DF in the TAB

Friday, August 8th, Neal Simpson, reporter from the Brookline TAB, and Ed Wozniak, photographer, came to Dance Friday to do a story on Dance Friday.

Neal said he hasn't had that much fun at work in ages. I can't agree with him more; I can't imagine a better gig.

Today, the article is published. Thank you, Neal and Ed, for painting a picture of us that's so close to how we are.

An excerpt from the full article:

After three decades, freestyle dancing finds new home in Brookline
By Neal Simpson/Staff writer
Wed Aug 13, 2008, 03:20 PM EDT


Brookline -

To the uninitiated, it looks like a high school dance has been taken over by its rowdy, underdressed chaperones.

In the dim, neon light of a cavernous dance hall, two dozen barefooted adults are twisting, bopping and stomping to the reverberating beat of synthesized music. Some spin and duck with the confidence of a trained performer; others seem to be moving to a beat only they can hear.

“This is an internal experience,” said Robin Williams, the disc jockey for the evening. “You don’t do it with a concern about what you look like.”

For three decades, this tribe of freestyle dancers has gathered every week in rented churches and gymnasiums for an alcohol-free volunteer-run dance party known as Dance Friday.

Since June, the group has called Brookline home.

This not your average club scene. Instead of collared shirts or leggy dresses, the dancers this evening are sporting pajama bottoms, cut-off shorts and workout pants. The goal here is not to pick up a date, but as Williams puts it, “dance until you can’t stand up.”

“You know when you go to Dance Friday that the focus is dance,” she said. “You will dance or you will have nothing to do. There is no drinking, there is no talking, there’s no shoes.”

“It’s a dance for dancers.”

Please visit the TAB for the full article here.

Summer Kid Sitter

After a meeting of the Dancing Parents Cooperative with Anna, the sitter, we have decided to switch to an on-call basis for the summer, and then have her come every week in the fall.

So, if you are a parent and you want to bring your kids this summer and have them supervised by the sitter, you'll need to please email at least 2 days in advance to either Nira Voss niravossATverizonDOTnet or Donna at donnatoriATrcnDOTcom so she will bring Anna to sit for you.

Sitting fees are $5 per family; if you can afford more, please pay more, as we want to keep a sitter. She just gets what the parents pay, plus any tips.

July 4th IndepenDANCE Celebration!

We’re starting the dance late, at 10:00, and going until 1:30am.

You don’t have to miss the dance because of the holiday. If you’d like, you can catch a fireworks show, then come join us in celebration of the States’ birthday!

Dance in air-conditioned glee!


Three DJs will be offering us music to move and groove to: Andrew D, Mark L, and Alkemi.

Boston DNE Weekend

Come help us celebrate our journey of change: after thirty years in Watertown we will be saying farewell to this suburb and moving to the more urban Brookline.

Saturday May 31st, the DNE evening Dance will be at the Brookline Tai Chi Center, then thereafter Dance Friday will be in this lovely space every week (starting June 6th).

Dance this Journey of change with us at our DNE weekend.

Thank you - see you soon on the dance floor!


The Dance Friday Community invites you to the Dance New England Weekend!

May 30- June 1st, 2008

The Schedule:

Friday, May 30
Dance Friday, May 30- Phillips School, 30 Common St., Watertown, MA
Parking in the 31 Marshall St. lot
8:00-midnight DJ'd Dance: Mark Landry, Alkemi

Saturday, May 31
Workshops: Unitarian Universalist Church, 35 Church St., Watertown
9:00-10:00 Registration; Opening Circle: Tea and coffee available
10:00-noon Contact Improv - Dey Summer
10:00-noon African Dance - Wyoma
10:00-noon Live Action Role Play (LARP) sword-making; ages 10+. Tyler Bigonet and Alex Cook
10:00-5:00 Open Play: Art, Recess and Snack Ben Cunningham
Lunch: 12:15-1:30 Vegetarian lunch: by Tricia Cooper
1:30-3:00 Journey Dance - Suzy Spivey
1:30-3:00 The Power of Two - Olivier Besson
1:30 5:00 LARP Character Development and Melees; 10+.
3:30-5:00 Salsa Rueda - Danny Trenner
3:30-5:00 Nia - Barbara Niles; kids welcome

Dinner: 5:00-7:00 Off-Campus: Watertown Square or Washington Square, in Brookline.

