Footfall News

Footfall News Message

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:51:00 GMT

Dear Dancers:

We thought we'd remind you, as you start planning vacation dates and allocating precious leave time, that it's not too early to mark your calendars for FootFall, September 5-7, 2008. That's right. Eighty-two days from now, the second annual FootFall Dance Weekend will fill Timber Ridge Camp, in High View, West Virginia, with fabulous music, exhilarating callers, enthusiastic dancers, and entertaining workshops.

Our committee feels incredibly lucky to have booked two of the very best contra bands in the country for FootFall 2008. First, from Athens, Ohio, the powerful and energetic Hotpoint Stringband will make us all go "wooo!" This Midwest "gang of five," a favorite at many dance weekends, pours everything they have into making dance music. Mark Burhans on fiddle, Hilarie Burhans on clawhammer banjo, Mark Hellenberg (aka "Pokey") on percussion and banjo uke, Marlene Shostak on piano, and Nick Weiland on bass. You can sample some of their tantalizing tunes at http://www.hotpointstringband.com/ .

Alternating with Hotpoint will be the dynamic young band Elixir from Brattleboro, Vermont. The tight harmony and propulsive sound they achieve on a unique combination of instruments - Ethan Hazzard-Watkins on fiddle, Anna Patton on clarinet, Owen Morrison on guitar and foot percussion, and Jesse Hazzard-Watkins on trumpet - will amaze and delight you. Transcendent harmonies, playful improvisations, traditional melodies that morph into raucous Dixieland riffs. Hear it for yourself at http://www.elixirmusic.us/ .

We're extremely pleased to welcome caller Nils Fredland to FootFall 2008. In addition to playing trombone with Elixir, Nils calls extensively, particularly on the East Coast. You might have heard him at Glen Echo, or Augusta, or Pinewoods. His genial and lighthearted manner is a constant delight - and he's even agreed to teach a vocal workshop!

And as if all of that weren't enough, the one and only Kathy Anderson will lead you through her matchless collection of quirky contras and high-energy squares. Kathy's clear teaching style and rollicking, rapid-fire calling is sure to provide outstanding workshops and fabulous evening dances.

Gaye Fifer and Wayne Albright will be at FootFall again this year with their always delightful and popular waltz tutorials, plus a workshop on Irish set dance. Ted Hodapp will host the Saturday night Joke Show (this year's topics: lightbulb jokes and doctor jokes) and teach a hambo session. Anna Rain will lead early morning yoga and English Country Dancing. Our master sound tech Jamie Platt is planning an International dance session. Warren and Terry Doyle will lead a clogging workshop. We'll have a fossil dig, foot-care and skirt-making workshops, and much more. Cool off after dancing, in the olympic-size swimming pool. Check our website, http://FootFallDance.com for updates (and photos from last year!).

On-line registration (including PayPal) is available right now. We'd love to see you in September!

The FootFall Committee
Jerry and April Blum, Robert Cox, Mike Fallon, Jean McAulay, Will Strang and Betty Wells

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Footfall News Message

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:29:00 GMT

Dear FootFall Fan:

You were there last year. You took a chance on a brand-new, first-time-out-of-the-box dance weekend, run by a small group of dancers who had never run a dance weekend before - and you made it a success. We thought we'd remind you, as you start planning vacation dates and allocating precious leave time, that it's not too early to mark your calendars for FootFall 2008. That's right. Just about six months from now - September 5-7, 2008 - the SECOND (who'd-a thunk it?) annual FootFall Dance Weekend will fill Timber Ridge Camp, in High View, West Virginia, with fabulous music, exhilarating callers, enthusiastic dancers, and entertaining workshops.

Our committee feels incredibly lucky to have booked two of the very best contra bands in the country for FootFall 2008. First, from Athens, Ohio, the powerful and energetic Hotpoint Stringband will make us all go "wooo!" This Midwest "gang of five," a favorite at many dance weekends, pours everything they have into making dance music. Mark Burhans on fiddle, Hilarie Burhans on clawhammer banjo, Mark Hellenberg (aka "Pokey") on percussion and banjo uke, Marlene Shostak on piano, and Nick Weiland on bass. You can sample some of their tantalizing tunes at http://www.hotpointstringband.com/.

Alternating with Hotpoint will be the dynamic young band Elixir from Brattleboro, Vermont. The tight harmony and propulsive sound they achieve on a unique combination of instruments - Ethan Hazzard-Watkins on fiddle, Anna Patton on clarinet, Owen Morrison on guitar and foot percussion, and Jesse Hazzard-Watkins on trumpet - will amaze and delight you. Transcendent harmonies, playful improvisations, traditional melodies that morph into raucous Dixieland riffs. Hear it for yourself at http://www.elixirmusic.us/.

