Seattle Folk Dancing   Contra

Emerald City Contra

All dances taught.
No partner necessary.
Light, comfortable clothing recommended.
Please refrain from wearing cologne, perfume or other strongly scented products. Thanks!

We recently refinished our wonderful bamboo floor. Please treat it kindly by bringing a clean pair of shoes to change into or cleaning your shoes before entering the hall. Thanks to everyone who helped us pay for and build the floor. See photos of the installation.

• July 11 - Group du Jour features three veteran musicians who know how to play a classic Quebecois beat guaranteed along with savory melodies of French Canada. It's Clyde Curley on fiddle, David Cahn on accordion, and Bill Meyer and piano. Tom and Amy Wimmer split the calling duties.
• July 18 - Wild Hair features Betsy Branch's swinging fiddle, Todd Silverstein's whistle/bouzouki/sax arsenal, Mark Douglass' syncopacious piano, and Jeff Kerssen-Griep's percussive guitar drive. Their repertoire of music includes exciting Northern & Southern tunes selected for fun, groove, and swerve. Tony Saletan calls.
• July 25 - Atlas String Band - Tom Collicott (guitar), David Parker (mandolin), Morgan John (banjo), Paul Tolo (fiddle), Carmen Ficarra (bass). Old-time melodies jump from the fiddle and mandolin. Guitar, banjo, and bass provide rhythm and round out the rest of the music. Mike Schuh calls.
• August 1 - Dale Russ (fiddle) and Mike Saunders (guitar). A master Irish fiddler noted for his power and grace teams up with an equally masterful guitar player. Mike Richardson calls.
• August 8 - Flootie & the Bowfish consists of Craig Shaw on flute, Matti Mero on guitar & mandolin, Steve Sutlief on bass, Joe Grote on fiddle, and Melissa Coffey on whistle, flute, & fiddle. They play eclectic contra tunes with focused fiddle and a melange of spicy winds (flutes, whistles, fifes), all tied together by the beat of guitar, bass, and sometimes bodhran. Hal Mueller calls.
• August 15 - Open band benefit dance. Cathie Whitesides leads musicians. Bring an instrument and take a turn on the stage as well as the dance floor. Laura Me' Smith calls.
• August 22 - Cascade Crossing (Carl Thor - piano, hammered dulcimer, and drum, Rich Goss - guitar, mandolin, and percussion, Sarah Goss - bass, whistle, and oboe, Lori Shaffer – fiddle, Lori Prime – fiddle). They play music influenced by styles across the spectrum, such as baroque and southern fiddling. You'll dance to traditional and original tunes played with a light touch, or with high energy, something in between, or maybe something completely different. Marlin Prowell calls.
• August 29 - Chordwood consists of Cathy Britell on bass and autoharp, Eric Hardee on hammered dulcimer and mandolin, Gene Silberberg on fiddle, Al Roehl on guitar, and Jean Brendecke on banjo. A varied sound of melody and rhythm, with some bass that fills the hall completely and a hammered dulcimer that adds some ringing sustain to the melody. They play some tunes with a strong melody and some simpler melodies with a solid beat. Miche Baker-Harvey calls.
• September 5 - Avant Gardeners with guest Dave Bartley. That's Laura Light (fiddle), George Paul (piano, accordion), and Dave (guitar) playing original and traditional tunes for every mood. Light and swingy, fluidly jazzy, percussive, syncopated... they do it all.