Join us for a wonderful evening of learning Virginia's Official Dance! Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe will teach essential steps and introduce the practice of listening to the instructions of the caller to dance as a group. This is excellent prep for the upcoming Mayfever Dance on May 23rd, when Ellen and Eugene will be joined by a live band at The BEAR.
NOTE: All ages
🎟 Tickets: FREE | Limited to 40 | Preregistration required
If you're having trouble signing up for a ticket, we may be sold out - Please fill out this form to be added to our waitlist. If you have any issues with your reservation, please email director@bathcountyarts.org
Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe
The square dance is the "official dance" of Virginia, as it is in a majority of states throughout the country. First introduced by European settlers, the square dance developed over time as its own distinctly American folk tradition, almost always backed by a live, old-time string band, and led by a "caller" who would rhythmically holler out instructions to the dancers. Square dancing has many distinct regional styles.
The dances of the Shenandoah Valley, particularly in and around Highland County, are called in a style named "Big Circle," a variety distinctly different from the "couple squares" found in most of the nation. There are, unfortunately, fewer and fewer callers in Virginia who still call a Big Circle, and among those remaining are Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe of Monterey.
Ellen first learned to dance in a one-room schoolhouse in Headwaters, Virginia, and Eugene grew up going to dances that were backed up by his father and uncle's old-time string band in Highland and Bath counties. They continued to dance, and during the past twenty years took up calling dances throughout the region as well as teaching at many camps and dance workshops.
Funded by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation