Tunes on Main St

The whole vibe was wonderfully positive throughout the evening of our Fiddle & Dance Project benefit night at the Village Restaurant. And musically, it was magical with the Gnomes (minus one),



French Roast (with a Cajun twist),



and the Bourbon Boys. Cathy and Michelle even stepped in for a 3-fiddle version of Red Haired Boy!



Over 40 people came over the course of the evening to support the work, listen (and dance) to the tunes, and enjoy delicious plantains! Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the night a success.

In April's Rhode Island Monthly

Check it out...in this month's RI Monthly magazine

Join us at the Village Restaurant on Pawtucket's Main Street on April 8th!

Thank you to Emily Ustach for creating this awesome poster!

6 new students

The past couple of weeks have been busy. 6 new students have joined Fiddle & Dance Project, from a 2nd grade student to a 10th grade student and everywhere in between.

There are big moments: the first time holding the violin, the first bow games, the first sound on the instrument... and at the same time, students who have been learning to fiddle since October are feeling what it's like to be the ones with lots of knowledge to share.

I've also been playing for more and more contra dances with the Cicadas and with the Whatnots! Here I am with the Cicadas, checking the sound at the dance in Hampton, CT last Saturday.

A Room full of Spoons

I happened to pass by the room where Mark Rust was teaching the Play the Spoons workshop at this year's Dance Flurry in Saratoga, NY and it was packed. This is from the end of the workshop. Props to all the new spoons-players! Just goes to show that everyone wants to play the spoons when given the chance...

Playing for dances this winter & spring

As a fiddling fiddler-in-residence, I thought I'd post some contra dances I'll be playing for, starting This Saturday, February 27th! Hope to see you dancing...

With the Whatnots (Seth Gruenwald, cello; Carole Bestvater, fiddle...a contra dancing string trio!):

Sat, Feb 27th, 8 PM, Mystic, CT "The pie dance" - serving cherry pie at the break!
At Frohsinn Hall, aka the German Club, across from Mystic Seaport, $8

With the Cicadas (Bill Shevin, guitar; Ed Dale, bass; Jennifer Cooke, flute; Tim St. Jean, mandolin):

Sat, March 6th, 8 PM, Quiet Corner Contra Dance, Hampton, CT
Hampton Congregational Church, 263 Main St (on Rt 97), $10

Sat, March 20th, 8 PM, New Haven Country Dancers, Branford, CT
Branford Community Center, 46 Church St, $10

Sun., April 18th, 7 PM, Shindig at the Barn, Enfield, CT
Powder Mill Barn, 32 South Maple St, Hazardville (Enfield), $8

Sat., May 1st, 8 PM, Quiet Corner Contra Dance, Hampton, CT
Hampton Congregational Church, 263 Main St (on Rt 97), $10

Fri., May 21st, 7 PM, Foster, RI
Little Rhody Vasa Park, 10 Boswell Trail, Foster

Fiddling at Le Foyer

Today was filled to the brim with great music! I began by sitting in with the Yams at their Wintertime Farmer's Market gig in Pawtucket's Hope Artiste Village. Stopped by McCarten Violins to pick up some recently set-up instruments for new students.

Then it was off to the big event of the day: Donna Hébert, Max Cohen & Daniel Boucher's workshop at Le Foyer, the French club in Pawtucket. Le Foyer invited all Fiddle & Dance Project participants as well as Fiddle Lab from Community MusicWorks to participate in a day of French music workshops and dancing.



It was thrilling for me to see and hear my students learning from Donna Hébert's fiddling (and joyful attitude towards music learning in general) And to play along with her and Max Cohen for some of the dances. Plus, a bunch of students had the chance to learn a favorite fiddle tune (La Marionette) directly from its composer, Daniel Boucher.

And to top it all off, we were visited by Rhode Island's Lt. Governor, Elizabeth Roberts as a part of her statewide Arts & Culture Tour, in opposition to cuts to Arts & Culture small businesses.



Bonne nuit!