Get Ready For Music And Dance From Around The World

The 13th incarnation of the NOrtheast Music, Arts and Dance Festival — NOMAD for short — returns to Newtown this weekend. The three-day event will once again take place at Newtown High School and is a celebration of music and dance forms from around the world for all ages and interests. The festival has become a favorite, one of the major folk festivals in the Northeast, attracting attendees from as far away as Maine and Washington, D.C.

The festival offers both entertainment and learning experiences for spectators and active participants alike. The weekend’s festivities include dance performances, concerts, participatory dance and music sessions, a special family area with activities for children and their parents, a folk bazaar and craft area, and refreshments.

NOMAD will open Friday, November 10, with its traditional contra dance from 7:30 to 10:30 pm. Steve Holland and Debbie Munson, with Hot Under The Caller, will handle the calling duties this year. The contra party serves as a good preview of the weekend of dance and music that is to follow, as well as an opportunity to catch up with attendees and friends from previous years. New attendees are always made to feel welcome.

Admission for the Friday night dance party is $8. The dance will end promptly at 10:30.

The festival will then continue on Saturday, November 11, from 10 am to 11 pm, and Sunday, November 12, from 11 am to 5 pm. Adult admission fees range from $11 for up to six hours of the festival to $35 for the entire weekend (Friday through Sunday). Rates are lower for seniors and those age 18 and under, and children age five and under are admitted free with an adult.

The festival takes advantage of Newtown High School’s two ground-level gymnasiums along with the lecture hall and chorus room, all ideally configured for concerts and workshops. The building’s auditorium and innumerable classrooms are also used during the run of the event. The school’s huge cafeteria is also idea for socializing, catching up with family and friends, and a few of the festival’s traditional events such as the Sunday morning breakfast and singalong.

Weekend dance activities include stage performances and participatory dance sessions covering everything from Brazilian, Chinese, Irish, Scottish, English and modern dance form performances to participatory sessions of Morris, Cajun, waltz, swing, English and Scottish country dancing.

Dances based on those from eastern Europe, Israel, Italy, France, Scandinavia, German and the US can all be enjoyed thanks to live callers and music in the school’s two gymnasiums. Festivalgoers who plan to dance should note that soft-soled, non-street shoes are required for dancing in the school’s gymnasiums.

No previous dance experience is necessary to enjoy NOMAD. Many of the sessions are designed for beginners, and even the participatory sessions welcome spectators. Also, it is not necessary to attend the festival with a dance partner. Prospective partners can easily be found among the many friendly NOMAD attendees.

Music sessions include concerts in American songs and ballads, cowboy songs, songs of the British Isles, gospel, Norwegian songs, humorous songs, African songs, klezmer music and more. Singalongs include gospel, rounds, shape-note singing and chorus songs of all kinds.

Musicians can also enjoy workshops in various folk instruments such as bagpipes, banjo, dulcimer, guitar, fiddle and doumbeg, a Turkish drum. There are also opportunities all weekend for musicians to find each other and jam.

Each year NOMAD adds a few new volunteer performers/teachers with new contributions. Recent additions have included a Sunday afternoon dance party and unique interpretations of traditional folksongs. Last year, international dance offerings were expanded and a Saturday Night International Folk Dance Party was added to the available activities.

NOMAD’s folk bazaar, located in the cafeteria and main hallway, offers an opportunity to do some early holiday shopping. CDs, books, musical instruments, jewelry, clothing, paper crafts, wooden toys and other useful items are usually among the offerings at over a dozen booths.

Newtown High School’s culinary arts program provides the majority of the refreshments during NOMAD, with a few local restaurants, coffee houses and organizations also offering selections. The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of New Haven traditionally supplements the big Sunday morning breakfast, which this year will run from 9 to 10:30 am. The breakfast is reasonably priced and open to all.

NOMAD is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization affiliated with the Country Dance and Song Society. The festival is run entirely by volunteers, and all of the musicians performing and leading workshops also volunteer their time.