Community Contra Dance in Williamstown

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WILLIAMSTOWN — The North Berkshire Contra Dance returns to Williamstown on Saturday, Sept. 28, with a community contra dance taught by caller Jeff Walker and New England-style fiddle music.
 
Contra dancing is the contemporary face of a living tradition; some of the dances are hundreds of years old, some are recently composed. 
 
Everyone is welcome. New dancers and families with children are encouraged to arrive at 7:30 pm for an introductory lesson. Come with or without a partner; most people change partners for each dance throughout the evening.
 
Kathy and Jeff Walker have been playing New England-style dance music for over 40 years. Kathy plays fiddle and Jeff accompanies her on guitar and calls. Their repertoire spans the Celtic world drawing tunes from Ireland, Scotland, Galicia, French Canada, Cape Breton, and Appalachia, and includes many kinds of dance music from fast, energetic jigs and reels to slow waltzes.
 
The dance will run 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the Community Hall of the First Congregational Church, 906 Main St., Williamstown. Admission is pay-as-you-can, $12 - $20 suggested. 
 
Visit www.NorthBerkshireDance.org for more information.
 
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Clark Art Series of Talks With Writers

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — This autumn, the Clark Art Institute hosts a series of free talks and book signings by writers in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
 
Oct. 30, 6 pm
SEBASTIAN SMEE: PARIS IN RUINS
Pulitzer Prize-winner Sebastian Smee, art critic for The Washington Post, makes a special appearance to introduce his new book "Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism."
 
From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871 Paris and its people were besieged, enduring bloody street battles, the burning of central Paris, and widespread starvation. It was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born?in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of the leading figures of Impressionism. At the heart of it all is a love story between artists Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, as Smee poignantly depicts their complex relationship, their tangled effect on each other, and their great legacy, while bringing overdue attention to the woman at the heart of Impressionism. In the aftermath of the conflict, these artists all developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. That feeling for transience?reflected in Impressionism's emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things?became the movement's great contribution to the history of art.
 
Nov. 8, 6 pm
SRIKANTH REDDY: THE UNSIGNIFICANT
Poet, scholar, and Paris Review poetry editor Srikanth Reddy joins novelist and RAP Special Projects Coordinator Sara Houghteling to discuss his latest book, "The Unsignificant: Three Talks on Poetry and Pictures" (Wave Books, 2024).
 
Nov. 16, 3 pm
SARAH ELIZABETH LEWIS: THE UNSEEN TRUTH
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