Dancing to an old tradition
GROVE CITY — Just before the dance begins, Ruth Anne Lachendro takes the microphone to gear up the crowd.
"Look at your partner and flirt so you don't get dizzy!" she says.
Then a fiddle player begins bouncing from note to note, a man with a banjo plucks tunes and feet start tapping to begin the fourth annual Dance in the Middle.
Held Aug. 1 to 3 at the Grove City YMCA, the contradancing event draws dancers from Pittsburgh, Ohio, New York and West Virginia. More than 100 attended this year to experience the weekend of dances, workshops and more.
Performed by couples that dance in two facing lines, Lachendro describes contradancing as a cross between square dancing and Jane Austin-style English dancing that originated in New England but is based on folk dances from Europe.
Contradancing consists of a series of steps and turns taken with a partner. A caller directs every crowd at every contradance and teaches the steps before each song. Kenny Wilson of Cleveland was the caller last weekend.
As Wilson directed the crowd, dancers rotated, switched partners and repeated the previous steps and swirls.Everyone on the floor wore a permanent smile as they danced, forming parallel lines and changing partners to the songs of the live band, The Contrarians, based in West Virginia.Many of the women swirled to the music in colorful skirts. And a little girl practiced in the corner of the gym, not yet old enough to join in, but dancing and twirling in her own pink dress with a similar smile on her face.Lachendro, who coordinates the dances, said the energy of the crowd and the sense of community that comes with it keep her going.<br><br><br><br><br>
<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="/assets/mov/BE52658811.MOV" width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank"><span class="style11">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a><br><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Times New Roman">Video by Brandon Gerthoffer</font></span><td></tr></table>"As you are putting your dancing shoes on, you're tapping to the music, and everybody is looking around the room and saying 'OK: We are going to have a ball here.'"And when certain parts of the music happen, the whole room is swinging together or stamping their feet together — and the energy builds all evening long," Lachendro said. "You can tell by the end of the evening that you just enjoy this community."
In addition to the dances, Lachendro hosts a series of potluck dinners where dancers can get to know each other better."The potluck for me is my way to extend the fun, and I used to have it at my house during the monthly dances — it is a traditional thing for many dances," Lachendro said. "People eat together and then extend the fun into the dancing."<B>First steps</B>Lachendro grew up in Pittsburgh and moved to Grove City in 2003. She discovered contradancing at the University of Pittsburgh after looking for a younger crowd that differed from the square dancing community.After attending a swing dance above the Sun Gin Restaurant on South Broad Street, she decided to organize a contradance. So she circulated flyers at downtown businesses and told everyone she met about the pastime.
The first Dance in the Middle was held in July 2005. Ninety people came to the event, with about 40 attending a potluck at Lachendro's house. The event name stems from the fact that Grove City is centrally located for many enthusiasts who travel to contradances in the region.The next year, her dream expanded, and Lachendro held five additional dances throughout the year. By the time summer came around, she added waltzing, her favorite genre.As part of the event, she rented the Neat Feat roller skating rink, offering a waltz workshop and two hours of waltzing to about 25 people. She also held a potluck at her house followed by an evening contradance at the Y with about 70 people in attendance.Meanwhile, the ongoing contradances continued, increasing to almost one every month at the YMCA.Between 50 and 80 people typically attend those contradances, usually offered on the first Saturday of the month, Lachendro said.Last summer, the YMCA allowed her to rent their facilities for the afternoon and evening. The third annual Dance in the Middle attracted about 100 people for afternoon workshops on contradance, swing and waltz and a potluck at the YMCA followed by an evening of English country and contradancing.The expanded event continued this year, with an additional Friday night dance.Lachendro said after four years of organizing the community contradances, she still feels like she is simply throwing a big party."People will come up to talk to me, but they hardly ever see me because I'll be dancing," Lachendro said. "To me, dancing is something I can do all the time."Lachendro said now that the dance has become a community-wide effort, she feels secure it has become a staple event.
"I originally had a goal that everyone in Grove City would have at least seen and heard the word 'contradance' in a five-year period, and I think I am getting close to that," she said. "A lot of people still haven't tried it, but once you have, you usually become a convert."She also said anyone can get on the floor and dance, no matter how much experience they have."You can walk in not knowing it and still have a good time," Lachendro said. "You can make mistakes and people will smile and push you in the right direction to help you get there and have a good time."Nathaniel Fedor, 21, of Grove City has become a regular at the contradances."I got into dancing and just looked for it," Fedor said. "I like it because it's more of a social dance than one-on-one."Myrna Vallely of Grove City also loves the social atmosphere."You don't have to have a partner," Vallely said. "Young kids ask you to dance and old men ask you to dance too!"As Lachendro plans to begin work as a traveling nurse, Gaye and Gary Welton of Grove City will now take over as the main organizers of the dances. Gaye Welton said she loves the family atmosphere.
"It also has to do with the music because it just makes you want to dance," she said.Gary Welton said the dances have become a family event for the community."People enjoy it for different reasons, but this brings families together, and a lot of our friends come, too," he said.The next contradance will be held at the Grove City YMCAon Sept. 6 and will continue to be held every first Saturday of the month. For information on the contradances in Grove City, visit www.grovecitypadances.spaces.live.com.
