Oldtime Utah Dance Traditions Come To West Jordan Pioneer Hall Jan 15

Dance Traditions of Deseret: Utah Social Dancing with folklorist Craig Miller Saturday, 15 January 2011, 7pm

West Jordan Pioneer Hall / Rock Church Meeting House, 1137 West 7800 South, West Jordan, Utah

Join Utah folklorist Craig Miller (Utah Arts Council) for a presentation about old Utah dance traditions and the chance to kick up your heels! Utah's social dance heritage dates back to the pioneer days when immigrants danced between covered wagons by the lights of campfires. Early Utahns' love for music, dance, and for the spectacular beauty of their new homeland grew over the decades and blossomed in the early twentieth century with the construction of open-air dance pavilions which were built in astonishing numbers across the entire region. This presentation with recorded music and slide show reveals the dances, the music, the settings, and the people who kept that heritage alive, and is followed by a demonstration with audience participation. Presentation is in conjunction with New Harmonies, a traveling Smithsonian exhibition currently on show at the West Jordan City Hall, hosted by the West Jordan Historical Society Museum. Both the dance workshop and the exhibit are free and open to the public. For more information, see http://www.utahhumanities.org/newharmonies.htm or www.wjhistory.org