SYRACUSE NY – Nils Fredland will be calling a contra dance to the O’Shanigans’ tunes on Friday March 11th from 8-11 pm. The Dance is at the Fayetteville NY dance hall (directions below). O’Shanigans is Tim Ball on fiddle, Phil Robinson on guitar and Mike Ludgate on mandolin.

THE CALLER — Nils Fredland is a popular caller at and in demand at the big festivals for a reason: he has been making music, leading dances, and bringing people together for twenty years as a teacher; singer and song leader; trombonist; contra, square, and community dance caller; story teller; and workshop leader. Nils is really fantastic! More details: 8:00 - 11:00 pm Friday Mar 11th at The United Church of Fayetteville on 310 E. Genesee Street in Fayetteville, NY. Sponsored by Syracuse Country Dancers! Admission $7- Don’t miss them this dance! This is an authentic old New England style venue with a newly refinished dance floor! Bring clean shoes, a water bottle and YOUR FRIENDS! All dances taught, No partner needed.

THE BAND — The O’Shanigans contra dance band perform Celtic, American and world Fiddle tunes suitable for contra dancing,  general entertainment and weddings. Fiddle and dance tunes from: New England, Southern Appalachia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Finland, Sweden and the Middle East! They currently combine the skills of two of Ithaca’s most experienced open music jam leaders with an incredibly talented young fiddler and violinist, joined by occasional special guests. They have their own sound gear and a publicity network to help gain attention for your event. They love to play their music for weddings and especially for contra dances! The O’Shanigans is: Phil Robinson on guitar (Ithaca Bluegrass jam leader, multi-instrumentalist), Tim Ball on fiddle (Contrapasso, Tunescape, IC violinist and etc) and Michael Ludgate on mandolin (Canaan jam leader, waltz jam originator, CMEMME member and etc). They sometimes substitute other well qualified musicians if any of these members are not available for a particular event and call themselves NO’Shanigans!

The contra dance band O’Shanigans was originally formed by Phil Robinson to fill a fun gig for Saint Patrick’s Day in March of 2009. The members shift and change a bit, but Phil and Mike are usually at the core. Yes, you guessed the name was coined as a spin off on the word shenanigans and that first Irish gig! But they play way more than Irish! They have not lost their sense of humor even while hitting a few bumps in the road!  Email address  oshanigans@canaaninstitute.org Their web page is here  http://www.canaaninstitute.org/oshanigans.html

GOOGLE MAPS DIRECTIONS to this DANCE — http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=310+E.+Genesee+Street+in+310+E+Genesee+St%2C+Fayetteville%2C+NY+13066&sll=42.44623%2C-76.47966&sspn=0.004061%2C0.009645&ie=UTF8&hq=310+E.+Genesee+Street&hnear=310+E+Genesee+St%2C+Fayetteville%2C+NY+13066&ll=43.028369%2C-76.00713&spn=0.008439%2C0.01929&z=16

VERBAL DIRECTIONS to this DANCE — From I-481 take exit 3E, and follow Route 5 east for three miles to Fayetteville. The church is at 310 E. Genesee Street, between Walnut Street and Chapel Street. It is a brick church with a very tall, very pointy red steeple. You can get to the parking lot from Walnut Street (one-way going south), the church driveway (on the east side of the church, also one-way going south), or Chapel Street http://www.syracusecountrydancers.org/Directions.html#ucf

PARKING — TONS OF EASY FREE PARKING right behind the church! Zoom in on this link for a look! http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=310+E.+Genesee+Street+in+310+E+Genesee+St%2C+Fayetteville%2C+NY+13066&sll=42.44623%2C-76.47966&sspn=0.004061%2C0.009645&ie=UTF8&hq=310+E.+Genesee+Street&hnear=310+E+Genesee+St%2C+Fayetteville%2C+Onondaga%2C+New+York+13066&t=h&ll=43.028745%2C-76.007012&spn=0.001041%2C0.002411&z=19

FROM THE DANCERS AND MUSICIANS about O’Shanigans — “The O’Shanigans rocked the hall tonight! You guys sure know how to throw a party!” “I was really glad to get to dance to your music- that was tons of fun!!” “Super dance on Friday! You guys were peppy, and there were some imaginative arrangements that made even old, familiar tunes sound fresh. Hooray for the O’Shanigans!” “It was invigorating music, great company and fun caller!” “Do play for us again!” “It was fun dancing and even more so to the tunes of O’Shanigans!” “It was great!” “Mike, you and Phil and Tim were SOLID! I had a blast and my daughter had fun too! Thanks for playing, and thanks Ray for the goodies!” “We’ve heard great stuff about you guys: We’d love to have you play at our dance!” “Wow! I have not seen that kind of energy at the Friday Dance in long time, you guys were great!” “That was the most amazing medley … was there something Middle Eastern in there?” “You guys were way out there like in Hungary or somewhere? … then you brought it back home with that old-time tune … the best version of that I have ever heard!” “The band was absolutely wonderful last night!”

SALT CITY — “Just after the Revolutionary War, more settlers came to the area, mostly to trade with the Onondaga Nation. Ephraim Webster left the Continental Army to settle in 1784, and Asa Danforth, another revolutionary war hero, and Comfort Tyler, whose engineering skill contributed to regional development, arrived four years later. All three settled in Onondaga Hollow south of the present city center, which was then marshy. Salt was discovered in several swamps in Syracuse, which brought more settlers to the area, and eventually gave the city the nickname “Salt City”.” source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York

BAND on WEB http://www.canaaninstitute.org/oshanigans.html
BAND on FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/oshanigans
CALLER’S WEBSITE http://www.nilsfredland.com/
VENUE WEBSITE http://www.syracusecountrydancers.org/index.html
EVENT POSTER http://canaaninstitute.org/docs/Oshanigans_current_poster.pdf
FACEBOOK EVENT http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168431443208943

About Contra Dancing: WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR FIRST DANCE Contra dancing is easy to learn. It’s so easy to learn that you don’t take lessons. Just show up at a dance and by the end of the first night you’ll have learned all the dance moves and you will be able to enjoy the next dance even more. People are friendly and welcoming to beginners. The age range is from kids to folks that have been around for a while. Both singles and doubles come to contra dances and women as well as men ask people to dance. It is usual that you change partners after every dance. You will meet people in a relaxed, pleasant, smoke and alcohol free atmosphere. The patterns of the dance can be a tad confusing at first but remember everyone had a first time and that other dancers will help you. Listen to the caller and the music and go with the flow of the dance. Some people find they get dizzy at first. Looking directly at the person you are dancing with eliminates this sensation. For many, the music is what keeps them coming back as it is exciting and lively. People come to dance, hear the music, socialize and have a good time.

WHAT TO WEAR? Wear smooth soled shoes and comfortable light weight clothing. Some halls require non-street shoes so make sure the soles of shoes aren’t bringing grit onto the dance floor. Most people bring a bottle of drinking water. Contra dancing is joyous so it’s important that you bring a smile. Adapted from http://www.greatmeadowmusic.com/music.html

More information About Contra Dancing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance
http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayDance.com/US_NY_ITH_TCCD
http://hands4dancers.org/
http://www.syracusecountrydancers.org/
http://contra.binghamtondance.org/contra_calendar.htm
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/