We're extremely pleased to welcome caller Nils Fredland to FootFall 2008. In addition to playing trombone with Elixir, Nils calls extensively, particularly on the East Coast. You might have heard him at Glen Echo, or Augusta, or Pinewoods. His genial and lighthearted manner is a constant delight - and he's even agreed to teach a vocal workshop!

And as if all of that weren't enough, the one and only Kathy Anderson will lead you through her matchless collection of quirky contras and high-energy squares. Kathy's clear teaching style and rollicking, rapid-fire calling is sure to provide outstanding workshops and fabulous evening dances.

Gaye Fifer and Wayne Albright will be at FootFall again this year with their always delightful and popular waltz tutorials, plus a workshop on Irish set dance. Ted Hodapp will host the Saturday night Joke Show (this year's topics: lightbulb jokes and doctor jokes) and teach a hambo session. Anna Rain will lead early morning yoga and English Country Dancing. Our master sound tech Jamie Platt is planning an International dance session. Check our website, http://FootFallDance.com for updates (and photos from last year!).

On-line registration (including PayPal) is available starting today, March 25. We'd love to see you in September!

The FootFall Committee

April Blum , Jerry Blum, Robert Cox, Mike Fallon, Jean McAulay, Will Strang and Betty Wells

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FootNotes3 (FootFallout)

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:29:00 GMT

Thank you all so much for coming to the inaugural FootFall! We hope that you had a wonderful time, and will consider coming back again next year. We will let you know by email when registration for 2008 opens. We are working on the flyer and registration form, and hope to get them posted quickly. Our bands for 2008 are Hotpoint ("Make 'em Go Wooo!") Stringband, a fabulous group from Athens, Ohio http://www.hotpointstringband.com/home.html and Elixir, an amazing and blazing high-energy contra band that kicks brass, from Brattleboro, Vermont http://www.elixirmusic.us/index.html . Our callers will be Kathy Anderson and Nils Fredland. So mark your calendars for September 5-6-7: it's already a four-day work week, why not celebrate it at FootFall?

We have been delighted to receive so many evaluation forms, nearly 60, which is a remarkable percentage. We have read them carefully, and will post some comments on the website shortly. The fabulous yellow signs (including "this way out" exit signs on Sunday) were obviously a big hit, as were the name-tagged reusable cups and mugs and the cup rack (thanks again, Rick!). And there seems to be a general consensus that the Great Saturday Night Chocolate Chip Pancake Stampede should be an annual event.

Here's the Lost and Found list: Do any of these sound familiar? Let us know.
1. Rain/sun hat, pale yellow with thin white band, Van Cort XL.
2. Scarf, cotton blend, aqua, with machine embroidered ducks and "On with the dance, let joy be unconfined" [from Peggy & Joe's wedding]
3. T-shirt, purplish blue, "25th anniversary Chesapeake Dance Weekend" XL
4. Baseball cap, grey with black mesh on sides, black adjusting strap at back, REI
5. Hooded jacket, black, light weight w fleece lining, XL, full-length front metal zipper, drawstring for front of hood, 1 pocket each side, right pocket top seam mostly open � there was a (sealed) butter packet in the right pocket (tsk tsk), which we have disposed of.
6. Watch, men's sport style, black plastic case and band, Timex Expedition Indiglo WR 50M, stainless steel case back

Jay Darmstadter took a number of digital photos, which he has given to us (thank you, Jay). A representative sample (100) has been placed on the website at http://www.footfalldance.com/pics2007/index.html . If you object to having a particular photo which contains your image on the website, please let us know within the next two weeks, and we will remove it. If you think you would be interested in purchasing a CD containing all of the photos, please let us know. If there is sufficient interest, we can burn and mail copies for a nominal cost (enough to cover expenses).

Cordially
The FootFall Committee

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Footfall News Message

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:01:00 GMT

FootNotes 2. Will this be the last FootNote? No promises, but we hope so:

A. If you'd like to submit a joke for Saturday night's Joke Show, hosted by Ted Hodapp, you'll be able to write it down once you get here (we'll have 5 x 8 cards and pens) � or print out your favorite at home and bring it along. Please put your jokes in the eggyolk-yellow plastic box on the back table in the Dining Hall (probably labeled "Put your Yolks here"). Short jokes, please ("Did you hear about the two antennas who got married? The wedding was terrible but the reception was great." "Why do bagpipers walk when they play? To get away from the noise.")

