Thursday, March 27 – Square Dance with caller, Aaron Ratcliff, and Old-Time Music – 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Join us for a square dance in MHU’s Loft with live old-time music and caller Aaron Ratcliffe! Absolutely no experience is necessary – first-timers are welcome and encouraged. The caller will tell you what to do! This dance is free and open to all – both on campus and community. A great way to unwind and be a part of an Appalachian tradition. Brought to you by the Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies with support from the Madison County Tourism Development Authority.
Aaron Ratcliffe plays and teaches old-time music on a number of instruments, and he is a skilled flatfoot dancer and dance caller with deep roots in western North Carolina. Aaron hails from Ratcliff Cove at the foot of Big Stomp Mountain (Ratcliff Mountain) in Haywood County, NC, where his father’s side of the family has lived for seven generations. His dad played piano and organ, and his mother worked as a choir director and pianist at local churches. Following in their footsteps, Aaron started out playing gospel music on piano, then guitar, in church.
Aaron started calling old-time square dances in 2005. He has called for public and private events across the Southeast, including the International Bluegrass Music Association Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh, NC; The Rockbridge Mountain Music and Dance Festival; and The Appalachian State Fiddlers Convention in Boone, NC. Aaron was an organizer for NC Squares, a monthly traditional old-time square dance in Chapel Hill/Durham, NC from 2007-2018. He danced with the Cane Creek Cloggers of Chapel Hill, NC from 2003–2011, performing and teaching dance workshops across the Southeast, including a 2006 showcase with the NC Symphony. As a solo dancer, he has performed at the NC Museum of Art in 2010, taught classes at Ninth Street Dance in Durham, NC, and won prizes for flatfoot dancing at fiddlers’ conventions in NC, TN, and VA.
