Contra, Swing, & Zydeco at the Lake Eden Arts Festival

During the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) we know there are those of you who step into Brookside Dance Hall with your dancin’ shoes laced up tight on Friday evening and don’t leave until Sunday evening, smiling and sweaty. Well, this month’s Brookside lineup has the dance community all a-buzz.

Performing contra this fall are a couple of LEAF favorites. Drawing from Celtic, Quebecois, Southern Old-Time and jazz music influences, Footloose is high-energy, creative, and fun! The Great Bear Trio is one of the hottest dance bands in the country, pushing the boundaries and setting the standard in the modern contra music scene.

Calling contra at this month’s festival are long-time LEAF favorite Adina Gordon, hailing from Vermont, and the hot young newcomer that everyone’s talking about, Maggie Jo Saylor, who has recently relocated to Western NC and will be calling her first full contra weekend at LEAF. She will also be calling Saturday night’s late-night Techno Contra, presented by DJ Jor-D.

Beyond the contra dances, there are many other fun dance offerings. Montuno will be heating things up Friday night with some salsa, and Maria-Guajira Voisin will be on-hand for a workshop prior to the dance.

Saturday’s dance offerings include swing, led by One Leg Up, with Ted & Kimberly Ross instructing beforehand, and zydeco, led by Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys, with Ira Bernstein instructing beforehand.

For those of you who can’t get through LEAF without a waltz, Footloose will be playing a classic set Sunday morning. And, if all that still isn’t enough dance, don’t miss Nadirah Rahman’s African Dance workshop in Eden Hall on Sunday morning. Remember, there will be plenty of danceable music on LEAF’s five other stages!