Kick up your heels as the Prairie Winds Concert Band presents 'Dance!'

Shelby Lindrud, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

Nov. 15—WILLMAR

— While there may not be dancing in the literal aisles, audience members shouldn't be surprised if their feet start tapping and their body sways while they take in the

Prairie Winds Concert Band's

fall concert.

The community band will present "Dance!," featuring dance music from around the world, at 2 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Willmar Education and Arts Center.

Tickets are $10 for adults, while children 18 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

The songs to be performed will introduce the audience to not just different cultures but also various styles of dance. This includes styles such as Polka, square dancing and ballet, and music from countries such as Italy, Brazil, Cuba, just to name a few.

The concert selections include "Italian Polka," composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff around 1906. Rachmaninoff based his composition on the music he heard while traveling in Italy, while "Shepherd's Hey," by Percy Grainger, is based on British folk tunes. "Metamorphic Dances" by Brian Balmages has four movements inspired by the polka, tango, waltz and cakewalk dances. "The Nutcracker Suite" will hit the highlights of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous holiday ballet, while "J.S. Jig" by Brant Karrick mixes the music of Johann Sebastian Bach with an Irish jig.

"Square," by Robert W. Smith, will have the audience tapping their toes, as will "Chicken Chowder" by Irene M. Giblin. And don't forget "Carnaval de Brasil" by Michael Story and the percussion feature "Mambo Cubano" by James Swearingen to add some Latin flair.

The band is conducted by J. Brock Duncan, longtime band director for

Benson School District

.

Prairie Winds Concert Band is a regional community band with a long history in the community. Musicians come from around the Willmar region. It performs several times during the year including in the fall, early spring and for an outdoor summer concert series in Willmar's Rice Park.

The band's mission is to give area instrumentalists a chance to continue playing and performing with a group while providing high-quality live music entertainment for the community during the year.