It was as if I'd discovered my own personal Shangri La; dancing and tea all wrapped up in the Victorian Era.
Almost too good to be true. But it is true. Every first Sunday of the monthThe Victorian Tea and Dance Society host the affair at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Pasadena.
As we entered the hardwood floored ballroom, on October 6th, close to a hundred people (many costumed) stood in lines ready to take part in English Country dances. The "caller" of this particular
Sunday (the event rotates callers) was the vibrant Judee Pronovost, lucid, exact and entertaining.
And much to my purist delight, she had two live musicians performing the music of the dances;
the lustrous violinist Linda Kodaira and the vivacious Bob Altman on keyboard.
I attended the dance with my colleague and escort Bob-Zoey Tur of Los Angeles News Service,
who immediately took delight in the scene by stating "It's like cotillion". After the first dance,
my helicopter pilot partner declared "I'm addicted." Though as some of the steps,
crosses and turns got a bit complex Bob-Zoey admitted "I took calculus and I can't get this."
He was not alone. Fortunately our observant and favorable caller Ms. Pronovost joined in the dancing putting her hands
on his shoulders to guide us along the proper format.
I believe folk dancing is more than just folk dancing. It is community building. It is bonding.
Having worked for years for the Gypsy Folk Ensemble, I saw time and again on shows how
the energy changed in a room when we got the audience up to participate. Often it was the highlight
of their day or even week, especially when we were doing outreach shows.
Much of the dances at the Victorian Society on this Sunday were traditional tunes from the era of Queen Elizabeth
the First, revived and then published in the 1800's, such as "Garnerin's Whim", "Turn of the Tide"
"The Comical Fellow" etc. But an especial surprise was towards the end, a modern composer
writing in the archaic style, the evocative "Birnam Wood" by SoCal composer Jeffrey Hunter.
(I admit, we knew each other while studying at USC).
If the dancing wasn't fulfilling enough, we then were served high tea. Chado Tea at that
(one of my favorite Pasadena tea rooms) with chicken sandwiches, pumpkin soup, bean salad,
scones, fruit, cheese and cookies....yes all this, dancing, live caller and musicians for a mere $15.
During tea, the ever genteel and engaging hostess Darlene shared a slide show with comments
from when she and a few others went to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath.
We also discovered during tea time what a warm and embracing group of people attend.
Many are regulars, but many are new. Many dance often, some have rarely danced.
Some wear costumes of the period, others don't. All are welcome.
Look for their upcoming St. Nicholas Grand Tea Social on December 8th.
There's nothing like the splendor of a Victorian Christmas!
http://www.victorianteaanddance.org/
http://www.chadotea.com/