Join us for a family contra dance with caller Luke Donforth and live music by Pascal Gemme, Véronique Plasse and friends.
All welcome and no experience necessary! All dances are taught by the caller. Bring clean, soft-soled shoes.
$10 per person or $30 per family.
About Luke Donforth: As a caller, Luke brings a warm and inviting playfulness to the stage. He calls new compositions and traditional contras at weekly dances, barn dances, weddings, and festivals all over the country. On the local front, he currently runs a monthly family dance in Burlington and he is also a published author! If you don’t already own a copy of his book The ABCs of Contra Dancing, pick one up for the young dancers in your life.
About Pascal Gemme: Pascal is a leading light in Quebec’s traditional music scene.Known as much for his original compositions as his fine interpretation of traditional tunes, Pascal is the fiddler, singer and arranger of the band, Genticorum, whose CDs have met with critical acclaim in several countries.
From a young age, the fiddle music and songs of his native province have captivated him. After graduating with a degree in composition and band arrangements at Montreal’s St Laurent College, he immersed himself in the traditional music around him, playing, collecting and recording music found all over Quebec. Pascal has developed a vast knowledge and is a leading exponent of the music.
About Véronique Plasse: Véronique, a trained actress and a musician, has joined the world of traditional music since a score of years, working at enhancing Québec cultural heritage. Her commitments and involvements are driven by goals which are at the heart of whatever she undertakes: creation, gathering, preservation and diffusion. Endowed with a very sensitive and positive energy, Véronique really enjoys bringing to the public her knowledge and a kind of cultural expertise she acquired through encounters and research.
Spurred by her passion for Québec traditional music, this violinist and singer has been active on the international traditional folk scene for about 20 years. Recognized by her fellow trad musicians as a high-calibre performer, Véronique strongly believes that we must carry on the effort of creating moments and places where beauty, sharing and human interaction weave the threads of a sociocultural fabric we can all call our own. Latest addition to the Bon Débarras trad trio, Véronique performs also in several other significant projects: Beaton-Plasse, Les Commandos Trad, Barbo and Hurlevent.
About the 2024 Young Tradition Festival:
The 2024 Young Tradition Festival celebrates young artists and multi-generational relationships in diverse traditional music and dance communities while providing opportunities for youth, families, and the greater community to immerse themselves in several types of traditional music and dance.
This year’s festival includes concerts at Contois Auditorium: World-renowned Nepali Sarangi player Shyam Nepali’s band Himalayan Dreams will perform Friday night, and the well-known Quebecois trad band Genticorum will play Saturday night, with an opening act by the 20 teen performers of the Young Tradition Touring Group. Young musicians and dancers will perform alongside their teachers Saturday morning at the Burlington Farmers Market during our Student/Mentor Showcase. Performances will include folk fiddling, Tibetan singing and draynen, Nepali harmonium, West African drumming, Quebec trad music, and more. On Sunday all-ages will have an opportunity to join in the fun at a family-friendly jam session and contra dance at Contois Auditorium. The festival's programming also includes free performances for students at Burlington’s Integrated Arts Academy and residents at the Converse Home.