English country dancing, Indiana style

We were privileged to be part of a dancing party on Saturday in Indiana, featuring English country dancing called by Jonathan Sivier.  Mr. Sivier led us through a variety of dances, helping even the most clueless among us to be part of the beautiful rhythm and symmetry of well-composed country dancing.  I think a good caller can transform even average dancers into a coordinated company, and Mr. Sivier did not disappoint us.

Hosted by the Franks family, many of the families of Hope in Christ Church attended, including The Smiling Sisters, the ladies of Noble Rose Press, and dozens of others whose websites I haven't yet found.  Kathryn and Tara convinced their parents to make the trek, so we weren't the only non-Hoosiers in attendance.  We even got to spend more time with Sean Kelley and his two oldest daughters.  In case you don't remember Sean, we met his family in Colonial Williamsburg back in 2009, so our conversations already had a head start.  We didn't take our camera to the dance, so we don't have any original photos to document the evening, but a photographer from the Knightstown Banner was very busy shooting and taking names. (We'll let you know if we see his photos online in the future).

In addition to the enjoyable dancing, and delightful company, I found the venue memorable.

In case you don't recognize it, we danced in the Knightstown Gymnasium, now known as "Hoosier Gym" due to its prominent part in the movie "Hoosiers."  Thanks to moviescreenshots.blogspot.com for the image above that was taken from the movie.  The gym still looks almost identical to its appearance in the movie, and added a charmingly vintage atmosphere to our wonderful day.  Our family owes a debt of gratitude to the Franks family for organizing a day we won't soon forget!