NGI Recipient: Ian Shay
Session Attended: Country Dance and Song Society - American Dance & Music Week (2021)
As I write this letter, I’m missing Pinewoods camp and all the lovely humans I was lucky to dance and sing with.
On a practical level, I went to American Week to improve as a contradance caller. In the morning we practiced calling dances and gave each other feedback. In the afternoon we performed those dances at the callers’ party. It was a huge confidence boost to have frequent opportunities for success in a supportive learning community. I look forward to starting a queer contra series in the Twin Cities whenever it’s safe to do so.
But that’s far too practical. Pinewoods is a weird magical forest teeming with song and dance. I brought a couple copies of the Sacred Harp, only to find there were crates of them in the dining hall and shape-note singing every day after lunch. I stumbled upon all manner of mushrooms and ghost plants on the path. I was recruited for a water square, in which we chaotically ‘danced’ as a canoe full of musicians drifted by. At pub night I sang until 2AM because I didn’t want to leave the intoxicating feeling of laying bass notes under people’s songs. How do they know so many songs?
I saw friends I hadn’t seen since the Before Times, and made new friends in a blur. We sang and danced and hugged. I felt surrounded by love and warmth. American Week was a haven from what has been, in many ways, a terrible year and a half.
All of which is to say, thank you so, so much for the scholarships that made it possible for me to attend. My heart is full, and I’ll draw from those reserves of joy for a long time.