In this workshop, Michael J. Love will share both an oral and embodied history of The Shim Sham Shimmy—a routine known to tap dancers as the “national anthem” and a familiar collection of rhythmic phrases referenced by dancers in many other forms. A short, informal lecture and discussion will be followed by a breakdown of each of The Shim Sham’s four “time steps.”

Michael J. Love is an interdisciplinary tap dance artist—a choreographer, scholar, and educator. His embodied research intermixes Black queer feminist theory and aesthetics with a rigorous practice that critically engages the Black cultural past as it imagines Black futurity. Love is currently based in Austin, TX, where his work has been supported and presented by Fusebox Festival, ARCOS Dance, Ground Floor Theatre, and The Cohen New Works Festival. In 2016, he received an Austin Critics’ Table Award in dance. Love has also collaborated with transmedia artist Ariel René Jackson on video and performance projects which have been featured in or programmed by The New York Times Style Magazine’s #TBlackArtBlackLife series, the New Museum (New York), CUE Art Foundation (New York), the Galleries at the University of Northern Colorado, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery at the University of Washington, and the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center (Austin). Love’s performance credits include the Broadway laboratory for Savion Glover and George C. Wolfe’s “Shuffle Along” and roles in works by Baakari Wilder as well as Andrew Nemr’s New York-based company, Cats Paying Dues. Love holds an M.F.A. in Performance as Public Practice from The University of Texas at Austin and is an alumnus of Emerson College (Boston). dancermlove.com

Banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive-dancer, choreographer, and square-dance caller, Evie Ladin reconnects Appalachian music and dance with other African-Diaspora traditions in her performances and recordings and in her teaching. She writes clever lyrics with mature arrangements, calls rowdy square dances for urban crowds, choreographs new body music/percussive dance for contemporary dance and film, leads seminars in movement anthropology, rocks straight up old time clawhammer banjo, and gardens.

https://evieladin.com/about-evie-ladin/

Toss the Possum has been playing contra dances as a family band since 2004. The current lineup is Laura on keyboard and Rob on fiddle, percussion, and vocals. They play with high energy and a big sound, but also create lyrical magic on smooth sets. Their goal is to give the dancers the best experience possible. You might hear some fun rock-n-roll inserts as well as a number of original waltzes. You will enjoy a lot of creativity, some humor, and great passion with this band.

http://www.tossthepossum.net

Hālau O Keikiali’i is a Hawaiian cultural and dance group based in South San Francisco under the direction of Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche. Since 1994, their goal has been to educate the general public about the Hawaiian culture and its traditional customs, values, and protocols. Besides holding regularly scheduled classes, they strive to help perpetuate the rich culture of the Hawaiian people through presentations to the general public throughout the year, including educational workshops, performances, and other cultural events.

https://www.keikialii.com

Beacoup de stomping pour le contra danse. Whoops! Sorry. That’s Stomp Rocket, a trio whose moniker evokes a certain wholesome recklessness and perfectly captures the zip/chunk/zoom essence of the band’s sound. They are fiddler extraordinaire, guitarist, and teacher Dave Langford; mandolinist and tenor-banjo player Glen Loper; and guitarist (sometimes pianist) Bethany Waickman.

Will Mentor is a contra and square dance caller from Northern Vermont known for his clear teaching, upbeat wit, and relaxed stage presence. He loves to choreograph evenings with a variety of dances and tempos that at times surprise and always delight. As he once said, “I usually have a great time calling. Between the demographics of the dancers, the band, the hall, the temperature, etc. — every evening of contra dances has its own identity.” And always, he keeps intact his guiding principle as a caller: “It’s about the dancers!”

Rodney Clay Sutton is performs and teaches of Appalachian step dance, both flatfoot and clogging. He calls square and contra dances, tells stories, and sings ballads. Rodney offers workshops, lectures, and demonstrations for a range of age groups or for occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, or even corporate gatherings.He is also a concert and festival producer, emcee, and stage manager.  More recently, he’s been studying Sean Nós dance—the Irish step-dance equivalent to flat-footing. rodneyclaysutton.com

with George Wilson & Alan Thomson, and caller Paul Rosenberg

with Gaslight Tinkers and caller Ben Sachs-Hamilton