Our seventh Harvest Moon Dance Weekend was held September 29 to October 1, 2023, at the beautiful Baker Community Center in St Charles, Illinois. Chicagoland’s premiere English Country Dance event, a full weekend of engaging music and dance, will once again offer the joy of dancing together with regional friends and stellar talent!
Musicians — Jacqueline Schwab and Mara Shea
Caller — Gene Murrow
More about our guest artists
Weekend schedule:
- Friday evening dance: 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.
- Saturday morning workshop: 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
- Saturday afternoon workshop: 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
- Saturday afternoon ball practice: 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. [local callers, recorded music]
- Saturday evening ball: 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
- Sunday farewell dance: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. [program from requests taken during the weekend]
Gene Murrow’s Dance Lists for the weekend
Gene’s workshop topic:
Music Made Visible — How the Varied Sources, Styles, and Structure of English Country Dance Music Informs Movement
Presented in 2 independent sessions — you may attend one or the other, or both.
George Balanchine, among others including Imogen Holst, noted that “dance is music made visible.” The music of England’s social/folk dance tradition is unusual in its embrace of a wide variety of musical forms and styles. Considering rhythmic structure alone, these include “duple” meter jigs, reels, hornpipes and marches; “triple” meter minuets, waltzes of several varieties, and slip jigs; and some eccentric forms that are “none of the above.” Sources and styles include Renaissance dance music, baroque theater music, classical-era sonatas, traditional songs, modern waltzes, and much more. We’ll explore how the best choreographers have incorporated these disparate elements in unique ways to make each visible and to enthrall the dancers.
Chicagoland English Country Dance 