Friends!!! Please Join Brooklyn Contra and the Old Stone House for a foray into folk dance beyond Contra with a day of Percussive Dance workshops and an evening concert!
We’ll be joined by three amazingly talented performers for the day: Aniya Danée, recently returned from the international tour of Hamilton, for an Introduction to Tap Dance; and the duo of Nic Gareiss and Simon Chrisman for an Introduction to Appalachian Flat Footing. The evening will conclude with a concert featuring Nic’s exquisite blend of Irish, Appalachian, English, and Canadian percussive dance melding in conversation with Simon’s enchanting hammer dulcimer.
Introduction to Appalachian Flatfooting
Join us for an afternoon of Appalachian flatfooting! As a dancer, your body becomes the instrument, not just the conduit for the music! Nic will take you on a journey to find balance, impact, levity, and flow in this introductory workshop of a richly historied traditional folk dance form.
“A virtuoso step dancer in Irish and Appalachian traditions...an undersung treasure.”
— Brian Seibert, The New York Times
“With a working knowledge in a variety of different traditional percussive dance styles and an academic background to match, Gareiss is able to think well outside the choreographic box.”
— Daniel Neeley, Irish Echo
About the Artists
Nic Gareiss (he/they, percussive dance, vocals) and Simon Chrisman (he/him, hammer dulcimer, vocals) met in 2007 at a fiddle festival in the Californian redwoods and have been exploring sound and movement together ever since. Both leading innovators within their practices, Nic and Simon melt their unique approaches, weaving traditional percussive dance, instrumental tunes, improvisations, traditional songs, and new compositions through interlocking rhythms and dynamic textures. Well-known for his work with the groundbreaking new acoustic string bands Kittle & Co. and the Bee Eaters, Simon's music combines "chamber music’s finely calibrated arrangements with bluegrass’s playful virtuosity and pop music’s melodic resourcefulness." (Boston Herald) One of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch," Nic Gareiss has been hailed for his "dexterous melding of Irish and Appalachian dance" (New York Times). Together, Nic and Simon adventure into the world of time and timbre to create a breathtaking evening-length performance of song, instrumental music, and percussive dance.
Schedule:
2:30pm Intro to Appalachian Flatfooting
4:00pm Intro to Tap
5:20pm Dinner Break
7:00 Doors Open for Concert
7:30pm Concert
Fees:
Intro to Appalachian Flat Footing: $20
Intro to Tap: $20
Both Workshops: $35
Concert: $25
Whole Day: $55