ENTERTAINMENT FOR A TWO HOUR CONVENTION
Director Linda Carolan writes:
The gentleman on the other end of
the line asked, “Can you provide the audience with two hours of
entertainment?” Hmmm. The program we produced for an RV Convention
held in Boerne, Texas was the culmination of a lot of hard work and cooperation
between four different groups, totaling 34 individuals in all. Yes, we did provide two hours of most
excellent entertainment for a group of appreciative onlookers. Here is … the rest of the story:
The weather was drizzling
small minute droplets which stuck to my hair and hovered in my bangs. As I helped unload the sound system, I kept
thinking, “I hope this works out o.k.”
The Fire on the Mountain Cloggers took the floor, setting the pace for
the evening with our energetic theme song, Fire on the Mountain, of
course. The conventioneers watched with
large smiles, nodding heads, and clapping hands. A number of fast-paced routines followed
quickly with little down time. Next, our
emcee announced that it was time for a change of pace and introduced Doris and
Debbie, sisters who perform with the San Antonio Irish dancers. The two ladies, who were dressed beautifully
in authentic Irish costumes, performed an elegant two-hand reel as well as a
delicate slip jig. The time was now ripe
for some more clogging and our friends, the Clickety Cloggers of Austin, took
the stage. They pleased the audience
immensely and soon had them clapping along to songs such as Cajun Moon and
other favorites. Next on the program was
our featured entertainment, the Sixteen String Band. This newly formed group of musicians was the
brainchild of Jeff Davis, guitarist as well as Fire on the Mountain
Clogger. His crew consisted of my better
half, Rusty, and his left handed banjo; Sheryl and her fiddle, Doug and his
homemade bass (made out of a washtub), and the lovely voice (and person) of
Linda Julian.
In order to get into the
atmosphere of the scene, the band had to make a quick change into their band
duds (overalls, etc.). When Jeff
suggested that I have some of the dancers actually perform to the LIVE music, I
realized that we, too, had to be in the appropriate uniform. So while the Clickety Cloggers were
performing their last number, many of the Fire on the Mountain folks were
changing into their hillbilly attire.
When the Strings took the stage, the hillbillies took to the floor. The band played a bluegrass tune and the
dancers did a type of Follow the Leader and Virginia Reel hoedown number. The audience loved it. Then the musicians played “I’ll Fly Away” and
we all sat around and clapped. It was
great.
Still in our overalls, we
invited the Irish Dancers and Clickety Cloggers, as well as the audience, to
join us for some old time mountain figures: Birdie in the Cage, Take a Little
Peek, Dip for the Oyster, etc. What fun! But, wait, the show’s not over yet. Still smiling ‘til the end, the three teams
performed the remainder of their repertoire.
Because each of the groups choreographs its own material, we were able
to present a rather unique show.
However, to demonstrate our similarity, both clogging groups agreed to
perform a routine, Shady Grove, that I had taught at a recent clogging
convention. Fire on the Mountain also
performed a traditional hornpipe routine with the Irish ladies. Then we all joined forces for the big
finale. Fire on the Mountain Cloggers
danced their usual last number and we featured the Clickety Cloggers, as well
as Doris and Debbie, in several of the solos at the end.
The audience loved our Big
Show and I felt like we were in a receiving line as various spectators filed
past shaking our hands and commenting on what a great time they had. It was a pleasure working with Pat and Chris
and the Clickety Cloggers, as well as the Irish sisters. Indeed it was a job well done!