When Fried Herman published A Girl’s Best Friend in her book Potters’ Porch, she added this inscription regarding the dance’s title and dedication: “When I arrived in New York City [in 1962], not knowing anyone, I found that CDS was my best friend. Hence this name in honor of the CDS Diamond Jubilee.” Fried and her husband Al participated in that Jubilee celebration in 1975, and she followed up in 1988 with this commemorative dance. To underscore the connection between the dance and CDSS, I’ve added a picture of a CDSS brochure from the early ‘80s, when the organization was on Christopher Street in the village, followed by a screen from its contemporary web page.
A Girl’s Best Friend has two tunes in waltz time, Bonnie George Campbell and Wandering Willie (only the latter appears in Barnes). Fried’s preference and the way the dance has always been done in Westchester is to play the first tune 3 or 4 times, the second tune an equal number of times, and then to return to Bonnie George Campbell for the final round, just as the band does in this video from the 2016 Lenox Assembly.
There are a number of lovely stylistic refinements in the dancing in this video. The dancers notice partners before the cast in the B part, and the Rights & Lefts are done as ½ turns with a polite look back but no polite turn. In the stars, dancers acknowledge their corners with a smile instead of looking at the back of the head of the person in front! The dancers spotted up and down to give the set a pleasing symmetry, and they followed the choreography faithfully, letting the set breath (contract and expand), with the tight gypsies being followed by the loop back out to the sides in the A part.
We were very happy to welcome Cynthia Shaw on keyboard to Lenox for the first time. She was joined by Lenox stalwarts Doug Creighton and Eric Martin. I can not thank them enough for the beauty and sensitivity of their playing. And I have an equal measure of gratitude for the many dancers who expressed that beauty in their dancing. -Paul Ross
18 сен 2024
