By Gittel Evangelist
Opening day of Summer Overnight Leadership Camp each year has a very popular tradition: an evening contradance, led by Paul Rosenberg of Albany and his band. Since 2005, Rosenberg has been calling the dance for RMM’s campers with warmth and a sincere appreciation for the children who attend.
Once again, this year, Rosenberg called instructions to the campers, who formed circles, breaking off in pairs and linking arms as they danced to the sound of fiddle music.
“… Two, three, four, five, six, do-si-do!” he called. “And now, look into their eyes, face to face. Right shoulder round, see-saw, and left shoulder back.”
Later, these children of all ages and ethnicities sat in a large group on the floor, miming the motions of rowing a canoe, scanning the horizon for land and reaching skyward, as they acted out the tale of Georgia Sea Islands folk in search of a new home.
Rosenberg, who’s been a dance caller for 38 years, also brings numerous international dances into the mix to offer diversity. His repertoire includes traditional American, Hispanic, Appalachian, African-American, indigenous, French and French-Canadian numbers.
“Many years, ago, we would bring in mariachi bands or jazz bands, or what have you,” said RMM Executive Director Richard Witt. “What we found was that some children would participate while others wouldn’t, based on their cultural background. Then we found contradancing and realized that it was nobody’s background — so everybody was equally excluded, which meant everybody was equally included.”
Contradance, for the uninitiated, is a country dance in which the couples form lines facing each other, as opposed to square dancing.
“It’s a very inclusive, very intentional start to Overnight Camp each year,” Richard said. “It’s now such a part of our tradition that when it’s time for the dance, who do you see at the front of the line, but the Empowerment [high school-age] boys.”
In fact, he said, it’s not the adults who are getting the newer campers to join in; it’s the older youth who bring everyone together. At the dance this year, as in just about every year, there were few onlookers; nearly every child was on the dance floor.
“When the younger children see the teenage boys doing these dances, the message is, ‘This is cool,’” Richard said.
Rosenberg agrees. “We love doing this camp,” he said. “Sometimes when we do dances, the younger ones are so lost and so hesitant to participate, but this camp is different. The last few years here have been very special.”
As someone who grew up with no background in music at all, Rosenberg understands firsthand what it’s like to be “dance-phobic.”
“I grew up hating to dance,” he said. “When I’d go to events and receptions, I would retreat into the bathroom when the DJ came on and lock myself in the stall.”
He started down a much different path in life, as a language major in college. “I thought I’d end up being a teacher and a track coach,” he said. “Then I discovered that I like autumn vacations better than summer vacations. Also, I’m not a morning person.”
But Rosenberg learned to appreciate contradancing when he began dating a Quaker woman. “I just fell in love with it,” he said.
What he noticed when he started becoming a regular at dances was that the new dancers were often ignored by “hot-shot callers.”
“I became very driven to become a caller,” Rosenberg said. “I had the gift of being comfortable in front of an audience and putting people at ease. I saw there was a void that could be filled, and I’ve always been a fan of the underdog.”
Rosenberg grew up in the 1960s, sharing with his father a deep concern for marginalized people.
“Since the age of 11, I’ve been into social justice,” he said. “I went to lots of protest rallies and worked hard for the cause, and was a big fan of MLK.”
Though he still contributes financially to social justice causes, he said, “The best thing I can do right now is to bring people of different backgrounds together and help them to connect with each other to enjoy other cultures.
“It’s a big deal to see everyone be successful at dancing, and to bring joy into their lives,” he said. “RMM is one of the most incredible groups I’ve had a chance to work with. What a privilege to be able to do this.”
Gittel Evangelist serves as Communications Coordinator for Rural & Migrant Ministry. Reach her at gittel@rmmny.org