A Saturday night dance performance on the main stage at Wheatland has been a highlight of many a September Festival. It generates excitement like nothing else, and so it was fitting that the centerpiece of our 40th Anniversary Festival Celebration featured the finest professional dancers in the country.
Having been commissioned by the Wheatland Music Organization, Inc. (WMO) to create this performance, former Rhythm in Shoes director, Sharon Leahy had assembled a Who’s Who of hoofers from Wheatland’s past to perform in the Carry it on… Project. Dancers Ira Bernstein, Christine Galante, Nic Gareiss, Matt Gordon, Becky Hill, Abby Ladin, Matt Olwell, Rodney Sutton, Zane Terry, Heidi (Kulas) Whitfield and Emma Young carried on Wheatland’s long-standing tradition of presenting the best in traditional dance. Having graced the stage with the country’s finest step dance ensembles–the Green Grass Cloggers, the Fiddle Puppets, Shuffle Creek Dancers, Footnotes, Footworks, Good Foot and Rhythm in Shoes–these dancers were no strangers to our Festival crowd. Joining them was over 65 of Michigan’s finest percussive dancers, ages 12-62, a string quartet and the finest dance band in all the land–Rick Good, Cleek Schrey, Sam Bartlett, Ben Cooper, Kevin Anderson and Tom T Ball.
Carry it on…
A sure to be amazing and special performance during the festival on Main Stage Saturday night is the culmination of a yearlong project called Carry it on… It incorporates four generations and more than 70 dancers across Michigan as well as 23 professional percussive dancers and musicians from across the country!
In celebration of the 40th anniversary, Wheatland Music Organization commissioned the former directors of the Rhythm in Shoes dance and music company to create Carry it on… The project is the innovation of, and being directed by, renowned artist and dancer Sharon Leahy. Original music has been composed by Rick Good. Both are well known and abundant creators as dancers, musicians, actors, writers, educators and advocates of America’s musical roots. Wheatland Music has a long, fruitful and trusting relationship with the duo that dates back to 1977.
Over the last year the project has included multiple residency trainings (19 visits to 6 different sites across Michigan) for children and adults dancers. Twelve dancers received training in the Ann Arbor area, 8 in the Lansing area, 32 in Mt. Pleasant and Alma, 9 in northwest Michigan and 10 in Remus. In addition, the project included dance instruction for the public. Ten people received instruction at Wheatland’s Gladys Wernette Classroom Building and twelve different dance style workshops were taught at the 25th annual Traditional Arts Weekend held in May reaching 232 dancers.
Two much loved Michigan natives and Wheatlanders have had key leadership roles in the project. Nic Gareiss coordinated and served as the community liaison and Becky Hill, mentored by Sharon, produced a newly choreographed work. Wheatland favorites Rodney Sutton and Heidi (Kulas) Whitfield also have cameo appearances in the Saturday night performance.