ITHACA NY - Notes Inégales for a traditional, old New England style Contra Dance on Fri May 24th. Notes Inégales [pronounced notes in-a-gall] is Andrea Katz on fiddle and Michael Ludgate on mandolin. For this dance featuring special musical guests: Laurie Tupper on flute and Tim Ball on guitar. Caller: House callers. Location: Bethel Grove Community Center 1825 Slaterville Rd Ithaca NY. 8-11 pm $6- TCCD sponsored event. Band: www.notesinegales.org FB event https://www.facebook.com/events/441495482607316/
Andrea Katz (fiddle, viola) - Andrea Katz (from Texas on playing fiddle and viola) is a PhD candidate in applied physics at Cornell University (finishing her 2nd year there). Andrea played in a variety of contra 
dance bands in the San Antonio area and has studied with Jay Ungar and David Kaynor. Andrea is joined by Michael Ludgate (mandolin, fiddle, tenor banjo), joined by occasional special guests. Both are fantastic contra dance musicians and are playing a dance with Ithaca contra musician and music promoter Michael Ludgate under the new band name Notes Inégales. This will be an exceptionally fun dance!
Laurie Tupper (flute) - Laurie Tupper is also a graduate student at Cornell University, moving here from Swarthmore College. Laurie is well know in contra dance circles as the flute player for “Last Exit” a Philly based band. She has played all around the northeastern US. She is also the flute player for “Stunt Double” contra band. More here http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayIdent.com?key=LAURIE_TUPPER
Tim Ball (guitar) - Tim has recently been perfecting a style of guitar playing that is great for Irish sessions and contra dancing. Most folks know him for his fiddling: Tim plays fiddle with Contrapasso, Tunescape, the O’Shanigans, and other fine musicians for contra and English Country dances around upstate New York and beyond. A recent graduate of the Ithaca College School of Music where he studied violin with Susan Waterbury, he brings training in classical music and jazz improvisation together with a love of social dancing and a great respect for the traditional music of New England, Ireland, Quebec, and the many other regions that have lent their influence to contra dance musicians everywhere. http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayIdent.com?key=TIM_BALL
Notes Inégales (pronounced notes in-a-gall) contra dance band performs 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! We currently combine the skills of two of Ithaca’s most talented contra dance musicians: Andrea Katz (fiddle, viola) with local contra session leader and acoustic music promoter, Michael Ludgate (mandolin, fiddle, tenor banjo), joined by occasional special guests.
From the dancers and callers – “Notes Inégales, what a fantastic band! You guys rock! True to it’s name, the band infused some interesting rhythmic swing-like patterns (rock step-1-2-3??) into regular square steps. Thanks guys for a fun evening!” “A wall of dance sound” “Wow! What was that Horse Flies tune you played?” “The music was fantastic!” “That was a delightful contra dance last night … I truly enjoyed the many subtleties of your musical arrangements.”, ” … such a fun group of people, and the band was awesome … ” , “The band was absolutely wonderful last night!”
Notes Inégales - About the band name: “Notes Inégales” (pronounced notes inagall) contra dance band http://www.notesinegales.org/ — “In music, notes inégales (French: unequal notes) refers to a performance practice, mainly from the Baroque and Classical music eras, in which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short. The practice was especially prevalent in France in the 17th and 18th centuries, with appearances in other European countries at the same time; and it reappeared as the standard performance practice in the 20th century in jazz.” source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_in%C3%A9gales
More about the musicians here: Bios and Photos www.notesinegales.org
More 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 Danceers at an O’Shanigans’ contra dance in Ithaca NYall 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 at these links:
http://canaaninstitute.org/mn/mus_dance.html
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cny.contradance/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance
http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayDance.com/US_NY_ITH_TCCD
http://tedcrane.com/DanceDB/DisplayBand.com?key=OSHANIGANS
http://hands4dancers.org/
http://www.syracusecountrydancers.org/
http://contra.binghamtondance.org/contra_calendar.htm
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/
http://www.thedancegypsy.com/performerList.php?band=Oshanigans
http://www.sbcds.org/contradance/whatis/
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