English Country Dancing in Fayetteville

Always looking for the unusual and the exotic in the fine print in the Weekend section, we discovered a group in North Little Rock somewhere in the 90's that did English Country Dancing every Friday night. Venturing over to a rustic (un-air-conditioned) VFW Hall became a regular part of our lives for a couple of years. The high point of the year was the Twelfth Night Ball at the Old State House where we dressed in period costumes and danced the night away. Think "Virginia Reel" or line dancing in Jane Austin movies. The intimidation factor was always present for me as the caller called out the steps and we would respond and intertwine our steps with the others in our circle or line. The good part, though, was that when someone inevitably turned the wrong direction or forgot what to do, everyone rushed to your rescue to restore the smooth execution of the lovely union of steps and rhythm.

Allemande left the lady on the left

Come back and swing the one you left

Opposite ladies chain over and back

Right and left through with the left-hand two

Do the same across from you.

We drew many friends into "the dance", a lot of whom really didn't want to go but were so proud of themselves later for going and experiencing the satisfaction of having gotten out of their comfort zone.

This week at the US Center has been a sort of Kingdom Country Dancing. We squeeze all 16 weeks of a normal Perspectives course into 8 days of classes, reading, and discussing the Kingdom of God in our midst. What normally happens once a week happens here twice a day--no wonder they call it an "Intensive". The Dance begins for the staff here, taking cues from the Coordinator--as well as serving the students, we make airport runs, feed, house, nurse ailments, arrange meetings, and otherwise accommodate the Instructors who come in for one morning or evening. It's the "Twelfth Night" dance, as the Instructors who touch down here are the best of the best in our circles and we've snatched chunks of time here and there to sit at their feet as well. We are going to be so sad when the dance ends next Wednesday, even though it has taken all our energy and focus.

We are blessed to be partners in our line here, continuing into eternity cued by the Great Caller of The Dance. He wants that line of dancers to be long and the costumes to be from every tongue, tribe and nation!