Dance Setup* 5:30-7:00 Brookline Tai Chi Center 1615 Beacon Street in Brookline

Saturday Evening Dance held at the Brookline Tai Chi Center, 1615 Beacon St., Brookline, 7:30-1am
7:30-8:30 Salsa Rueda - Danny Trenner
8:00-midnight Magic Tournament ages 10 and up; Movie and Card Games in kids' room.
8:30-1:00 DJ'd Dance - David Sheppard and Steve Carter

Sunday, June 1
Sunday Morning Phillips School 30 Common St., Watertown
10:00-11:30 Yoga Dancing Rhythms TM - Margaux Medicine Dancer
10:00-5:00 Magic Tournament continues; 10+
10:00-5:00 Outdoor games - Ben Cunningham (younger kids)
11:30 Lunch
12:30-2:30 Community Meeting
2:30-5:00 Dance Church: Grooving with Gratitude – Community-Led

The Descriptions:

Saturday Classes
35 Church St., Watertown
10:00-noon Wyoma- African healing dance:
COME….We will create a safe space together... sharing our healing stories through dance, music, song, and sweat! Learn dances of initiation and celebration from a master instructor. Only experience necessary... is Life (feel free to bring instruments!).

Wyoma is a dance performance artist and facilitator of the African healing dance. She offers a huge creative canvas to explore the human and divine forces of nature through traditional African, Caribbean, Brazilian dance… and improvisation.

10:30-noon Contact Improv- Dey Summer
"Start the weekend by dropping in to your body, the simple sense of your own shifting weight, balance, and movement through the space in relation to the floor and other moving, sensing beings. Contact Improvisation gives the gift of body awareness and sensitivity for your dancing. Some things we might explore are rolling, following through with the flow of the dance, playing with being off-balance, lifting and being lifted...all in the context of sensing from within, maintaining that connection with self that allows a connection with another."

1:30-3:00 Journey Dance - Suzy Spivey
Experience this high-energy movement process—release, shake loose, let go to freedom. Access your inner power, aliveness, and passionate heart. Burst forth with energy, expand freely into space, vibrate with joy and celebrate your life! Rejuvenate body, mind, and spirit in ritual and prayer dance to create the life you want. Access your inner desires and manifest your dreams! All levels are welcome!

Suzy Spivey shares her passion and joy through dance as a Certified Dance Instructor of Journey Dance™, Kripalu Danskinetics™, Shake Your Soul™, Yoga Trance Dance, and Zumba Dance. Committed to helping others live the life of their dreams, Suzy is the Host & Producer of a local access TV show--Daring to Dream™. She also serves others as a Dream Coach and Inspirational Speaker. For more information, visit suzyspivey.com.

1:30-3:00 *The Power of Two* - Olivier Besson
Improvisational partnering is a compassionate dance of reciprocity. How do we surround a dance with space, allowing it to flower in our presence? Through the practice of following and leading one another, we eventually join forces and evolve the traditional duet format into a simultaneous collaborative gesture.

Olivier is on faculty at the dance division of the Boston Conservatory and teaches regularly at Canal Danse (Paris). He has taught and performed in France, Japan, Russia, Taiwan and throughout the US. He continues to run the Movement Improv Jams with Live Music (Cambridge, MA).

3:30-5:00 Salsa Rueda - Daniel Trenner
Rueda (Wheel) is a Cuban partner passing game that gets us started on the basics of Salsa in a fun and relaxed environment. And, we can have multiple circles to accommodate more experienced dancers. So please come; all levels, with or without a partner, teens and adults, and bring dance shoes or socks.

3:30-5:00 Nia - Barbara Niles; kids welcome
Nia offers both traditional fitness benefits (cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, strength, balance, endurance, and relaxation) and more esoteric benefits (concentration, playfulness, self-discovery, creativity, and healing).

Barbara Niles is an expressive body-mind movement and lifestyle practice, embracing fitness and health.

