VOORHEESVILLE — Two of the area’s leading proponents of traditional dance, Old Songs Inc. with underwriting support from Homespun Occasions, host a new season of Old Songs Community Dances, starting Saturday evening, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m.

Admission is $8 per person; children age 12 and under get in for free. A yummy dessert and snack potluck during intermission will return by popular demand.

The first dance will feature caller Paul Rosenberg and music by Tamarack at the Old Songs Community Center at 37 South Main Ave. in Voorheesville. The season continues monthly on first Saturdays every month through May.

“We have had very enthusiastic reaction by the participants, and attendance has exceeded our expectations,” said Rosenberg, of Homespun Occasions and the founder and former director of the Flurry Festival, in a release from Old Songs. “The mix and ages is more diverse than any other dance in the region, because the focus is as much on community as it is on dancing.  Not only do the participants enjoy the easy dances, but they also appreciate the great live, cheerful, lively, music.” 

“The dance series features simple, fun, joyous dances from the United States and around the world in circle, square, contra, and other configurations,” said the release. “Community dancing brings people of all ages together in an evening of simple joyous dances that anyone of any age can do, whether they have ever danced or not.”

Rosenberg says, “There’s a long tradition of the old-time community square dance as a way to relax and socialize.  We may be just as busy today as we were in the 1800s, just not quite as physically active in many cases. We do have plenty of reasons to want to unwind, though.

“You see, back before ‘labor-saving’ devices, people worked pretty hard just to make ends meet,” says Rosenberg. “An evening of socializing with friends often included dances that were simple and fun as a way to relax. Today, many of us want to move and have fun, but don’t have lots of time to commit to learning complicated figures. Because of this, community dancing is making a resurgence. Indeed, the future of community dance is rooted in the past!”

For more information, visit the Old Songs’ website at oldsongs.org, or call 765-2815.