Dancing on New Year’s Eve
Creativity is everywhere in Lansing. We went to a potluck and Contra Dance at the Central United Methodist Church in downtown on New Year’s Eve.
I wish I had a photo of the food, because that was the first artfulness we experienced. The friendships, of course, are yet another creative force. The room was full of people who truly enjoy one another.
Contra Dance involves a lot of spinning around as a couple, and many women dress in full skirts to really emphasize that move. Costuming (which I define as putting together clothing in a deliberate method) is another enjoyable part of being in this crowd. Because it was New Year’s Eve, even more velvet was seen in what is normally a somewhat folksy group. Loved enjoying the clothes.
And then there was live music and dancing. I can’t use my not-quite-healed broken arm yet to dance, but we sat upstairs, listened to the music, and took some photos.
Even the building, built in the first part of the 1900s, is beautiful. There are precious few buildings of this era in Lansing. I love being there.
It was a great way to start the year! I hope things are pleasant for you thus far.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
What a fun way to kick off 2011- a great way to start a (hopefully) great year :)
January 7th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
One of the many blessings of my life is that, even though I can no longer take the floor the way I used to, watching and being near dancing seems to help my heart dance along, which is unexpectedly satisfying :-}
May your arm heal and you be spinning again soon!
January 7th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
I am a passionate Contra dancer. And these photos do a fabulous job of capturing the energy, the connections, the spirit of the dance. Thanks for sharing your love of this art.
January 8th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
How good to be reading your blog entries again, Lynn! I haven’t been reading anyone’s for many weeks (new knee at the beginning of December – all going very well, but not sitting at the table for the first weeks!) and have just been catching up on the Good Ones.
Broken arm? Had I known that you’d be in the balcony not dancing I could have joined you! Last year Jon’s brother and sister-in-love were here and we danced the new year in – their first time for contras and squares! They were here again for the 31st this year, but we stayed home, stayed warm, shot off some fireworks, and called it a year.
Welcome back!
X O Irene
January 10th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
A broken arm – ugh! is that putting a damper on your knitting output?
I hope it heals as quickly as possible.
Happy New Year!