The Rural We: Beth Carlson
The Oldtone Roots Music Festival co-producer is heavily involved in Dewey Hall's swing dance series.
Stockbridge resident Beth Carlson is one of the producers of the Oldtone Roots Music Festival. Each September it presents hand-picked artists who are dedicated to unique American traditions at a days-long event in Hillsdale, New York. She is also, along with her business partner Kip Beacco, owner of Silo Media. A board member at Dewey Memorial Hall in Sheffield, Mass., Carlson became involved in the hall’s social dance series when Oldtone took over the dances three years ago. It was her own introduction to couples dancing, so she knows firsthand how much fun it is, and works hard to make sure the burgeoning community of swing dancers gets full enjoyment out of the Third Friday Swing series. There are two more dances scheduled for 2019, one in November and one in December.
The dances began at Race Brook Lodge. When they decided not to do them anymore, we brought them over and continued them as an Oldtone project. After this year, we’ll be taking them out of that umbrella.
We will have six dances in 2020, each with a different band. I have more bands that want to play the swing dances than we can book. The bands really like doing it. We pay them relatively reasonably, but that’s not the only reason. It’s just a really fun gig.
Couples dancing is really coming back, and people are interested in learning it. We get teens to elders, from high school students to elderly couples and everyone in between — couples who have experience dancing and couples who want to learn. We definitely have some hipsters, and there is a crowd that comes from the Albany swing dance community. Also, we are open to and welcome same-sex couples and dancing. The younger folks are really comfortable with that fluidity. One time, the whole cast of a play at Monument Mountain High School came for their cast party, and ever since, some of these kids have shown up. Usually we get between 40 to 80 dancers.
People should know that you don’t necessarily need a partner at these dances. In fact, you don’t stick with your partner; there’s a lot of switching around. It’s an amazing way to learn. Everybody has a different way of leading or following. You learn so much more when you dance with a variety of people.
Every dance starts with an hour lesson. Doors open at 7, the lesson begins at 7:30, and the band starts at 8:30. The type of dance depends on the band and the instructor. It’s mainly East Coast swing, but sometimes it’s more rockabilly or West Coast swing.
We’re talking about doing a couple of different dances this coming season. We might do a country dance and are also considering honky tonk and Cajun styles.
We try to make the dances affordable at a $10-$20 sliding fee scale. We really rely on business sponsorships and local cultural council grants from the Monterey, Mount Washington, Alford-Egremont and Sheffield cultural councils. Our sponsors include Race Brook Lodge, Wheeler & Taylor Real Estate, Berkshire Mountain Bakery and Big Elm Brewery.
Most important, the dances need community attendance to make it last. Every dance has had lots of new faces. It’s pretty amazing.
