Square dance lessons to be taught at Folk Festival

By Kristen P. Townsend

NATCHITOCHES - "Chicken in a bread pan pickin' out dough and we didn't do it then like we did a while ago." This may be one of many calls heard as you swing your partner and do-si-do around the dance floor on Saturday July 20 at the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival. Folk musician Clancey Stewart will be leading square dance lessons on the Main Stage from 10:30-11:30 a.m. with live accompaniment from the Willie Stewart Family and Friends Bluegrass Band. The festival is held in the air-conditioned Prather Coliseum, located at 220 South Jefferson Street on the Northwestern State University campus.

Stewart is no stranger to the attendees of the Festival, as she was named the Louisiana Fiddle State Champion in 2018.

"Personally, I love calling squares because it's almost like a form of singing to fiddle tunes," said Clancey Stewart. "Each caller finds their own style, key and unique phrasing to interact with the crowd and keep their feet moving."

The art of square dancing is steeped in folk music and tradition. The dance form's roots can be traced back to the time when European settlers arrived in America, with calls being added in the 19th century by enslaved Africans who began calling out the steps for those dancing. This calling style became common in the early 1900s and led to the traditional style which incorporates the modern western square as it is known and loved today. Clancey Stewart states square dancing was "a way for communities to get together and spend time after a barn raising and even meet their beaux. You might start a square with your partner, but by the end you will have danced with every other man or woman in the square, giving each gentleman the opportunity to dance with each lady. While all dancing was frowned upon by traditional Baptist and Methodist preachers, square dancing was more proper because there is no 'inappropriate' close contact between opposite genders."

Clancey Stewart began square dancing at the age of 11 at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas, when she called for the Next Generation concerts held at the center. Her enthusiasm in preserving and performing this unique style of folk music and dance can be clearly seen and heard as she actively shares her love of the folk artistry in her lessons. Attendees at the festival can learn basic steps as well as intricacies of the calls this Saturday as Clancey Stewart will be teaching the dances "Three Little Sisters" and "Two Little Hobos" to all who wish to learn.

The Festival celebrates and presents the unique and traditional folk culture of Louisiana. In addition to three stages of live entertainment, the festival will include a jambalaya cook-off, the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship, over 70 traditional crafts people, Louisiana cuisine food vendors, music informances, narrative sessions, on-site demonstrations, and much more. Admission to this family friendly event is $10 for an all-day all event pass, after 5 p.m. passes are only $6, and children 12 and under are admitted free at any time.

Support for the Festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, and the State of Louisiana. The festival is sponsored by Bank of Montgomery, C&H Precision Machining, City Bank, Cleco, Cenla Focus, Evans Family, LLC, Exchange Bank, the Harrington Law Firm, International Paper, the Natchitoches Jazz/R&B Festival, Natchitoches Wood Preserving Company, Waste Connections and Young Estate, LLC.