Happy summer everybody! Aloha!

Are you ready for something new?

As you are likely aware, We Make History is famous for our formal Balls with everyone decked out in evening wear or formal attire.

But this summer we are introducing a series of Casual Dances.

That's right. Casual dances! Everyone will be welcome to participate in casual, respectful clothing - just right for summer.

Shorts, slacks, jeans, skirts, polo shirts, blouses and even tee shirts will all be welcome.

Even while "casual" we know we can trust our We Make History folks to keep it clean and respectful. :o)

We'll be teaching and doing a range of historic style dances spanning several centuries at each dance we hold.

And the cost? We are only requesting a very modest donation of $8 in advance and $12 at the door to support the vision and educational work of We Make History.

We've really pulled out all the stops to maintaining the joy we experience at our formal events and at the same time making these casual dances low cost and accessible to the many families who are experiencing the pain of the economy.
We'll be in casual clothes rather than historic or formal, we'll mostly have recorded music but occasionally live musicians and we'll have "pot luck" drinks and snacks... but the joy and smiles will be as deep and wide as ever ... and many will be able to participate and join us who may not be ready for formal events. And besides having a great time you will have the satisfaction of supporting the family-friendly educational mission of We Make History!

We'll be holding our Casual Summer Dances several time per month from June through September at various locations throughout Arizona. (If your area isn't on the calendar below contact us and we'll see what we can do!)

Our Summer Dances will be COMPLETELY POTLUCK when it comes to refreshments. All who would like to do so are welcome and encouraged to bring non-alcoholic beverages, ice, desserts and snacks to share.

Each month's Casual Summer Dances will also have a colourful monthly theme which you can dress for - or not - as you prefer. June will be Aloha Month, a celebration of all things summer. July will be Patriots' Month, August will be Celtic Month and September will be Western Heritage Month. But regardless of the fun theme of any month, expect a broad range of both lively and elegant social dances from various time periods and expect the same welcome to summer-friendly casual attire!

This is a great opportunity to invite your friends who have never experienced the joy of a We Make History Ball. This summer they can join in, learn and experience all the fun in a casual, informal environment. :o)

We are family friendly! Ages 13 and up are always welcome. Ages 8 to 12 are welcome too if parents feel they are ready to dance and interact in social situations. :o)

Questions? Send us a note.

 

"Let those who love Liberty - Get up and DANCE!"

Col. Scott

2012

 

"Dancing seems to have a certain quality that helps people to get through hard times. Even back in the '30s during the Great Depression things always seemed to work out well for Shirley Temple!" A fan of Shirley Temple films  2012

 

OUR SUMMER 2012 CALENDAR of DANCE

(Stay tuned for updates, additions and more dances being added in more areas! Would you like to see a dance happen in your area? Do you have an idea for a location? Contact us!)

(Yes, we are working on Northwest Tucson, the West Valley, Flagstaff and Prescott as possibilities - and are interested in other parts of the state too. We just need good locations. Any suggestions?)

 

UPCOMING DANCES!!!

 

SEPTEMBER

September is Western Heritage Month, a celebration of the West.  Respectful shorts, slacks, jeans, skirts, polo shirts, blouses and even tee shirts will all be welcome. And if you would like to dress for the Western theme try wearing cowboy boots, jeans, denim, western prints or cowboy hats.

 

EAST TUCSON: TANQUE VERDE / VAIL

September 28th:

6:30PM Set Up (Volunteer Helpers appreciated!) and Social Time, 7PM Dancing!

Pantano Christian Church (1755 S. Houghton Rd. on the east side of Tucson)

At the Door: $12 each with a $60 max per family.

 

 

 

Thank you for providing fun, family-friendly activities for young people.
Regards,
Maria O.

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Highlands In The Desert

The dance was intended to be informal and casual. Shorts were welcome. So were kilts. We couldn't help but make it something more. Once again, We Make History.

I've been a Stewart and a Cameron, but tonight, I'm a Campbell. My kilt announces it in deep hues of green, half-covered by my long linen 1740's weskit, also properly green. I finish it off with a Jacobite shirt, kilt hose and blue bonnet – with the white cockade, of course. If anybody asks what a Campbell is doing wearing a Jacobite bonnet, I can always say I'm a turncoat. If anybody asks why the kilt falls below my knees, I can say I'm honouring THE LORD with my modesty.

