Event/Site: Contradance at the Vintage Theater in Winston-Salem

Date: Tuesday Nights, 8:00pm - 10:00pm. Introductory lesson at 7:30pm.

Type: Open weekly dance featuring called contradances and square dances to live old- time string band music in a renovated church/theater with wooden dance floor.

Location: The Vintage Theater is located at 7 Vintage Drive at the corner of Vintage Drive and South Main Street in Winston-Salem. NC. From the east, take 1-40 (NOT Business 40). Exit at Silas Creek Parkway (exit 193C). Turn right at the light. Turn left at the first left onto South Main Street. Go about one half mile north toward downtown. Look for Vintage Drive on the left. Turn left onto Vintage Drive, then immediately right into the Vintage Theater parking lot. From the west, take I-40 East to Winston-Salem. Exit at US 52 N (exit 193B). Stay in the right lane and immediately take the Sprague Street exit. At stop sign, turn left. Go to South Main. Turn right onto South Main and follow directions above. Click here for a map.

Cost: $5 adults; $3 students.

Parking: Free. Parking adequate for bus tours.

Special Needs Access: Venue is fully accessible.

Signage: Signs at location, but not en route.

Sponsor: Fiddle and Bow Country Dancers

Web Site:
www.feetretreat.com
http://members.aol.com/contrac925/fiddlebow.html

Contact: Carol Thompson, Winston-Salem Dance Coordinator
Greensboro, NC
(336) 275-7000 (w); (336) 272-3245; (336) 275-9988 (fax)
cthompson@bouvierkelly.com

Description of Event: Performed to live music, the high-energy dances benefit from having exceptional old-time and traditional dance bands in the region. With bands such as Man Alive!, Pilot Mountain Bobcats, Reel Shady, and New Pilot Mountaineers, it's well-worth going just to hear the music. Beginners are welcome, and a half-hour introductory lesson is taught before the dance begins. Most of the dances are contras, with an occasional square dance. The dance just before the intermission and the last dance of the evening are always waltzes. Both contradances, a New England dance tradition, and the square dances that have more longevity in North Carolina are performed at the Vintage Theater.

History of Event: People have been organizing contradances in Winston-Salem since the early 1980s. The dances settled into the Vintage Theater space "at least ten years ago." An average of 50-60 people show up to dance each Tuesday night, more sometimes when an especially popular band is playing.

Description/History of Site: The Vintage Theater, built in 1947, was a former church. Sold in 1972 to the NC School of the Arts, it was first used by the school as a recording studio and then as a black-box theater. The building was purchased in 1991 by a private owner who revived its use for arts events open to the community for rental. Its suspended wooden floor is excellent for dancing.

Significance of Site/Event to the Community: The group takes advantage of the region's bounty of exceptional old-time musicians, and a good percentage of the dances are accompanied by local old-time groups. The lively yet steady groove of regional old-time dance tunes is a good match for the contra figures, and area musicians and dancers alike seem to enjoy the combination. The local bands that provide the music for the dances will often include tunes from both traditions in their repertoires.

Potential for Increased Visitation: Venue needs advance notice to accommodate parties of more than 20 beginning dancers.