Feature Photo: Dandelion Romp
April 29, 2016
College first-year Adam Work, Conservatory first-year Daphne Pickens and College senior Arthur Davis of the group Wallaby Darned play a lively tune for dancers at Hales Gymnasium. The 17th annual Dandelion Romp contra dance festival kicked off Friday with a workshop for beginners. Providing blistering renditions of contra tunes was also the Boston-based band Nor’easter, comprised of Cedar Stanistreet on fiddle, Max Newman on mandolin and guitar and Julie Vallimont on piano and accordion. The Anadama trio — Amelia Mason on fiddle, Emily Troll on accordion and Bethany Waickman on guitar — joined Nor’easter and Wallaby Darned to provide music for the weekend. Callers Adina Gordon and Beth Molaro hollered out instructions and moves over the music. Though the weekend’s main focus was building community through contra dance, workshops also engaged attendees in learning more about different aspects of contra, including gender-neutral calling.
