes. She is renowned for her warm, accessible, and fun-loving style leading English Country dance.

Gallimaufry — Playing for contras, English, and more

(Photo from Brian Lindsay’s website, 2019)

Gallimaufry, an Oberlin-bred quintet of dance music awesomeness, features the talents of Brian Lindsay, Alex Sturbaum, Ness Smith-Savedoff, Donal Sheets, and Arthur Davis.

Tim Ball, Rachel Bell, & Julie Vallimont — Playing for English, contras, and more

Fiddler Tim Ball hails from Ithaca, NY, where he rules with his audacious Irish bowings with Tunescape/Escape and the O’Shanigans. Accordionist Rachel Bell wields Alfredo, the Italian accordion, with devastating, French-tune driven abandon with Tunescape/Escape and The Andrew and Noah Band. Pianist Julie Vallimont’s earth-shaking superpowers are well-known to YDW; she plays with Nor’easter, Buddy System, and more.

D.R. Shadow — Friday night techno contra

The mysterious late-night electronics artist.

T-Shirt

The 2015 t-shirt was printed on Bella + Canvas blanks in purple, with fitted and standard styles available.

Committee

Mog (Magdalen Zander), Sarah Pilzer, Harris Lapiroff, Max Newman, Mary Wesley, Alex Sturbaum, and Abigail Hobart (new member).

Pricing

• Minimum: $105
• At-cost: ~$130–135
• Sponsor tiers available