Capital English Country Dance - Sunday, May 3 - Come One, Come All!!

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Diane Bell

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Apr 26, 2026, 3:31:10 PMApr 26

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CAPITAL ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE

Sunday, May 3
2 to 5 p.m. (Beginner Workshop at 1:30 p.m.)
5 to 7 p.m. Annual Meeting followed by Potluck Dinner
St. John's Episcopal Church, 146 First St., Troy, NY

Hello All,

Can it be that it's almost May and time for our last dance of the season?! As usual, we will conduct our annual membership meeting immediately after this dance. And, then, simply for fun, we'll have a potluck dinner.

THE DANCE. For the dance, Melanie Axel-Lute will be the caller. The Flying Romanos were to have played for us, but sadly had to withdraw. So the music will be provided by three lovely local performers: Vonnie Estes on keyboard, Mark Bagdon on fiddle and Patricia Kernan on flute. (See bios and dance video links below)

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING. All members and would-be members are invited to the Annual Membership Meeting directly after the dance. The meeting will be short. We will vote on the nominees for the 2026-27 CECD Board - officers and members at large - and also take care of a few housekeeping tasks. Members will be encouraged to share what they liked about this year's programs and what they'd like to see changed.

POTLUCK DINNER. We would love for you to stay for dinner after the dance and meeting. Normally, we don't have a lot of time during dances, so this will be an opportunity to chat, catch up on news and get to know newer dancers a bit better. Please bring a cold dish to share. We'll eat dinner in the gym and then wander out into St. John's garden for dessert. Beverages will be provided and also dinnerware.

Looking forward to seeing you on the dance floor soon!

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PERFORMERS

Melanie Axel-Lute, Caller

Melanie called her first English dance for North Jersey English Country Dancers in honor of Sharon Green's move to California. After several years of working with Mary Jones and Tom Amesse, she began calling full programs. She has been a contra dance caller since 1998 and is a regular at dance camps and dance weekends, where she divides her time between ECD and contra. She is known for careful teaching and eclectic programs with both old favorites and unknown gems.

Vonnie Estes, Keyboard

Vonnie has played keyboard for traditional dance of various sorts since the mid-1980s. She often performs with her husband, John Guay, at local and Quebecois festivals, dances and concerts. Vonnie was the keyboardist for the former Heartsease Band (Rensselaer ECD's in-house band for 20 years).

Mark Bagdon, Fiddle
Mark studied classical violin beginning in the fourth grade and has played violin and viola with various orchestras over the past 50 years. He has also been a fixture of the traditional dance scene since the late 70's playing with: Small Potatoes, Apocalypso String Band, Clef Hangars, Spare Parts as a guest and Three Quarter North.

Patricia Kernan (center with Sue & Jim Mead as the Tamarack Band)
Patricia plays multiple instruments (flute, fiddle and harp) and has performed all kinds of traditional dance music including: English Country (with the former Heartsease Band), Celtic, early American, Old-Time, French-Canadian and International. She has played for over 20 years in the Capital District region and beyond, including: the Adirondacks, Schoharie Valley, Catskills, downstate NY and western New England.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

1.) Nominees for 2026-27 CECD Board

You will be voting on the proposed 2026-27 Board as follows:

Officers:

Diane Bell, President

Ann Thomas, Vice President

Maggie Bye, Treasurer

Belinda Rowland, Secretary

Members at Large:

Janet Beaty (new)

Michael Dreibelbis

Laura Paris