Easter weekend 2008, March 21-23 - Pfälzer Schloss, Gross-Umstadt, Germany
The right noble lord Baron of the Ancient lands of Knights Crossing has
declared that his subjects, noble in their demeanour, should learn the
ancient art of dance, that they may better grace his court with knowledge of
this gentler art. To this effect, he has hired sundry dance masters from
lands far and wide to come and provide instruction.
For one weekend, his
holding, the Pfälzer Schloss, shall play host to a school of dance, known in
the tongue of more refined courts as an academia della danza. In addition
to learning, there shall be terpsichorean revels and a ball as no one has
seen in many years. The lord Baron bids one and all to come and partake!
Classes:
Classes will begin at 6 pm on Friday evening. The last class will
finish at 1 pm on Sunday, March 23. There will be two tracks of classes, to
suit all tastes: a beginner track, and an intermediate/advanced track.
Ball:
There will be a formal ball on Saturday evening following feast,
which will be a reconstruction of a ball chronicled in Ulm in 1503. After
this, there will be a more free-style dance revel until we can no longer
dance! Music will be provided by the one and only Gaita, a professional
ensemble hailing from Edinburgh!
Food:
There will be a hearty stew provided Friday evening, breakfast, lunch
and feast on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday (with leftovers from feast
serving as lunch).
Sleeping arrangements:
There is crash space (no bedding) in the two halls
on site in the castle (one of which is not heated), but you must have your
bedding packed up and stored away out of sight during the day as these are
the same two halls in which we will be dancing. Otherwise, Gross Umstadt is
a charming little medieval town with numerous reasonably priced inns
(reasonable = 50-90 EUR for a double room per night), one of which is located
directly across the street from the castle. More details to follow.
Travel:
The site is reachable by public transportation (train and bus) via
Hanau, Frankfurt and Darmstadt Central Stations (stop: Gross Umstadt,
mitte). The airport of choice is Frankfurt Main International. Lufthansa
is running 99 EUR specials from all over Europe to Frankfurt. Hahn Airport
is about 200 km from the site, and a 3 hour + ride by public transport. For
help with making travel arrangements, please contact the event steward,
Judith.
Site:
Pfälzer Schloss, Pfälzer Gasse 16, Gross-Umstadt D-64823
Photo
Site opens: Friday, March 21 at 3 pm
Site closes: Sunday, March 23 at 3 pm (including cleanup)
110 person site limit, site is wet, no showers on site
Cost:
Total cost for the weekend will be 25 EUR per person over 12.
Children 7-12: 10 EUR for the weekend. Children under 7 are free. There
will be a family cap of 55 EUR for the weekend. Because the size of the
site is limited, we ask that families consider before bringing small
children. The only two rooms on site are the rooms in which classes will be
held, which means that small children will not truly have a place to play
(unless the weather holds, and they can play outside in the courtyard). So
unless children are actively (and more or less attentively) participating in
classes, please consider whether it is a good idea to bring them.
Event/Reservations Steward:
Judith de Northumbria (mka Rachel Lorenz)
phone: +49 (0)6074 211 8045
(judithsca at aol com)
Reservations:
The only guaranteed reservation is a paid reservation (for people
within the EU), or a copy of confirmed travel arrangements. Deadlines for
reservations is March 11, 2008. Please transfer the total sum of the
reservation to:
Name of Account Holder: Greg Leonard Oliphant
Account Number: 0048130231
Bank Code: 508 526 51
Bank name: Sparkasse Dieburg
Purpose of transaction: Academia