BELFAST – Belfast Flying Shoes and Belfast Summer Nights, with support from Viking Lumber, jointly present an evening of Scandinavian dancing with music by Finnish supergroup Frigg on Saturday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Boathouse at Steamboat Landing in Belfast.
The seven musicians in Frigg play violin, mandolin, guitar, and double bass with virtuosity and power, creating a hypnotic sound “like the steady flow of a mountain stream in the springtime.” The music will lift dancers’ feet in new and exciting ways. Named for the Norse goddess, Frigga, the band has brought their powerful music to eager audiences for more than two decades.
At the beginning of the program, all are welcome to join a lesson on the slangpolska, an easy-to-learn Scandinavian couple dance. Andrea Larson of greater Washington, DC, one of North America’s premier leaders of Scandinavian couple dancing, will teach the workshop. Larson is an award-winning fiddler well-steeped in Scandi music and dance traditions. For the dance program, Frigg will play tunes for the slangpolska and other Scandinavian dances, including the schottische, which is commonly done at local contra dances.
Suggested donation for the dance and workshop is $5-20, sliding scale. Consider wearing a mask when dancing. For info and complete public health policy, visit belfastflyingshoes.org or facebook.com/BelfastSummerNights.
Belfast Summer Nights presents outdoor concerts every Thursday throughout the summer, featuring live music from Waldo County and beyond. Belfast Flying Shoes was founded in 2005 with a mission to bolster the spirited dance and music community in Midcoast Maine. Among the local nonprofit’s many programs is a weekly radio hour on Belfast Community Radio (WBFY).