Leah's Waltz

Written in 1989 by Fried Herman for Leah Barkan, beloved pianist for Country Dancers of Westchester for many years. Leah's waltz is one of the all-time favorites of ECD set dances--simple, satisfying, and set to two gorgeous tunes (chosen by Leah!): Amelia by Bob McQuillen and Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar. Leah was band leader of Musical Cheers at the time the dance was written; she became "leader emeritus" in 2014 of Serendipity, CDW's current house band.
This video was shot at CDW's 40th Anniversary party held on November 2, 2014, at St Thomas Episcopal Church in Mamaroneck, NY. The band was Hold the Mustard and the caller Carol Martinez, who apprenticed with Fried and taught for years at Westchester before she traded in her dance cards for a recorder and devoted herself fully to early music. For the beautiful dancing in the demo set, thanks are due to my partner Lynn Feinman, Orly Krasner and Steve Landowne, and Dorothy Cummings and Mark Weinstein. It gives me great pleasure to see how nicely the circles formed (no looking back), how the hands are dancing, the straight lines, and the way the music pulses through each dancer in the set. I hope it gives you equal pleasure! --Paul Ross

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Well done !