BALANCE and SWING

Add balance to your life through dance! with Bill Alkire & Susan English and Friends

CONTRA DANCE	SPECIAL EVENTS	PROFILES
BALLROOM	DANCE LINKS	CONTACT (330) 345-7308

WOOSTER CONTRA DANCE

First Saturdays, 7:30-10:30 p.m. (Instruction at 7:15 p.m.) Photos by John Abt

2009	Oct 3	An evening of New England longways set dances plus English country dance Beautiful Celtic music by Pocketful o' Gimmick Calling by Bill Alkire and Susan English It's aerobic and social--No partner necessary $6 at the door; students $5; family $15 At Valley College Grange, 2411 Shreve Rd, Wooster, OH 44691 (Route 226 just south of Route 3) Sponsored by Valley College Grange Information: John Abt
	Nov 7
	Dec 5
2010	Jan 2
	Feb 6
	Mar 6
	Apr 3
	May 1

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MT. VERNON CONTRA DANCE Fourth Sundays 2:00-5:00 p.m. (Instruction at 1:30 p.m.) Calling by Susan English on September 27, October 25, and March 28

Music by Pocketful o' Gimmick At St. Paul's Episcopal Parish House, 102 N. Gay St. (SE corner of High & Gay Streets) in Mt. Vernon, Ohio Information: Janet Chandler(740)-397-9609

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BALLROOM DANCE

Fall 2009 Classes Thursdays, Sept. 24 to Nov. 19 at Wooster Community Center 241 S. Bever St., Wooster, OH 44691		Winter 2010: Beginning & Intermediate Ballroom Spring 2010: Wedding Dance Recreation Fall Event Brochure 2009 ONLINE REGISTRATION or call (330) 263-5207
Beginning Ballroom	7:00-8:00 p.m.
Intermediate Swing & Salsa	8:15-9:15 p.m.

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SPECIAL EVENTS Planning Guide

GRAND BALL

Friday, November 6, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

For teens age 13 and over Calling by Susan English & Bill Alkire Mt. Vernon Development Center 1250 Vernonview Dr., Mt. Vernon, Ohio 43050 $10 per person Fancy dresses, suits & ties; refreshments provided Information and reservations: Michele Bayko (740) 504-8847 Sponsored by Orange Barrel Production Company

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MINUET to MACARENA

A Historical Review of Dance 1800-present

A 20-minute light-hearted tour of the waltz, polka, ragtime, tango, and swing eras. Click here* for some dance history. Photos by Denise Parker

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CEDAR VALLEY CLOGGERS

Traditional black-shoe Appalachian clogging

featuring old-time music and figures,

founded and directed 1980-2005 by Bill Alkire

For classes and performances,

contact Jeanne Troyer (330) 262-8772

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PROFILES

Bill Alkire (M.S.W.) grew up with traditional music and dance in central Ohio. Bill has provided dance leadership for groups from Alaska to Denmark, including Dancing Bears of Alaska, Bay Area Country Dance Society, Folklore Village, Pinewoods Camp, Maine Woods Folk Dance Camp, and the Silkeborg 1994 Spring Dance Festival in Denmark. Bill has served on staff multiple years at Berea College Christmas Country Dance School, Buckeye Leadership Workshop, Great Lakes Recreation Lab, Kentucky Summer Dance School, Cumberland Lakes, Terpsichore's Holiday, and Olglebay Institute Folk Dance Camp. As a retired director of community mental health, Bill sees dance as a key to good mental and physical health and to strong organizations, families, and communities.

Susan English (Ph.D. Education) fell in love with international folk dance in the 1960s and taught her first dance class on a rooftop in China in 1980. Discovering contras and competitive swing dance in Washington, DC, Susan has called monthly contra dances since 1990. Known for her rhythmic calling, varied program, and winning smile, she has served on staff at the Wheatland Traditional Arts Weekend and multiple years at Cumberland Lakes Dance Camp, Terpsichore's Holiday, and Michigan Dance Heritage. When not leading dance, Susan teaches graduate courses in education and conducts program evaluation as an independent consultant. To the world of music and dance, Susan brings her personal mission of building bridges between people of different cultures.

As a team, Bill and Susan provide dance workshops in the following areas:

APPALACHIAN CLOGGING	HISTORICAL DANCE
APPALACHIAN BIG SET	INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCE
BALLROOM DANCE	RHYTHMS OF LIFE
COMMUNITY DANCE	SONG-SHARING
CONTRA SKILLS	STORY-TELLING
DANCE LEADERSHIP	SQUARE DANCE (traditional)
ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE	TALLS and SMALLS *

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DANCE LINKS

North Coast Contra Community

Oberlin Contra Dance Club

Michigan Dance Calendar

Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS)

Lloyd Shaw Foundation

A Contra Dance Page

Ted Crane's Dance Database

For Susan's consulting services see STRATEGIC EVALUATION

* Click here to download the latest non-professional version Acrobat Reader for free.

Last updated November 3, 2009 Top of Page