Dancing Circles in the Night

Friends and family gather for a night of square dancing at Black Kettle Farm.

Story and Photos by Ceilidh Clark

“Right Hand Star!” the caller shouts.  Immediately circles are formed and everyone around me is whooping and jigging in glee.  “Do-se-do!” the caller continues, and as the band keeps time, couples come twirling down the rows of people, dancing circles in the night.

On a foggy night on October 3rd, 2009, I took part in a barn dance held at Black Kettle Farm in Essex, NY. There was a suggested donation to support a lakeside preschool, which is located on Black Kettle farm, and many of the attendants were family and friends of children who go to the school.  Walking in, I noticed an appetizing array of food laid out on tables in the back of the barn.  There was fresh salad, squash soup, several different chilies, and thick rounds of gourmet bread.  Instantly, I knew I was in for a treat.

The type of dance we learned is known as contra dancing or square dancing.  It is a traditional American couple dance that relies on a band to keep a basic rhythm and a caller to inform the couples of the upcoming dance move.  The dances range from waltzes (for two) to faster jigs involving two to four couples to old traditional favorites such as “Peck for the Oyster, Dig for the Clam” and “The Broom Dance.”  They were easy to learn, and I found myself focusing on all the new people I was meeting instead of worrying about where to put my feet.   

Square dancing was intended to give farmers a mental and often comical relief from a hard days’ work, and they most certainly had the same effect on me.  I was happily dancing with complete strangers, who were just as happily swinging around with me on the dance floor.  Children of all ages, parents, college age students, and elderly people were all whizzing around in circles, occasionally bumping into each other, laughing, and having a sensational time. 

The band consisted of two fiddle players, an electric piano player, and most oddly of all, a hammer dulcimer player.  Upon inquiry, I learned that the hammer dulcimer is a distant cousin of the piano, and that it is a string instrument that is played with hand held mallets (In a piano, the keys control the mallets).  The band was very animated, and became wild at times by the antics of the fiddle player, who played as if his feet were on fire.

Several times throughout the night, I found myself out of breath, dragging myself off the dance floor to inhale a cup of water.  I noticed that this was a similar behavior of everyone there as well; any one dance could go one for over fifteen minutes, which left couples hugging each other for support by the end of the night.   As a result, there were always different groups of people dancing together.  I enjoyed seeing so many friendly faces, and so this part of the night was very special to partake in.

From the outside looking in, thick fog surrounds me, and swirls around the nearly full moon overhead. The hills are framed by clouds, and are illuminated in the silence of the twilight.  With the barn doors open, a brilliant glow of light radiates out into the translucent night. As I stroll around the farmyard to take in all these sights, I can’t help but feel like I am transported to a different time period altogether.  Looking back at the barn, I hear shouts of joy and laughter, mixing in with the shrill sounds of the violin and the twang of the dulcimer.  As I watch the rolling hills, I get a nostalgic feeling that I am home.

Have you been to a barn dance in the North Country?