Sunday Events

30 Common St., Watertown

10:00-11:30 Yoga Dancing Rhythms TM - Margaux Skalecki Medicine Dancer
On the mat, we begin with a luscious warm-up to connect to and awaken our inner and outer landscapes. Off the mat, we step into deeper sensations and explorations of the expressive and divine self as while as the performing artist. All levels are welcome; adults and teens. Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Free Style Movement, Roth 5 Rhythms, and Jazz Dance Combination. Bring yoga mat and dancing shoes/feet and extra layers of clothing.

Margaux Skalecki Medicine Dancer, a master facilitator MFA, RYT, Certified 5 Rhythms teacher, Reiki Master, Medium and Shamanic Agent of Change is also the director of Being Seen Being Heard, a multicultural and intergenerational performance ensemble that she created to build bridges to all ages. For 28 years, Margaux has been offering her workshops as pathways to transformation, divine connection, and making dreams come true. Some of these shape shifting workshops are Dance Your Sacred Journey, Ecstatic Vision Quest, Wild Women Dancing the Art of Dream Change, Sweat Your Prayers and Star Dance Rising. For more info please see dancingoutloud.com

12:30-2:30 Community Meeting, with lunch break.
All are encouraged to attend!

Topic for discussion: This is our year of not living dangerously… wearing clothing at DNE summer camp 2008. Creative approaches to non-nudity, how DNE can turn lemons into lemonade.

The DNE community meeting is open and free for anyone, If you have registered for the weekend or not. DNE is a special non- profit organization: our community meetings are a great place to get a taste of DNE governance and how we operate! Both locally and for DNE Summer camp!

3:00-5:00 Dance Church Grooving with Gratitude - Community-Led
Join us for our last event in Watertown after 30 years Dance Friday is moving on. Come move with us. Exploring sacred, transcendent music, letting it take us on our individual and collective journeys and find inner peace, Come raise your spirits, shake your soul, and give thanks!

Our New Home

As you ought to have seen the news about our upcoming move already, to Brookline, and the special Saturday Night Dance Party we had to celebrate it, I wanted to share with you a few photos of that even in our New Home.

We are all just so excited about our transition, that we are moving to Brookline!

As a reminder, beginning June 6, 2008, we will be dancing every Friday in the wonderful space in the Brookline Tai Chi Center, 1615 Beacon St., Brookline MA.

Turnout was good, music and dance were brilliant.


We hope you are as excited as we are about this news.



Enjoy a few photos of the May 3 dance.

Honoring the life of Dale DeSharone

May 9, 2008

The Dance Friday Community invites and welcomes you to remember, honor, and celebrate our dancing friend Dale DeSharone. It was to be his 52nd birthday May 13.


Robyn Vogel will facilitate a special memorial Middle, with our shared stories - and, especially in honor of how he didn't like long middles to sit through - movement in celebration and tribute of Dale's life.

Please bring photos, food, love, poems, and your dancing souls, to share in this evening for Dale. We will have a book to add to, both impromptu and prepared.

David Hero, aka DJ Davoid, will be spinning warm-up and first set, and Mario Taddeo will be spinning second and third sets, selected for celebrating Dale's life, choosing the kinds of music that Dale loved to dance to with us.

May 3 - Saturday Night Dance Party!

Come one come all to the first Dance Friday event in our future Brookline home!