B. Please look at the website for directions. If you are going to be driving after dark, particularly if you have not been to Timber Ridge before, and/or if you are going to be driving alone, print the directions in GREAT BIG TYPE, so you can read them easily by dashboard light only if necessary. Here are some landmarks and elapsed mileage readings measured FROM your exit from Route 81, Exit 310 onto bypass Route 37 (all mileages are approximate):
1. 5.1 miles on Route 37, to the exit onto Route 50 (toward Romney). Left at light.
2. 10.6 miles on Route 50 to the Gore Volunteer Fire station � this is a large white cinder-block building on your right, usually very well lit, even at night. When you see the fire station (and there's a yellow roadsign to warn you), move into the left hand lane.
3. 0.7 miles from the fire station to the LEFT hand turn onto Route 259.
4. 4.2 miles on Route 259 to the West Virginia state line sign.
5. 0.5 miles to the RIGHT hand turn onto Christian Church Road � this is ~0.2 mi past the Case tractor dealership.
6. 1.4 miles on Christian Church Road (it has a double yellow stripe) to the church (on your right) and the church office building (on your left) � both red brick buildings.
7. 0.2 miles after the church to a LEFT hand turn onto Hooks Mill Road.
8. 1.4 miles on Hooks Mill, most of it downhill, until you see a "Dead End" sign and the pavement ends. Turn LEFT onto a gravel road.
9. 0.2 miles uphill. Take the RIGHT fork, then it's 0.3 miles to the gate.
10. Follow the yellow signs to the bottom of the hill, curve left along the camp's main road to the purple A-Frame.
11. If you need an immediate pitstop before checking in, the small dark blue building just past the A-Frame (on the same side of the road) has bathroom facilities.

C. Gas is slightly less expensive than it was a month ago, but if you're coming from the DC area, the best price we've seen is usually at a Sheetz station at the south side of exit 40 of Interstate 66 (the intersection with US 15) � easy access off and on. Two alternatives are the Sheetz at Exit 307 of Route 81, or the Gas Mart, located about 5 miles along Route 50, on your right, after you've turned onto Route 50 from Route 37.

D. Don't forget to check the t-shirt designs and let us know if you'd like to save $2
1. http: HREF="mailto://customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=hgrastorf@aol.com&F=footfall1">//customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=hgrastorf@aol.com&F=footfall1 (unisex shirt)
2. http: HREF="mailto://customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=hgrastorf@aol.com&F=footfall2">//customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=hgrastorf@aol.com&F=footfall2 (women)
Both shirts are extremely soft and comfortable 100% cotton. $16 for either if you let us know this week, and we will hold one for you. $18 at the camp. Unisex sizes S/M/L/X/XX, and Women's sizes S/M/L/XL.

E. Remember that Timber Ridge is a camp, not a motel. You need to bring your own hangers, towels, handsoap, shampoo, sheets or bedding, etc.

F. F is for FootFall Friday. See you then!

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Footfall News Message

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 21:23:00 GMT

FootFall is NEXT WEEKEND (Hooray!!) Here are some final FootNotes:

