Boise, ID
Lisa Sieverts, a caller and dance organizer who lives in Nelson, NH, helped Lisa and I with this trip a great deal, so I thought it would be fitting to include the dance that she started while living in Idaho. The third Saturday Boise dance became our first stop on the eastward return leg of our journey.
One week in Nelson, Lisa Sieverts announced a dance festival in New Haven, CT. “Now it’s pretty far away,” she said, “but I’m announcing it anyway.”
“That’s not that far away,” returned Don Primrose, another Nelson caller.
“What are you talking about,” said Sieverts. “It’s two states away!”
At the time, two states did not seem that much. In New Hampshire, this means a three hour drive at most–usually much less. I realized on the drive from Seattle, through Oregon, and finally into western Idaho what she had meant. Driving two states away took over nine hours in addition to the hour we lost crossing into the Mountain time zone.
We stepped into the Broadway Dance Center amazed that we were on time. The woman at the door asked where we were from, and we told her New England, adding, “We’re friends with Lisa Sieverts.”
“Lisa Sieverts?!” the woman said excitedly. “She was just here a few weeks ago for a dance festival. She’s great! How wonderful.” Anyone who had been dancing there more than a couple years knew who she was, and talked of her like she was a beloved big sister.
The dance studio was a great space, though it was a little small. Mirrors covered a side wall, and helium filled balloons speckled the ceiling. When the ceiling fans were turned on a few dances in, balloons bounced off of them until they had all crowded safely to the edges of the room or behind the hanging florescent lights.
There were between 20 and 30 dancers, and several beginners. Throughout the night, we switched back and forth between one and two lines. The dancers were mostly older, but a few young people joined in.
Contraband played the music, a band Lisa Sieverts called with at the start of the Boise dance. They had an extra fiddler that night, the daughter of two Contraband members. The musicians were very talented, providing great music with a playful element to it. Late in the evening, they played a tune where the first half was very quiet and the second half was loud. Lisa and I were partners during this dance, and we tiptoed the figures of the first half while exaggerating the moves of the second.
The break was long and eventful. It began with announcements, and among the first of them was a welcome to Lisa and I. The woman we spoke with at the door held the microphone. “Lisa and Dave are joining us from the Northeast,” she said. The dancers let out an impressed “oooh.” “And they’re friends with Lisa Sieverts,” she continued. The “ooooh” was repeated, longer and louder this time. “And they’re on a trip around the country visiting contra dances,” she said, bringing about the longest and loudest “ooooh” yet from the dancers.
She told them all that we were looking for a place for the night, and the man who took the microphone next agreed to put us up. His announcement was about officer elections for BCDS, the Boise Contra Dance Society. The dancers voted by ballot over the break, and the results were announced at its end.
An assortment of cookies, brownies, and pizza were provided in the hall’s basement with juice and water. I spoke with the caller and several of the organizers of the dance about its history. “Lisa told us she was going to leave and we went into panic mode,” said the caller, who was also the vice president of BCDS. “I learned how to call as soon as I could.” Lisa Sieverts moved from Boise around the same time that I began to contra five years ago. Seeing how much she has added to the New Hampshire dance community, I could imagine the blow that her leaving must have caused.
However, the continued vitality of the Boise dance was proved to me as the evening came to a close. One of the final dances was Chorus Jig without any request from Lisa or I. Then, the last tune of the last dance was the Wizard’s walk, my favorite. I sat out that dance because I thought I was tired, but I excitedly jumped around and took pictures as the two fiddlers, father and daughter, played the familiar notes.
After the final waltz and clean up, a young girl collected all the balloons she could to take home. Lisa and I watched as she crammed them all into the back seat with her, slightly concerned that the car’s driver would not be able to see behind him.
-Dubois, WY
May 4th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Hi guys! Thanks for going to Boise and saying hi to my buddies! I’m so glad you went there. And how was Dubois, WY? I had a wonderful stay there on my first night after launching my cross-country motorcycle tour in 1999.
And it’s already May, so we’ll see you soon! I’m in Spain right now, but not contra dancing …
Lisa
May 7th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Amazing! Wizard’s Walk… It has been quite a while since I have heard that tune. I am thinking there possibly may be a debute on Iron Dancer Monday. Roger has been practicing up, so we should be good to go.
Looks like things are going well with the car situation. Hope to have the Petro mobile off with a happy person soon and on to the Petro-Rocket… Instead of the firey car crash, it is going to be a firey bike crash!
Be well,
j_petro
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