“I love this!” the new dancer said Sunday afternoon as he swung his partner in front of the new stage on Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square. “My favorite part is the do-si-do.”
And I loved hearing his comment — which he uttered as about 30 people took part in what was most likely the first contra dance the Fine Arts Fiesta has hosted in its 67 years of existence.
Fiesta executive director Brian Benedetti used words like “terrific” and “wonderful” to describe it afterward, and said he was so pleased to see the synergy among the musicians, the caller and the dancers.
“We’ve never had anything like this before,” he said. “Usually we have entertainment where the performers are over here and the audience is over there, but here they were interacting.”
Some of the dancers were experienced hoofers who used to attend the Chicory House/Wyoming Valley Contra Dances that were last held before the pandemic.
And some of the dancers were Fiesta-goers, children as well as adults, who seemed happy to accept the serendipitous invitation to try contra dancing, which is similar to square dancing, for the first time.
As for me, I was almost giddy with delight that the dance came to fruition — and that people participated. Weeks ago, at a meeting of the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Artistic Forum, I suggested having a contra dance as part of an upcoming city event.
“I’m not speaking as a representative of the Times Leader, just as a person who likes to dance,” I said before launching into a description of how inclusive and social a contra dance can be.
Gina Malsky, who arranged the live entertainment schedule at the Fiesta, decided to make it happen. Henry Koretzky from the Harrisburg area and his friends, calling themselves “The Contra Rebels,” agreed to supply the music. And Bob Nicholson from Syracuse, N.Y., agreed to be the caller — the person who gives the dancers their instructions and smooths out any trouble spots he sees.
Speaking of smooth, there were a few anxious moments while the caller was late. But the musicians filled in beautifully, singing and playing music for a waltz. Then Bob arrived and proved once again that he has a gift for teaching beginners how to engage in this gentle but lively, traditional form of dancing.
It’s similar to how the characters dance in movies based on Jane Austen novels. And it’s similar to how pioneers used to dance in barns or around campfires when their work was done. It’s exactly how people danced at our wedding reception when Mark and I got married 21 years ago. We mentioned that to two new dancers on Sunday, probably just before we took their hands and circled left.
“That must have been a fun wedding,” one of them said. Yes, it was.
***
While some folks treated their feet to contra dancing for the first time at this year’s Fine Arts Fiesta, other people took the opportunity to try their hands at international musical instruments.
Lauren Dowling, who was visiting from Florida, for example, delicately pushed and pulled the handles of a concertina, expanding the bellows as she pulled.
Sophia Sereyka, 16, and Kim Dinh, 15, both of Wilkes-Barre, assembled rain sticks by filling clear cylinders with colorful beads.
How did it sound?
“Like rain,” Sophia said with a giggle.
They were just a few of the people who visited a tent filled with life-size cutouts of artists with local ties who are among the first inductees into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame.
“That’s Barbara Weisberger,” committee member Constance Winn said, pointing to a cutout of the founder of the Pennsylvania Ballet. “There’s (trumpet player and band leader) Bobby Baird.”
Winn’s brother, Melvin Samuel Wynn, was the front man for the band the Rhythm Aces in the 1960s and ’70s. He and the whole band were represented by cut-outs, too.
Under that musical tent, Joseph Milcavage showed off a 21-string African instrument made from a calabash gourd and Helen Grebski showed off percussion instruments, including one intended t be worn around the ankle. If your ankle is narrow, I guess.
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