Page 11 - TR Explore Stone County 2020

EXPLORE STONE COUNTY • ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2020 11SS
GET IN STEP Mountain View home to diverse dancing culture
MEET
YOUR NEIGHBOR
Grace Stormont
SINGER/SONGWRITER
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?
I’m a self-employed musician and a contract mu- sician at Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View. I also teach Music Roots classes in the Mountain View Public Schools.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH MUSIC?
I started playing in church and taking guitar les- sons when I was about 13. When I turned 15, I moved to Mountain View and began working at the Ozark Folk Center. That was when music became my job and something I was serious about.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT PERFORMING?
I enjoy having the ability to connect with my au- dience and to make them connect with one another. Music is something that can bring together a roomful of people from all different age groups, viewpoints and walks of life. I like being able to bring people together.
WHY IS MUSIC IMPORTANT TO THE CITY OF MOUNTAIN VIEW?
Music is one of the things that makes our little town special. Mountain View has always been filled with music, and there has been an ongoing tradition of passing down the gift of music from generation to generation to keep it alive. In my opinion, music is the heart of Mountain View.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING NOMINATED FOR AN ARKANSAS COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD?
I feel very humbled to know that the hard work that I put into my craft is noticed and appreciated by my community. I’m very grateful to everyone who nominated me, and I’m excited to see what opportu- nities might arise from my nomination.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU AREN’T PLAYING MUSIC?
That is hard to answer, because most of the time, I am playing music or at least listening to music. If I’m not playing music, I enjoy reading, going on walks, painting or taking road trips.
BY CODY GRAVES / CREATIVE SERVICES WRITER
Passed down through the generations of folks who settled the area from Europe, dancing is a big part of the culture of the people of Mountain View. From traditional dances such as clogging, jigging and contra dancing to fine-art dancing like ballet, tap and ballroom, there are plenty of ways to en- joy this activity in Stone County.
Along with Mountain View’s tradition of folk music, folk dancing is also a big part of the city’s culture, said Gina Holderby, a for- mer Mountain View resident who currently lives in Bentonville. Holderby said she start- ed dancing around the age of 10 with a folk band called e Leatherwoods, who have performed in the town. Holderby said she took lessons from Nona Hasting-Tig.
Holderby is a clog dancer, and she said many people have the wrong impression of what clog dancing is. She said most people associate clogging with the wooden shoes that originated in Holland. Modern cloggers wear shoes that are similar to tap-dancing shoes. e main difference is that tap shoes have single metal plates on the heel and toe, while clogging shoes have hinged double metal plates. is design provides an addi- tional metallic clicking sound that is preva- lent in clogging’s rhythmic style.
“[ e shoe] gives you a different down- beat sound when you’re dancing around with it,” she said.
Holderby said there are a lot of ways that people can get involved with folk dancing, including at Ozark Folk Center State Park, which hosts a variety of events and work- shops throughout the year.
Holderby said all forms of dancing are great for people of all ages and skill levels, and it’s important to maintain the traditions of dancing.
“It’s been a big part of Mountain View,” she said. “It’s a fun thing, and it’s good exercise.”
Cindy Hubbard, who operates the North Arkansas Dance eatre, a nonprofit dance performing troupe, and the NADT Dance Academy, which has schools in Mountain View, Batesville and Brockwell in Izard County, has been teaching dance in Mountain View since 1976. Before that, she studied at the Royal Ballet School in
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Amelia Jones, from left, Delaney Nesbitt and Havyn Hubberd of the NADT Dance Academy perform a routine at Mountain View Assisted Living. The students perform there regularly, and the troupe also performs a variety of shows and recitals throughout the year.
London, England, and was a professional dancer at the Frankfurt Ballet Co. in Germany. She met her husband, the late Richard Hubbard, when he was stationed in Germany with the Army. e couple moved to Mountain View in 1973.
e NADT Dance Academy teaches a wide range of fine-art dancing such as bal- let, jazz, hip-hop, ballroom and tap, she said, and students range in age from 3 to 91. She said dancing provides a number of advan- tages for all ages, including social, physical and mental benefits.
“For those who take dance and are quick with music, learning is much easier for them because dance engages both sides of the brain, and it just develops their coordina- tion and teamwork,” she said. “Sometimes
people can’t express themselves verbally, but they can express themselves through dance.” e school puts on a variety of perfor- mances throughout the year for the public, including recitals, a fall performance of e Nutcracker, parades and presentations at local nursing homes. e annual Nutcracker performance incorporates students from all three schools, she said. She said their spring recital will be A Year at Hogwarts and is in- spired by the Harry Potter book series. She said the recital will be in June, but dates
have not yet been finalized.
“It’s just fun times at Hogwarts, so we’re
hoping to be able to get onstage with that,” she said. “We have complete story lines, pan- tomime, set changes and costume changes, just like a real Broadway show.”
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