Hi All:
Sorry for the late notice. Mt Airy Contra in Philadelphia has been hosting virtual dances for all and socials for our local folks since April. 

Tonight we have Phil Jamison who at 8 pm (eastern) will present his book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance” . 

Due to popular demand we were just able to set up a link for a FB feed and we can invite a lot more people than the 100 person limit of zoom.

Please join us at

Here's more information:
The southern Appalachian square dance is a hybrid dance form that developed in the American South during the nineteenth century, and like the Appalachian musical traditions, these dances reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the region. In this Zoom Social we will examine the multicultural roots and historical development of these dances and identify the components of earlier European, African, and Native American dance forms that combined to make them uniquely American.

Phil Jamison is nationally known as a dance caller, old-time musician, flatfoot dancer, and scholar of traditional Appalachian dance. A 2017 inductee to the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, he has called dances, performed, and taught at music festivals and dance events throughout the U.S. and overseas since the early 1970s, including forty years as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. Over the last thirty years, Jamison has done extensive research in the area of Appalachian dance, and his book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance (University of Illinois Press, 2015) tells the story behind the square dances, step dances, reels, and other forms of dance practiced in southern Appalachia. He has given numerous presentations on Appalachian dance – from the Smithsonian Institution to Beijing, China – and he teaches Appalachian music and dance at Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, North Carolina, where for twenty-five years, he served as coordinator of the Old-Time Music and Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering. http://www.philjamison.com/

For more information about the Mt Airy Contra (Philadelphia) virtual dances and a tip jar for Phil

If you have trouble getting into the FB feed please email Alex

Donna Hunt

Email: dhuntdancer@aol.com
Cell:  215-565-6050