This Saturday, Dance Friday Presents a Special
~~~Saturday Night Dance Party~~~

WE ARE MOVING!!!
Brookline Tai Chi Center, May 3, 2008, 8pm - midnight
1615 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA.
$10 suggested admission
Under 12 free when accompanied by adult

Come celebrate our new space with us!

Music by DJ Alkemi, spinning copious fresh tracks and purely grooval bizness... lighting effects by "The Guy"

Most folks dance barefoot, however, if you need to wear shoes, we request you wear soft-soled dance or indoor shoes only.
Please help us protect the beautiful wood floor and the feet of the barefoot dancers!

(The first official Friday dance is June 6. We will continue dancing in our current location every Friday through May 30th; 30 Common St., Watertown. See website for details. dancefriday.org )

Accessible by T: Opposite Washington Square T stop on C branch
of the Green Line. Bus routes 65, 66, 51 and 86. Check the MBTA schedules
and maps at: www.mbta.com

Detailed Brookline Tai Chi directions are available at:
www.BrooklineTaiChi.com

Parking is available on Beacon Street and surrounding streets.
Meters are free after 6:00pm.

We Are Moving!!!

Yes, Dance Friday is moving!

After a long and exhaustive (and exhausting) search for a new home, we’ve found and are moving to ~
1615 Beacon St, Brookline
in the Brookline Tai Chi Center.

Our first Friday dance in the new location will be June 6.

We will be having a Saturday Night Dance Party May 3, 2008; come celebrate with us! We are so very excited

On May 31, as part of the Boston DNE Weekend, we’ll be dancing there.

Check out and celebrate with us our fabulous new home for the dance! We are MOVING in JUNE! (Our first official Friday night dance is June 6.)

Accessible by subway: Green Line, C, Washington Square stop, diagonally across the intersection. Accessible by busses: 65, 66, 51 and 86. Check the MBTA Schedules and maps at: mbta.com
Detailed Brookline Tai Chi directions are available at: BrooklineTaiChi.com
Parking is available on Beacon Street and surrounding streets.
Meters are free after 6:00pm, until 2am. Unfortunately, this space is not handicap accessible.

More details to come. Watch for them on dancefriday.org, or even better, sign up on the website for all our Announcement and Discussions email lists!

Dance Spree's 30th - DanceAversary! April 25

Celebrate Dance Spree's 30th DanceAversary! April 25th in Noho (Northampton, MA)

For details and our colorful flyer go to: http://dancespree.org/danceaversary.jpg

Dance Spree of Northampton will be 30 this year! The Friday night dance on April 25th will be a "DanceAversary!" Dance Spree will feature DJs from old and new. There will be an extra dance space (the Upstairs Studio) and a Reception space (Imagine Studio) with snacks, dance spree memorabilia, and a chance to see old friends. Events will start at 7:30 and end at 12:30, and there will also be a pot luck reunion brunch at someone's house the next day (details at the registration desk).

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO ANY DANCE SPREE "OLD TIMERS" YOU KNOW OR SEE.

Have any photos of the dance?-- please bring them! If you are not coming think about emailing us a letter with a hello or a memory to share in our memorabilia room (or mail a photo to Linda Tumbarello, 16 Center St #530, Northampton, MA 01060).

CONTACT:

Nancy farnance25@aol.com 413-548-8171 OR
Margie marjodancer@aol.com 413-527-0565

SPONSORED BY Dance Spree (your wonderful DS Coordinators) and the DanceAversary not-so-geriatric organizing group (Tom M., Nancy F., Steve B., Linda T., Rae K. and others too ancient to be named).
More at http://dancespree.org/danceaversary.jpg

Logo Contest!

Calling All Artists - $200 prize for New Logo

Deadline is April 10 - enter soon!!

Dance Friday needs a fresh new logo to use on posters web sites business cards etc. The logo needs to be a unique black and white drawing of dancers and dancing. It should be in an electronic format (i.e. TIFF, PNG, PSD or EPS) which will allow the image to be reproduced in any manner and size needed. High-quality large resolution images are a must (no less than 600 pixels in either dimension).

Submit your entry on or before April 10th. We will choose the one we like best, by consensus, at the April 13 community meeting. Email dancefriday@gmail.com for more details and to submit your artwork.

In order for your drawing to be considered you must be willing to give Dance Friday full and exclusive rights to the use of your drawing. You can, of course, be credited.

May Events

5-3-08
Saturday Night Dance Party
Why: To check out a fabulous potential permanent home for the dance!
Where: Brookline Tai Chi Center, May 3, 2008, 8pm - midnight
1615 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA

More details to come. Watch for them on dancefriday.org, or even better, sign up on the website for all our Newsletters!

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5-9-08
Memorial for Dale DeSharone
