Traditional music and dance will take center stage at the Pocahontas County Opera House when the Davis & Elkins College Appalachian Ensemble comes to Marlinton Friday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m.
The Davis and Elkins College Appalachian Ensemble is a student string band and dance group, led by Dance Director Becky Hill and String Band Director Emily Miller.
The dancers and four-piece band focus on the intersections of different American vernacular forms and their roots, ranging from old-time music and flatfooting to jazz music and tap dance, to Irish sean nós dance and numerous traditional American styles of harmony singing. Their performances include a variety of regional dance styles, contemporary choreography, and a selection of traditional songs and tunes performed by the Appalachian Ensemble’s string band.
The Ensemble toured extensively in the fall of 2014, with performances at Frostburg State University Appalachian Festival in Maryland, Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music in Kentucky and in Charleston, as part of a U.S. State Department funded “Common Notes Partnership” with the Clay Center and Gorji County Museum in Romania.
The Ensemble was named the “People’s Choice for Entertainment” for performances at the 2013 and 2014 Ramps and Rails Festival in Elkins, and was featured in a recent edition of Goldenseal, the magazine of West Virginia traditional life produced by the Division of Culture and History.
Tickets are $10. Youth 17 and under are admitted free of charge. Tickets are available in advance at pocahon tasoperahouse.org and at the Fourth Avenue Gallery in Marlinton.
The Pocahontas County Opera House is located at 818 Third Avenue in Marlinton. Performances at the Opera House are informal, family-friendly and open to all. The entrance and main seating are accessible to persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to attend; special accommodations can be arranged upon request by calling 304-799-6645.
The Opera House Performance Series is presented with financial assistance through a grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. Support is also provided by Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals, the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Pendleton Community Bank, the Law Office of Roger D. Forman, Brightside Acres, Glades Building Supply and Burns Motor Freight.
