Rachel Bell: Eloise & Co.: Brattleboro Bal Folk
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Location
Broad Brook Community Center
3940 Guilford Center Rd, Guilford
Organized by Keene Sentinel Elf Calendar
About this event
Fun, accessible French and European traditional dances. No experience or partner necessary. SCHEDULE: 6-6:40 beginners' workshop, 6:45-9 bal (dance party with minimal teaching) LOCATION: Broad Brook Community Center: 3940 Guilford Center Rd, Guilford, VT 05301 (just outside Brattleboro) Please bring a clean pair of shoes to change into, or clean your shoes off thoroughly once you get inside, before you step onto the dance floor. We want to protect that beautiful wood floor! Suggested donation sliding scale $12-$25 Dances range from meditative to raucous and are in lines, circles, spirals, and pairs. Come to the beginners' workshop and learn the basics, and even if you can't make it to the beginners' workshop, we welcome everyone to jump in and figure it out during the bal! At these dances in France, people just kind of look around and see what other people are doing and if they can't figure it out, they make it up! We're all there to have a good time! Please join us! Share our video with friends to whet their appetite! https://youtu.be/Y8OUy5JM6Jw?si=s8-aKotdPEayFcW0 Rachel Bell is a performer, tunesmith, and teacher. She is in demand throughout North America and beyond for concerts, contra dances, French bal folk dances, English country dances, workshops, and festivals. She thrives on collaborative musical work, especially with her bands Eloise & Co., Peregrine Road, Alchemy, and Old World Charm School. Her playing spans an enormous range of emotion, from nuanced and sensitive to exhilarating and powerful, pushing the boundaries of what is expected from an accordion. Rachel draws her inspiration from Celtic, French, English, and Quebecois traditions, cranking out new material but also deeply respecting the melodies that have been around for hundreds of years. She is in the midst of an exciting composition project with dance choreographer Susan Kevra. The pair is creating new dance and tune combinations for the English country dance repertoire, many of which are already appearing regularly on dance programs around the country and beyond. Whenever Rachel is not blissing out on a 10-hour rehearsal marathon with her bandmate Becky Tracy or on the road playing gigs, she can be found exploring Vermont's waterfalls or seeking out excellent espresso.