Dance Friday, May 9, 2008, 8pm – midnight

The Dance Friday Community invites and welcomes you to remember, honor, and celebrate our dancing friend Dale DeSharone. It was to be his 52nd birthday.

Robyn Vogel will facilitate a special memorial middle, with our shared stories, and - especially in honor of how he didn't like long middles to sit through - movement in celebration and tribute of Dale's life.

Please bring photos, food, love, poems, and your dancing souls, to share in this evening for Dale. We will have a book available for you to add to, both impromptu and prepared. If you have questions, please email dancefriday@gmail.com

---

5-30 to 6-1-08
The Boston DNE Spring Weekend!

Please note: this schedule is subject to change!
• Friday, May 30, Dance Friday, Phillips School 20 Common St., Watertown MA, 8pm - midnight
• Saturday May 31 Workshops, , First Parish of Watertown Unitarian,
• Universalist 35 Church St., 9:30-5:30 pm Workshop Teachers (thus far): Danny Trenner- Salsa, open to all ages; Oliver Besson; Wyoma; Suzy Spivey.
• Saturday May 31, Saturday Night Dance, Phillips School, 30 Common St Watertown Ma. 7:30pm-midnight
• Sunday, June 1, Sunday Workshops and Community Meeting, 30 Common St Watertown Ma. 9:30am-5pm

Please email for work study - Robin Williams robin-w@comcast.net
Also contact Robin if you are interested in catering for this event two lunches and one snack.

Fill out the form below and send registration to: John Voss 91 Beals
St. #2, Brookline Ma. 02446 Make check out to: Movement Collective

For more information, email Robin Williams at robin-w@comcast.net. More info and directions can be found at dancefriday.org. Descriptions will be available on the website and via email.

Dance Friday: sliding scale: $8-12, not included in Weekend fee.

Postmarked before 5-15-08, DNE Members: $54, non-Members: $59;
At the door, Saturday DNE Members: $64, Non-Members: $69.
Saturday night dance only, sliding scale teens: $6-12, adults $12-$16,
Sunday: Community Meeting: free; individual classes - if available: $20; Lunch: $10

Name_________________________ Phone____________

Email___________________________

Address_________________________________________

________________________________________________


I can help set up Saturday evening ______

I need a place to stay overnight_______

I can offer a place to stay overnight_____

I am attending the Sunday meeting _______

If you wish to receive regular notices about dance classes and events and parties in Boston area please join the Dance Friday Newsletter and/or Discussion lists. The subscription feature will be available on the website dancefriday.org. When you subscribe to the Newsletters concerning events at Dance Friday, we expect you will receive no more than 6 mailings about dance events per year.

A last note from Robin:

I have hand-typed email from personal df and dne lists. I may have added you to list in error if so, please email me and I will remove you from this list.

Dancing in community,
Robin

Letter from Leadership and Space Search Committees

Hi All Lovers of Free Dance near and far,

Dance Friday moved September, 2007, to 30 Common Street in Watertown, after the Phillips Church on Mt. Auburn Street closed. The Dance Friday community, in consensus at a Community Meeting, decided we should continue to look for a better space. We are grateful and lucky to have the space we are in now, but we seek your help to locate a wonderful new dance space that we can inhabit for many years.

What we are looking for:

A sprung wood floor: 2500 sq feet or larger, T-accessible; ample storage; top rent $500/night; available 52 weeks a year; child space, because we are the only adult dance in Boston that welcomes children. We need to consider proximity to neighbors (noise late at night) as well as handicap accessibility.

We recently found a space at the Brookline Tai Chi center which meets our requirements: see the invite below to the "Check-Out-The-New-Space- Dance-Party" in the upcoming event notice for 5-3-08! We are also considering some sites in Belmont, Somerville, Newton, and Jamaica Plain, but we still are welcoming as much input as we can get.

All of you, wonderful spirited dancers, have always had a place to dance on Friday nights when you came to the Boston area. Please help us continue this valuable tradition. If you have any contacts or are willing to help us finance building our permanent dream space please contact us at dancefriday@gmail.com.

Thanks. We love you.

Dance Friday LC & Space Search Committee

Roberta W., Guy M., Aileen G-P, Nina G., Rose W., Robert C.

P.S. We recently found a space with some wonderful potential (see upcoming event notice for 5-3-08), but we still are welcoming as much input as we can get.

April Events

4-9-08

Dance Freedom 40th Birthday Celebration
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
11 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA.
More info: http://www.dancefreedom.com

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Help save the VFW Post and welcome social dancing to Belmont!
