Oct.-Dec. 2016
Vol. 10, No. 4
Richmond, Ky.
Vol. 10, No. 4
Richmond, Ky.
Dancers gaining popularity at Kentucky Civil War events Pretty young girls in beautiful Civil War-era gowns immediately attract attention at re-enactments and living history events. And when you couple them with young men in military or civilian attire of the period and they perform dances of the era, a crowd immediately forms. The group is called the Berea Festival Dancers and the 30-member organization, equally divided between males and females, is fast gaining a reputation for adding authenticity and color to Civil War venues across Kentucky. “Our costumes are all handmade,” Dance Director Jennifer Rose said. “Our former director, Theresa Lowder, and dancers’ parents and other friends make them. We added a set of dresses this summer that were made by the grandmothers of a few of the dancers with some help from several other parents and me. “We have two sets of costumes that are intended to represent specific historic periods – our Antebellum costumes and our Regency Era attire. We have a set of costumes that we call our ‘Prairies,’ which look very frontier-like and are useful when we want to represent early Appalachian life or the American Westward Expansion. The rest of our costumes are created to be interesting and colorful while reflecting a basic traditional look and being relatively comfortable for the dancers to wear.” Performances are designed for 30-60 minutes and are tailored to the theme of an event or at the preference of a client. Generally, the group showcases dances from England (English Country Dance and Morris Dance), Denmark (Danish Folk Dance), America in general (Colonial and Early American Dance), and Appalachia (Square Dance, Traditional Clogging, Set Running). At this point, the Festival Dancers don’t have sponsors, but is engaged in several fundraising events and efforts. Jennifer points out the dancers are very appreciative to those who make donations. Funds also come in exchange for the group’s homemade apple butter or from odd jobs provided by one or more of the performers. The group doesn’t have auditions. “We accept new members in September and adhere strongly to the belief that we can teach anyone to dance,” Jennifer said. “Most of our dancers live in the Berea area, but some come from neighboring counties. A few years ago, one family drove to Berea from Louisville every Sunday for rehearsal so their son could be in the group.” Students wishing to participate in the Berea Festival Dancers must be in the seventh through the 12th grades. Exceptions are sometimes made on both ends of that range, but the vast majority of the group is aged 12 through 18. The dancers pay a small membership fee, which helps provide repairs and alterations to costumes they borrow for the length of their tenure. “Members are required to participate in at least six performance and/or fundraising events per year – an easy task because of the high level of activity of the group,” the director explained. “Any given school year will contain at least 12 events, with eight or 10 of those being performances of one type or another. “We tour in the summer every other year, offering six-eight performances to audiences in the areas we visit. We perform annually at the Berea Craft Festival, for a total of three days of shows that weekend. “One of our favorite, and most effective, performance tactics is to invite the audience to participate in a dance or two with us. Each of our dancers will ask an audience member to be their partner and help lead them through an easy dance that is taught from the microphone by me or another experienced leader. “Not only does this allow us to share the joy of folk dance with people who might not otherwise have danced, it gives the youth dancers invaluable experience in relating to people of all ages and types, increasing their communication skills and encouraging leadership potential.” The Berea Festival Dancers began in 1984, as Jennifer and her friends, all students at Berea Community High School, wanted to dance together. The group is closely tied to the Berea College Country Dancers, but not officially associated with it. For more information or to book a performance, contact Jennifer Rose by e-mail at jennifer@jenniferrose.com or call/text at 859-582-7014. The group’s website is www.bereafestivaldancers.org.
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