We have started meeting on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the Claxton Community Center at 1150 Edgemoor Road, Clinton TN. We are vaccinated and boosted and we request that you are are also vaccinated and boosted.
Most of the folk dances are very easy; they are the type of dances that people historically would have done in a village for a celebration, such as a wedding. We practice each dance before dancing it.
We start dancing at 7:30 pm and go until 9:45 pm but folks can arrive and leave as they choose. It's fine to be a beginner; most people pick up the dances easily. We are recreational dancers so are not trying to get every step perfect. The first visit is free. After that we ask folks to pay $4 an evening. If a person can't pay, that's okay.
Our dancers wear comfortable clothes and shoes. We have good heating and air conditioning at the Claxton Community Center and so can keep our dancers comfortable. There is ample parking and the entrance is just a short walk; the building is on one level.
You do not need a partner. Most of our dances are done in circles or lines but we occasionally do a partner dance.
We take a short break from dancing at 9:00 pm for announcements. A few times a year we have a potluck supper starting at 6:30 and we often celebrate a dancer’s birthday with refreshments.
If you would like to see some of the dances we do, go to http://www.utube.com and type Trgnala Rumyana which is a Bulgarian dance. Or type Makedonsko Devojce which is Macedonian. Or type Hanter Dro (French), Moj Maro (Albanian), or Kortanc (Hungarian). You won’t see our group but you’ll see
folk dancers in motion.
Our group started in 1944 when Oak Ridge TN was getting settled. Someone had a phonograph player and records and could teach the steps to folk dances. We’ve put away our record player and records and now dance to music on our laptop. Until recently we danced in Oak Ridge at the Woodland School and also at the Community Center there. Now we meet at Claxton Community Center which is a central location between Oak Ridge, Clinton and Knoxville.
We learn new dances by going to workshops where an invited instructor teaches; the trick is to keep dancing the beautiful older dances in addition to picking up interesting new ones. Some members of our group go to weekend workshops in Nashville or Black Mountain (NC) although workshops are offered in each state throughout the year. Ethnic boutiques like Balkan Bazaar (http://www.balkanbazaar.com/) bring their wares to workshops and it is fun to shop for ethnic clothing, including shoes and boots, as well as stationery, dolls, dvds, maps, dishes, books, jewelry, tablecloths, napkins, scarves, bells and many more items. A few dancers have ethnic costumes such as Greek, Macedonian, Polish, Hungarian or French to name a few; we often wear our costumes at our Saturday evening workshop party.
Our Oak Ridge Folk Dance group holds a spring weekend workshop in March or April where 40-50 dancers from around the southeast may attend. We have request dancing on Friday night followed by a teaching session with our instructor. On Saturday, we have dance sessions in the morning and afternoon with a catered ethnic lunch in between. We have a dance party in the evening with a review session on Sunday morning. We meet dancers from other groups and have a good time; folk dancers are some of the nicest people you will meet. They are down to earth and dance to enjoy the beautiful ethnic music and steps and the friendship that comes from sharing an enjoyable activity with friends.
The Claxton Community Center is an older red brick building and former church; it has a very nice wood floor which is good for dancing. It also has a kitchen which we use when we have potluck suppers or celebrate a birthday.
To get to Claxton Community Center you'll want to take Highway 170, which is also called Edgemoor Road; you can access Highway 170 from Pellissippi Parkway in the Solway area near the Clinch River Bridge or from Clinton Highway in the Claxton area.
The turn-off for the community center is just past the Bull Run Steam Plant if you are coming from the west and just past the Amoco gas station and market if you are coming from the east. It's a little tricky to turn off the highway onto the driveway, so slow down or you'll miss it.
The community center sits back off the highway. You will turn off Highway 170 at the red and white Breadbox sign that advertises square dance and kids' baseball. Then you'll follow the driveway past the ball fields and children's play area and curve around to the Community Center. Just walk in and find us. We'll be happy to see you.
For information call Paul Taylor at 865 898 5724 or visit us at Oak Ridge Folk Dancers (http://www.oakridgefolkdancers.org/) or see us on Facebook under Oak Ridge Folk Dancers.