Even if you’re not a dancer, come out and support the rejuvenation of the VFW post in Belmont. Both the Belmont VFW and local non-profit social dancing are struggling to stay alive.
Kip Gaudet, Post Commander said, “We’re trying to ease the burden of repairs and upkeep of the building by creating a long-term partnership with a tenant that is a compatible non-profit organization. This building will always be the VFW. We are going to keep the place in memory of those who built it – those to whom it truly belongs.”
One of the possible tenants, Dance Friday, is a free style, smoke- and alcohol-free dance, held every Friday night for the past 30 years. Nina Grimaldi, Belmont resident and member of the dance collective said, “This could be the very space the dance community has sought to replace all the wonderful lost spaces over that last several years. What we need is commitment and monetary investment. The space at the VFW is amazing - 3500 square feet of unobstructed potential dance floor. The men who build this place did an amazing job. It is a really sound structure. There is a kitchen, bathrooms with dressing areas, and storage right off the main floor. The place even is handicap accessible. It's on a main bus line that runs late with a bus stop right outside the door! There's also plenty of street parking. I hope the space can be home to Dance Friday and many other social dances such as tango, swing, salsa and contra. I envision this as a great space for all dancers!”

Dance Friday is an event where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can express themselves through movement to music. They offer an atmosphere of acceptance, friendship, and trust. They are the only Boston-area dance to welcome children when accompanied by an adult.

To promote community support, and see if Belmont would welcome such a community, Dance Friday is hosting a Saturday Night Dance Party on April 12, 2008. at the Belmont VFW Post, 310 Trapelo Road, Saturday 8pm-11:30pm. Suggested donation is 10 dollars. They are hoping to raise the much needed capital to improve the space.

For more information, email dancefriday@gmail.com, go to dancefriday.org or call:
617-997-0948

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4-13-08
Dance Friday Community Meeting

Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Home Of Guy M, Arlington, Ma

Potluck Dinner: 6:00; Meeting: 7:00

The community meeting is where all decisions are made by community members. If you have attended Dance Friday, you are a member. This is a chance for your views, opinions, advice, etc. to be heard. Our meetings are run by the formal consensus process which will be explained before the discussion of the agenda items. This meeting will set budgets for the different committees, hear reports from committee members and consider agenda items, review results of space search, discuss the details of possible move to Brookline Tai Chi center, decide to have July 4th dance or not. You may view or add to the meeting agenda which will be posted at Dance Friday.

If you have additional agenda items, please send them to dance.friday@gmail.com Any agenda items not received and posted on the agenda list at the dance later than two weeks prior to the meeting can not be considered at that meeting. We are required by law to post agenda items two weeks in advance.

March Events

3-19-08

See our beautiful and newly renovated, revamped web site dancefriday.org. The site was created by Tim Pyne. Kudos to him!

Join the announcements list to sign up for future Newsletters. We hope you sign up for both announce-only and discussion email lists on the home page of the website, and when you do, you will be sent an invitation to reply to in order to join. The Announcements and Discussion lists’ subscriptions are by moderator approval only, to keep out the spammers.

The Announcement list is accessible only by the moderator to send posts. It is for “official” Dance Friday announcements only.

The Discussion list is for is for personal and dance-related conversation.

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3-21-08
Double Birthday & Happy Spring!
Dance Friday, March 21, 2008 8pm – midnight
Laurie Rosenblaum and Jill Curley's Birthday celebration, and more reason to celebrate – it's the Vernal Equinox!

Help Bring in the Spring! Mareba will be facilitating: Celebrate the New Year of our Earth Home surrounded by the Open-Hearted, Positive and Pulsating Warmth of Y-Our Dancing Community. We are having a Seed Blessing - bring yours for our centerpiece.

Special lighting will be by Guy Minnick and there will be some yummy dessert and snack food.

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3-28-08
Steve Carter, aka DJ D'Joy Birthday Celebration
Dance Friday, March 28, 2008 8pm – midnight
"The day after my 50th birthday... Please bring the gift of your full joyous presence!" Steve will be DJing 1st & 2nd sets, followed by Rockin' Robert Cormier for 3rd set.