I miss Flagstaff this time of year. The green of the late summer and the cool among the pines leaves me wistful. The clans come together outside the great hall in celebration, everyone in tartans and gowns, smiles wide among faces. But now they're dressed up as if we were in the Highlands once again, in their gowns and kilts and bonnets as they enter the small Tucson ballroom.

“Does this go over the left or right shoulder?” a lady asks me as she ponders how to proper tartan sash over an 1800's hoopskirt.

“Any way you choose, my lady,” I respond. “But I usually wear it over the left shoulder.”

Clan Tucson is back. They are unmistakable in their brown and black tartans, honouring their desert heritage.

“We sewed this last night,” one member tells me, showing off his new, properly-pleated desert kilt. I hear several sewing machine needles snapped in the process, but the fruits of the labour are well tailored.

Our dance master, spirited yet casual, calls us to form sets and we are soon are bowing and curtsying to each other without any casual thoughts. We shall be sticking to the spirited reels this evening, accompanied by a virtual orchestra. It seems at least 30 or 40 people are here, and nearly every one is cavorting in merriment.

“In English dance, we glide,” a dancing master once told me, “but in Scottish we fly.” Indeed, many of the young lads and lasses are flying as they chasse and whirl around. Some – like your humble servant – prefer joyous yet elegant affectations, raising our hands and heads high as we turn. Somebody might well accuse us of being English spies.

Such flying requires refueling. The lads and lasses pause between dances to refresh themselves with cookies, tea, and copious cold water before it's time for a mid-diversion diversion. Dance 'em, Danno. In a growing tradition, we transition from the Highlands to Hawaii in a surf-rock version of the famous We Make History Pineapple Dance, with a medley featuring the theme from Hawaii Five-O.

You pass a pineapple to one person besides you, and then chasse off with the other. The rules are simple, but the variations are unlimited. Several people toss to others in line and charge in threes. Some people scamper away. Some lads dare to pass over the lasses and chasse off with each other. (That might be a cause for a duel, but that is another treatise.) But in the end, the person with the pineapple when the music stops wins the fruit of victory and likely a few juice concoctions down the line.

During a waltz, a highland lass generously shows your humble servant a box step. My feet have a hard time learning new things.

“You're doing it!” she cries, even though they still want to two-step at times, still clung to their Texas ways.

Later, she finds me again, hoping I wasn't embarrassed by the dancing lesson.

“No, not at all,” I tell her. It took a long time for me to learn a Scottish skip-change step, I explain, as I take up true Scottish Country Dancing. I show her, skipping on my right and left feet around the hall. She follows my lead.

“There's also a strathspey,” I explain, “which is a slowed-down skip-change with a hop.” I demonstrate: left step, close, left step, hop and swing the right through. Right step, close, right step, close, right step, swing the left through with a hop. My Scottish dancing masters would give me grief because my feet aren't pointing in a “T.” At times, I dance like the only boy in the ballet class. Not my dear lass, who follows after me.

A lad observes at us and wishes to learn it. I seize upon an idea.

“Take hands, and we'll do it together,” I say. The three of us improvise a sort of strathspey minuet across the room, Scottish meeting English... or French.

As the evening progresses, it's obvious. This is the Highland Ball we love, just a little smaller and sandier. That doesn't change our hearts' desires. Why be casual when we can kilt up and celebrate? Not that we disparage anybody who doesn't, but the freedom to be fancy is there for those who want.

Rife with afterglow, we descend upon a pizza parlour up the street late on the Friday evening. Humongous slices of Italian pie satisfy our cravings. With the establishment nearly to ourselves, we zestily dance in the aisles to the rhythms of the disco age. Clan Tucson dances the Breakdown... and then the Can-Can.

We are family, of good times, staying alive to the night fever because we should be dancing, yeah...

And you should be dancing, too. Check out We Make History for more about their Casual Dance Series -- and many other good historical offerings!

C. MacFrancis