1. There are some additional workshops and activities, most notably a Percussion Workshop led by Jim Roberts of FootLoose, which is "bring your own noisemaker" (no, not your 4-year-old nephew); early morning waltzing at the Gym, courtesy of Gaye Fifer and Wayne Albright (in an Italian study, folks with chronic heart failure who waltzed for 21 minutes, three times a week, increased their cardio-circulatory fitness more than those in a group that used cycles and treadmills); and early morning Tai Chi, directed by Cis Hinkle (people who regularly practice tai chi, a �soft style� Chinese martial art best known for improving flexibility and mood, are more resistant than their peers are to shingles, a painful reactivation of the chickenpox virus, because tai chi strengthens memory T cells, the white blood cells that fight recurrences of previously experienced infections, including some that can lie dormant for decades). These additions were requested by dancers. Th ank you Bob, Ellen, and Will, respectively, for asking!
2. The final schedule will be on the website Monday night or Tuesday morning. You will also receive one in your registration packet.
3. Cabins do not contain small trash cans (there are large trash drums outside). You might want to include a small cardboard box or paper bag for trash. Alternatively, your registration packet will be in a plastic bag (made from recycled milk jugs), which has a handle opening at the top � this bag could be draped over a doorknob or hook and used for trash.
4. A CDSS attendee mentioned that she was particularly glad that she had brought along a small "bedside" mat or rug, on which she wiped her feet before getting into bed.
5. Another CDSS attendee remarked that there were not enough hooks in the shower area for robes, towels, etc. We have purchased "over the door" bars with multiple hooks for each shower. Please let us know on your evaluation form if these were useful.
6. Do you already know Dutch Crossing? Would you like to be part of the demo group? If so, please email us and let us know. Gaye Fifer will do a quick run through on Friday at 6 pm (just before dinner). We need a total of 16 experienced dancers.
7. There are camp refrigerators at the dining hall and the canteen if you need to bring special food items. We have posted the menu for the weekend on the website (the Saturday evening vegetarian entree is tba, but there will be one), so you can look it over in advance. If you have food allergies or intolerances and have not already informed us, please do so.
8. If you'd like to bring any extra goodies to share as evening snacks, please feel free to do so. The best place to put them will be the Canteen kitchen.
9. T-shirt designs are at:
a. http://customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=hgrastorf@aol.com&F=footfall1 (unisex shirt)
b. http://customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=hgrastorf@aol.com&F=footfall2 (women)
Both shirts are extremely soft and comfortable. $16 for either if you let us know this week, and we will hold one for you. $18 at the camp. Unisex sizes S/M/L/X/XX, and Women's sizes S/M/L/XL.
10. The registration office will be in the purple A-frame, not the dining hall. Signs will direct you down the hill. If you arrive after dark, look for the signs and the purple lights. If you plan to arrive Saturday morning rather than Friday night, please try to let us know by email, so we don't worry about you.
11. Most cell phones do not work in the camp itself (although some people get spotty reception at the top of the hill or along the gravel road leading to Hook Mill Road). Most cell phones do work along Routes 50 and 259. The Timber Ridge office number is 304-856-2630, and there is an answering machine which will be checked frequently.
12. The camp has tennis courts, basketball courts, and a volleyball court, as well as a running track and weight room. Please disregard the automatically-added notes about subscription management, as this mailing is being sent only to those who are already registered for FootFall, which is not the regular "FootFall News" mail list.

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First Annual FootFall One Month Away

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:59:00 GMT

One month from today, dancers will begin arriving at beautiful Timber Ridge Camp, in High View, West Virginia, for the very first FootFall dance weekend � September 7-9, 2007. They will be looking forward to a weekend of excellent dancing, featuring high-energy music by two fabulous bands � FootLoose and Crowfoot, and equally energetic and exciting calling by Cis Hinkle and Ron Buchanan. They may be deciding whether to do the Dutch Crossing workshop or take a guided tour of the fossil pit. They may be unpacking the drums they brought along to participate in the Percussion Workshop led by Jim Roberts, or looking forward to the early morning waltzing, or checking to be sure they've written down the questions they want to ask Camp Doctor Susan Schmitt during her "FootSore" presentation. Or maybe they've already decided to spend their time chilling out in the turquoise swimming pool or the clear water of the Cacapon river. We hope you have decided to be one of those dancers.

If you would like more information, please go to our website http://footfalldance.com . You can register and pay (through PayPal) online, or you can print the full brochure (or just the registration form) from the Web site. If you would like us to mail you a brochure, please email us and give us a snail-mail address, or look for our brochure at your local dance. We are maintaining gender balance and we don't want the dance floor to be overcrowded, so don't wait too long!

The FootFall Committee
Jerry and April Blum
Lily Fountain and Richard Winston
Jean McAulay
Will Strang
and
Karen Kelleher (Advisor Extraordinaire)

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New Footfall Dance Weekend

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 14:47:00 GMT

You are receiving this email because you are a previous attendee of either the Almost Heaven Dance Weekend or American Dance Weekend at Buffalo Gap.

As you probably recall, the "last dance" of American Dance Weekend at Buffalo Gap was last year. For many of us, the thought of a September without a chance to escape into beautiful West Virginia and dance with our friends was too much to contemplate. So a small group of us have organized a new fall dance weekend, which we hope will become an annual event.

The very first FootFall will take place this year on September 7-9 (that's the weekend AFTER Labor Day), at Timber Ridge Camp, in High Point, WV (about 10 miles south of Buffalo Gap).

We would be honored and delighted if you would consider adding FootFall to your calendar. We have engaged two fabulous bands � FootLoose and Crowfoot; and two well-known and skilled callers � Cis Hinkle from Atlanta, and Ron Buchanan from Pittsburgh.

If you would like more information, please go to our website http://footfalldance.com . You can register and pay (through PayPal) online. If you would like us to mail you a brochure, please email us and give us a snail-mail address, or look for our brochure at your local dance.

We hope you will join us this September.

The FootFall Committee
Jerry and April Blum
Lily Fountain and Richard Winston
Jean McAulay
Will Strang
and
Karen Kelleher (Advisor Extraordinaire)

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