Collective Joy

by

When I sat down with Bruce and Maureen Spencer to ask about their experiences with Christmas Country Dance School, I knew I would need a comfortable chair and a large mug of coffee. Like many other attendees of the school, the Spencers have participated for decades, and it holds many significant memories for them—of dear friends, of trying new things, and even of their first introduction to each other.

“For me, it is an extension of the holiday season. The Christmas traditions of dancing, singing, telling stories make Christmas a season rather than a deadline,” Bruce said.

This year marks the 82nd gathering of Christmas Country Dance School at Berea College, making it one of the longest continuously running folk dance camps in the United States. Each December, people travel to this small town to enjoy a range of folk traditions, including dance, storytelling, singing and playing music. They have created a community, one that revels in folk traditions and extends to those who have come before as well as those who have yet to come.

The program today is remarkably similar to the first event in 1938. The schedule consists of five daily workshops offering instruction in both participating in and leading dance, music and crafts. Other elements include evening dances and community sharing times. The focus has shifted, as original attendees were expected to share what they learned with their home communities. While many attendees are leaders in their community folk dance circles, at the school they come together more for personal enjoyment.

Living Tradition and Culture

For Berean Olivia Jacobs, there is only one place she would be the week after Christmas. Since the age of 6, Jacobs, now in her 20s, has attended Christmas Country Dance School. She loves the way it passes on valuable cultural traditions.

“My family is from the southern Appalachian mountain region, and CCDS is the only time of year when I connect to my cultural heritage in a way that is vibrant and alive,” Jacobs said. “The dances, music and stories give me a deep well to draw from, a sense of roots that many people lack in this globalized world. The traditions also connect me to those who came before me and those who will come after.”

Pamela Napier lives in Bowling Green and grew up dancing at Christmas Country Dance School. Her late dad, Pat Napier, is a school legend. He grew up in Perry County and began sharing his native Kentucky mountain square dance—now called Kentucky Set Running—in 1952. For decades, he taught this tradition at the school. It is one he learned from his father, a square dance caller.

Since Pat Napier’s passing, Pamela’s son, Jim Napier Stites, and nephew Ben Napier have picked up the calling microphone. Their Kentucky Set Running class at the school remains authentic to the historical practice of the dance. They still refer to a term paper that Pat Napier wrote years ago, outlining the style of the dance and the figures, or dance moves. While the tradition used to be passed along orally, Pamela said, “These aren’t done organically anymore. There just aren’t regular community dances.” Instead, the folk tradition relies on gatherings like the dance school for its place in living history.

Other elements of school also encapsulate Kentucky traditions. The craft classes in woodcarving and basketry share skills that used to be an important piece of survival in rural areas. Folks like the singing Ritchie family and Lewis and Donna Lamb help keep alive the old mountain songs in singing classes and as accompaniment to the dancing.

While many of the experiences are steeped in the cultural reference of eastern Kentucky and Appalachia, other folk traditions are included. Members of the school community from other places and cultures share their traditions. This year, that includes Morris Dancing from England and Bollywood from Indian films. Several classes on Danish-style dance are offered, thanks to a long-term Danish-American exchange in Berea.

An event this venerable has many of its own traditions, special moments that participants eagerly anticipate each year. On New Year’s Eve, the evening dance is interrupted for two of those. The Mummers Play is written anew each year in one of the classes and includes a fresh commentary and celebration on the school experience. Candlelight and a single haunting flute immediately evoke the reverence of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, first performed in England in the 1600s.

Intergenerational Community

The school experience is talked about with reverence by the attendees, and most who come once, keep returning. “For those of us who participate year after year, CCDS is a home,” Jacobs said. “It gives people permission to be their authentic selves and practice being part of a healthy community.”

Several elements of the week contribute to the formation of a multi-age group that is affirming and tight-knit, yet welcoming.

Through the variety of workshops and experiences—including individual dancing, social dance, singing and crafts—the school is accessible to everyone and appeals to a wide range of ages and tastes. “First, it was about me and what I could learn,” said Maureen Spencer. “Then, it was about the social aspect of the dancing, and now, I mostly participate in the crafts. But really, it has become all about the people. I just want to be there and help others have the experience.”

“Over time, the week becomes richer and richer,” Bruce Spencer added reflectively.

The youth program helps those on the younger age of the spectrum—ages 6-12—feel welcome and included. Katy German, the youth program director for many years, described the five days with the 40 participants as “happy chaos.” Along with age-specific classes, each day ends with a social dance with kids, parents and other adults. Having grown up going to the school, German knows the importance of this special place for the younger generation. “Kids need these kinds of communal creative experiences,” she said. “There are not many opportunities in our society where families play together.”

Many of the almost 40 teen and young adult dancers at last year’s school got their start years before in the youth program. “As a child participant in the program, I felt that it was unique, and I knew simply, as children do, that being a part of it brought me a sense of wonder,” Jacobs said.

The school is composed of natural elements that connect people. Dancing is an intimate interaction that demands eye contact, physical contact and vulnerability. The rich tones of singing in harmony join people in one accord. As people sit together and learn a craft, they share stories, skills and spontaneous laughter.

One unassuming event stands out as the glue that bonds and seals the community. Called Parlor, it is a sharing time for the entire community that often features songs, stories, memories and jokes. Patty Tarter, a member of the singing Ritchie family, leads Parlor. She emphasizes it is not a performance, and all attendees are welcome to contribute. “We foster a real sharing community that is highly participatory; it makes CCDS special,” she said.

Jacobs agreed, saying, “The feeling at these community times is reverence, for the person sharing and for the tradition shared.” Maureen Spencer also emphasized its importance, saying, “At this stage in my life, Parlor is the most important event at Dance School. The music, the stories, the laughter. Oh, man!”

Communal Celebration

In her book, Dancing in the Streets, Barbara Ehrenreich chronicles the historical human impulse for communal revelry and celebrations. She dubs it “collective joy” and laments that it has been smothered out of much of our modern world.

But in Berea, for six days every year, collective joy is alive and well. Anne Hylton Ramsay was a Berea College student in the early 1970s when she attended Christmas Country Dance School. She spoke for generations of attendees when she wrote: “Often I would feel pure joy surge through being part of this perfect, beautiful thing we dancers and musicians were creating together—a perfect blending of body, spirit and music.”

The members of the Christmas School community have managed to strike a rare balance between cherishing their community and welcoming others into it. I know, because I first joined in the revelry two years ago. People I didn’t know asked me to dance. They smiled at me and said they were glad I was there, even as I stepped on their toes while trying to master a contra dance. They encouraged me to try new challenges, like singing harmony a capella. I went back last year, and you may be able to guess where I will spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day this year.