Tag: Dance

Flamenco Louisville to Perform Free at Berea College

Last modified: February 6, 2019

Flamenco Louisville performanceFlamenco Louisville will perform authentic flamenco music and dance at the Berea College Convocation on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m., in Phelps Stokes Chapel.

Flamenco Louisville is the oldest flamenco organization in the area. The musicians and dancers of Flamenco Louisville are Spanish-trained professionals who bring authentic flamenco in the puro tradition. Flamenco Louisville is a community-oriented organization, dedicated to the life of their art form and sharing it with others. Continue reading Flamenco Louisville to Perform Free at Berea College →

83rd Annual Mountain Folk Festival at Berea College Celebrates History of Folk Dance

Last modified: May 15, 2018
Students dancing at Mountain Folk Festival

Participants in the Mountain Folk Festival in the upper gym at Seabury Center.

The 83rd Annual Mountain Folk Festival will take place in Berea, Kentucky on April 6 and 7, 2018. The public is invited to a free performance and participatory dance on Saturday, April 7 at 7:15 pm in the Berea College Seabury Center’s upper gym. Musicians and dancers will begin the performance with a processional, or parade dance, welcoming the coming spring season in a centuries-old tradition of “dancing in the branches of May.” Guests may come at 6:15 for a pre-show of group performances demonstrating skills learned in Festival workshops. Continue reading 83rd Annual Mountain Folk Festival at Berea College Celebrates History of Folk Dance →

Christmas Country Dance School: A Great Way to Spend the Holidays!

Last modified: May 22, 2018

Spend part of your holiday season at a cozy event dedicated to fun, music, friendship, learning, sharing, and dance, a celebration of individual creativity within community in a supportive atmosphere. Christmas Country Dance School at Berea College provides a safe and festive environment to try something new, participate in ancient traditions, and forge some new traditions. Have you admired storytellers, musicians, basket-makers, or cloggers? Would you like to learn to waltz or play music for dances? You, too, can learn these folk skills and meet a wide variety of fascinating people who love to share these activities. Starting in 1938 as a training ground for dance leaders, CCDS has become a much loved tradition mixing youth (age 13 or older) and adults, beginner and experienced, with local, national, and international staff and participants. We also hold a Community Youth Program for Berea-area children ages 5-12 held each afternoon from Dec. 27-31. Continue reading Christmas Country Dance School: A Great Way to Spend the Holidays! →

Berea College Student Wins Prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship

Last modified: May 22, 2018

Berea student Moondil Jahan won the 2016-2017 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship prize of $30,000. Berea is the only school in Kentucky from which The Watson Fellowship accepts candidates. As one of 152 finalists who competed at the national level, Jahan receive one of the 40 fellowships offered. Continue reading Berea College Student Wins Prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship →

Retired Berea College Faculty Member Authors Appalachian Dance Book

Last modified: May 23, 2018
Susan Spalding

Susan Spalding, author of “Appalachian Dance: Creativity and Continuity in Six Communities.”

After interviewing black and white Virginians, Kentuckians and Tennesseans over a twenty-five year span, Susan Eike Spalding has authored “Appalachian Dance: Creativity and Continuity in Six Communities”, a book that explores the evolution and social uses of dance in each region. Spalding’s book analyzes how issues as different as industrialization around coal, plantation culture, race relations, and the 1970s folk revival profoundly influenced freestyle clogging and other dance forms like square dancing. Her research identifies how African Americans and Native Americans, as well as European immigrants drawn to the timber mills and coal fields of Appalachia, brought movement styles that added to local dance vocabularies. Continue reading Retired Berea College Faculty Member Authors Appalachian Dance Book →

Ragtime: the musical – Berea’s summer 2012 sensation

Last modified: May 24, 2018

Originally posted on August 15, 2012 by Sam Gilbert

On July 6, 2012, Ragtime: the musical opened to boisterous applause. The student actors were confident and capable. After a month of rehearsals as well as voice training they had good reason to be.

Continue reading Ragtime: the musical – Berea’s summer 2012 sensation →

Christmas Country Dance School: A Berea College Tradition for 75 Years

Last modified: May 25, 2018

Spend part of your holiday season at the 75th anniversary of Berea College’s Christmas Country Dance School, a cozy event dedicated to fun, music, friendship, learning, sharing and dance in a supportive atmosphere. Christmas Country Dance School provides a safe environment to try something new, participate in ancient traditions, and forge some new traditions. Classes such as Bollywood dancing, urban/rural movement remix, or jaw harp playing are sprinkled in with the many more traditional folk dance and singing classes to keep things fresh. Starting in 1938 as a training ground for dance leaders, CCDS has become a much loved tradition mixing youth (age 13 or older) and adults, beginner and experienced, with local, national, and international staff and participants. Continue reading Christmas Country Dance School: A Berea College Tradition for 75 Years →

Shall we dance?

Last modified: May 25, 2018

Fellow Bereans, I have an announcement. Tonight we square danced. Continue reading Shall we dance? →

Dr. Jan Pearce: Living Liberal Arts

Last modified: June 15, 2018

Jan Pearce, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics, is a woman of many talents and passions. When asked about her interests, she responds with a deluge of answers that sound more like driving directions explaining her present position by telling where she has been. Continue reading Dr. Jan Pearce: Living Liberal Arts →

Make Plans Now to Dance in the Holidays at Christmas Country Dance School

Last modified: May 25, 2018

Berea College’s 74th annual Christmas Country Dance School, December 26 to January 1, is accepting registrations now. Space is limited and spots are filling up for this unique holiday tradition when hundreds of participants create and share holiday memories while learning country dance. Continue reading Make Plans Now to Dance in the Holidays at Christmas Country Dance School →