audio sample (Josefin's Waltz, with Donny MacLean; more samples on each CD page)
New book!
Habaneras, Maxixes & Tangos
for booking, email or call Bill at 413-442-9172
Spare Parts has performed for dance camps, concerts, period events and social dances from Alaska to Maine. Bill Matthiesen on piano and Liz Stell on flute combine with one or more "spare parts du jour." Some of our favorite "spare parts" include fiddlers Frank Orsini, Eric Buddington, Ruthie Dornfeld, Naomi Morse, Mark Bagdon, Eden MacAdam-Somer, Anne Hooper, Cathie Whitesides, Jane Rothfield, Lissa Schneckenburger, Donny MacLean, Susan Conger, Dave Langford, Hanneke Cassel, George Wilson, Rebecca McCallum, Britany Orlebeke and Matt Glaser ... cornetist Peter Ecklund ... and bassists Corey DiMario, Carol Hamm, Cal Howard and Larry Unger.
(photo: Sharon Lips)Performing schedule:
January 2010
- Sunday, Jan. 3, Wethersfield, CT (www.hcdance.org/waltz)
Mostly Waltz: waltzing and other couple dances from 3 to 6 pm with Eric Buddington on violin;
free beginner workshop 2-3 pm
- Saturday, Jan. 16, West Point, NY (for information: gonzalez-blanco@ieee.org)
Civil War Ball and dinner at the historic Hotel Thayer on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy
with fiddler Frank Orsini, 6 to 11:30pm; dinner at 7 pm (reservations and Civil War-era dress required)
February
- Saturday, Feb. 6, Bill Miller's Restaurant, Branford CT
(for information: Terry at 203-453-9900 or Carl & Annie at 806-526-3618)
14th Annual Grand Midwinter Civil War Ball cosponsored by Terry & Jim Historical Dance with the 7th Tennessee Infantry and 16th Iowa, dancing starts at 8 pm, Frank Orsini on violin, precepting by Terry Brettman and Jim Strein
- Friday Feb. 12 through Sunday Feb. 14, Saratoga Springs, NY (www.danceflurry.org)
DANCE FLURRY!
Tango 101 with instructor Hsueh-tze Lee: Friday 8 pm Room B/C
Argentine Tango 201 with instructor Hsueh-tze Lee: Friday 8:45 pm Room B/C
Tango Dance (Milonga) with Eric Buddington and Mark Murphy: Friday 9:45 pm Room B/C
Victorian Contras and Squares with instructor Susan de Guardiola: Saturday 10 am Room D (Main Hall)
Tango Milonga workshop/dance with instructor Hsueh-tze Lee: Saturday 3:30 pm at Casino
Wind Styles Workshop (Liz): Sunday 10 am in Hilton High Rock
Tango Waltz lesson/dance with instructor Hsueh-tze Lee: Sunday 11:45 am at Casino
Contra Farewell/Flurry Roots Band: 4-6 pm in Main Hall (room D)
- Saturday, Feb. 27, Cambridge, MA (www.vintagedancers.org/technocrats.html)
A Steampunk Soiree costume ball sponsored by the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers, with Eric Buddington on violin, 7-10:30 pm preceded by dance workshop at 5
- Sunday, Feb. 28, Medford, MA (http://mostlywaltzboston.110mb.com/)
Mostly Waltz for Boston: waltzing and other couple dances from 3 to 5:30 with Eric Buddington on violin;
basics workshop 2:15 pm
March
- Saturday, Mar. 27, New Haven, CT (www.kickery.com)
1880s Victorian Bustle Ball: An evening of waltzes, polkas, and schottisches, with Eric Buddington on violin and precepting by Susan de Guardiola, 8-11 pm. Costume of the 1880s is admired but not required; formal wear is requested. Delicious Victorian refreshments will be served.
Afternoon workshops on 1880s era dances
April
- Saturday April 10, Scranton, PA (www.ScrantonCivilWarDay.com)
6th Annual Grand Civil War Ball sponsored by the Lackawanna Historical Society and the Delaney Delacy Guard, Sons of Veterans Reserve, at the historic Cultural Center, with Naomi Morse on violin and precepting by Martha Griffin. Advance registration is highly recommended.
1-3 pm: vintage dance workshop with Martha Griffin (no prior experience necessary)
8 pm ball (period dress and dress blues greatly admired but not required)
- Sunday April 11, Scranton, PA (www.ScrantonCivilWarDay.com)
The Victorain Woman Undressed, a fashion show and lecture with Victorian Tea, 1-3pm at the Albright Memorial Library, 500 Vine Street. Daytime and evening fashions shown from the inside out: what ladies of the 19th century wore underneath it all to get that certain "look."
- Saturday, April 17, Cromwell, CT (information: 860-635-0501 or cromwellhistory@aol.com)
Juleps & Viragoes: Ball of the Rebellion, 1865 Presidential Ball a formal Civil War ball in the Cromwell Town Hall sponsored by the Cromwell Historical Society, with Frank Orsini on violin and precepting by Terry Brettman and Jim Strein
- Sunday, April 18, Wethersfield, CT (www.hcdance.org/waltz)
Mostly Waltz: waltzing and other couple dances from 3 to 6 pm with Frank Orsini on violin;
free beginner workshop 2-3 pm - Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25, Cape May, NJ (www.capemaymac.org/)
Victorian Dance Weekend in Cape May's beautiful Victorian setting
with Naomi Morse on violin
May
- Saturday, May 8, Essex, CT (www.sailingmasters.org/)
Regency Ball sponsored by the Sailing Masters of 1812, part of the annual Burning of the Ships commemoration.