Promenade on the Prairie
Wichita, Kansas June 25 - 28, 2008

Education Programs

Experience Education On The Prairie!

A 57^th NSDC Education Committee
Special Presentation

Thursday, June 26^th from 1:00 PM and Friday, June 27^th from 7:30 PM

IN CONCERT HALL

The Education Committee of the 57^th NSDC is pleased to announce a special presentation of dances that were important in the dance history of the West and Midwest. The cast of performers will include professional dancers from three performance groups based in Colorado: the Colorado Dancers, the High Country Dancers and the Rocky Mountain Dancers.

The show will be directed by Calvin Campbell assisted by Judy Campbell and Bob & Allynn Riggs.

Scenes in the show will include a 400-year old contra dance named Hole in the Wall, Pappy Shaw’s original square dance routine for the film “Dual in the Sun”, a novelty round dance Steppin’ Out, and other dances. For those of you who have danced for many years, it will be a trip down memory lane. For those of you who have learned to dance recently, it will be a chance to see your history on stage.  You will get to see dances such as the Blackhawk Waltz and several variations to the Varsouvianna. You will see how dance styles have changed over the years and learn something about why they changed.

Many of the performers in this show also dance on the exhibition teams at Colorado University and Colorado State University.   They will be able to demonstrate the aerial square dance figures made famous by the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers and intricate eight-couple square dances that were the specialties of those universities. They were there and danced them.

The audience will be treated to a seventy-five minute educational program composed of 20-25 dance scenes in the beautiful Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center in Concert Hall. The dances will include squares, contras, round dances, and Sicilian Circles   that were the ancestors of Modern Western Square Dancing.  Calvin Campbell will narrate the performance and lead you through the history of the times and places these dances were done. It should be a fascinating hour and a quarter of dance pageantry.

The performance times will be June 26^th from 1:00-2:30 PM and June 27^th from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. The seating in this comfortable theater will be limited to the first 2,178 people per performance. Both shows will be videotaped and a DVD will be produced. Make your plans early to join your friends for a wonderful time.