Summer Soirée With Great Bear Trio Set for June 19-21, 2009

Great Bear Trio has been one of the most popular bands to tour Asheville in the past two years, and I'm very pleased to announce that Summer Soirée will feature this powerful group. Andrew, Noah & Kim are part of the changing landscape of contra dance music that is sometimes called "crossover."

They play few standard contra tunes, augmenting a twin fiddles and piano "base" with mandolins, guitars, banjo and an assortment of percussion instruments, such as the African djembe and the Australian didgeridoo. Dancers quickly fall under the spell of the GBT's particular style.

"They are my favorite band ... they induce a level of euphoria," says Peter Clark.

From their website: "Andrew composes and arranges the majority of Great Bear's material, drawing heavily on Celtic and Appalachian fiddling traditions for their melodies but with plenty of room for improvisation and an occasional alt-rock or world beat groove creeping into the rhythm section."

I know you will be thrilled to dance to this dynamic trio!

Our featured caller this year is Asheville's own Beth Molaro. Dancers from Florida to Alaska and all points between love her lyrical, singing calls in a voice evocative of blues and jazz. She combines infectious enthusiasm with clarity and a teaching style that feels more like fun than instruction. "No one gets more dances in than Beth, " says Harry Bryan.


Registration : Photo Gallery : Summer Soirée Schedule
Band & Caller
: What to Bring : More Information
Asheville Contra Dance Home

Other Things to Do In Asheville : Other Asheville Area Dances : Dances Elsewhere