They jigged and jived.
They skipped and swayed.
They tapped and twirled.
They did it all to a jaunty tune.
Around 35 members of the Gainesville English Country Dance Group gathered Monday evening for a night of fellowship and fun. The social dance event is held every Monday from 6:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the United Church of Gainesville at 1624 NW Fifth Ave. Admission is $3 for students, $5 for nonstudents.
“It’s fun,” said Annette Merritt, co-leader of the dance group. “Anywhere you travel, you can find one of these groups. It’s a wonderful connection.”
Merritt, 65, and her partner, Randy Thorp, 66, have been co-leading the Gainesville English Country Dance Group since 2010 after the previous leader left the area. The group is free to join and is a registered nonprofit organization, with all event proceeds going toward paying the rent for the space at the church.
When they first took over the group, Merritt and Thorp had a difficult time getting people to show up to the event on a regular basis. But after a few promotional efforts, they’ve brought attendance up, from fewer than 10 to an average of 30 each week. The group’s Facebook page currently has 224 members and is still growing.
English country dancing began as a court dance, a dignified dance performed in a court in the 1500s. Three centuries later, it became less popular as couples’ dances, such as polka and the waltz, became more popular. Interest in the dance form was revived in the late 19th century when historians found the old manuscripts.
English dances are choreographed to fit a tune. If one is a good choreographer, the moves just flow and feel right to the music, Merritt said.
The dances can be fast, slow or stately and done to jig, reel and waltz-time music. Dances performed can be done by couples or a room full of dancers. Figures, a named group of steps, are learned and then called for dancers to follow.
For those attending Monday’s event for the first time, Merritt gave a 15-minute lesson on each of the dances for the evening.
“With English dancing, as with anything, there’s a vocabulary, and it’s all very new to people,” she said. “So, I look at the dances and the terms we’re going to be talking about. And I teach those so that people won’t feel so overwhelmed.”
When the dancing began, Merritt and Thorp took turns calling every move in each sequence. While one called the moves, the other danced with the rest of the group.
“It’s easier to learn because you don’t have to know the dance when you come in,” said Ericka Midtgard, who’s been attending the event for nearly 10 years. “They train you and walk you through it.”
Monday night’s event consisted of 10 dances. Among those dances were the Prince of Westborough, a dance to waltz-time music; Flippancy, a partnered dance to the traditional Celtic tune “Over the Water to Charlie”; and Tour de Force, a group dance to Coriolis jig music.
One dance called by Thorp that evening was entitled Arcadian Nuptials, a three-couple set dance. The dance dates all the way back to 1752, he said.
Live music was provided by Hoggetowne Fancy, a four-piece band comprised of three men and one woman playing a recorder, a kalimba (an African thumb piano), a 16th-century lute and a six-string guitar.
Tips for the band were encouraged but not required.
As part of the evening’s itinerary, the group took a short break to grab a snack and get to know one another. Everyone stood in a circle and introduced themselves.
To Merritt, this activity is essential to maintaining the warm, welcoming feeling the group has developed over the years.
“I’ve been to too many places where somebody never gets noticed,” she said. “I want people to feel like ‘I can come here.’ I want this to be a place they can go and just socialize – and forget about the world.”