Emerald city

(Last update: April 19, 2026)

 

Emerald City Contra Dance

with the Seattle Folklore Society present

Contra dancing nearly every Friday night at the

Phinney Neighborhood Center

6532 Phinney Avenue North, Seattle (98103)

 

in the Community Hall of the brick building, near the lower parking lot

 

Beginner’s workshop at 7:00 pm. Dance from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

We no longer require masks while dancing – however, we still encourage you to wear them if you can.  We still require you to sign a registration form (for contact tracing) and waiver upon entry.  If you have attended a dance elsewhere, you’ll still need register at this dance as well.

We also recommend that you keep up-to-date with vaccinations. We may reinstate mask and vaccination requirements at a later date, if  COVID conditions change or we receive more reports of illness within the community.
– As always, we suggest you check Public Health – Seattle & King County for more information about COVID.
– For information about COVID practices and cases from earlier dances, check here.

Admission prices (cash, check or Venmo only):
– Sliding scale $10-$20.
– Students $5 with a school ID.
– Free for people under the age of 16.

Admission limited to 125 people. This total includes paying & non-paying dancers, children, and adults acting like children.

If this is your first contra dance ever you’ll get a coupon for free admission to your next dance.
Coupon redemption limited to first five coupons on any single night.

Follow us on Facebook. There’s a Lost and Found “Featured” file on that page where you can find items that you left behind at the dance.

 

Please help the PNA achieve their sustainability goals. Consider carpooling, walking, biking, or riding the bus to the dance. If you drive, please park in the PNA parking lots.

All dances taught. No partner necessary.
Light, comfortable clothing recommended.
Please join us without perfumes, colognes, aftershave, scented lotions, etc.

 

More information for dancers.
Information for bands and callers.
Past caller set lists.
Bands and callers: please contact us at ECContraDance@Gmail.com

For information not already posted here: 206-440-9839 or ECContradance@Gmail.com

Enough of the suggestions, disclaimers, and notifications. Here is what you really want to know…

Callers will use the terms “larks” and “robins” for dance roles.

  • April 24 – The Baby Corns is Hayden Stern (fiddle), Vienna Scheyer (fiddle), and Rosie O’Neil (guitar) .  Craig Wolfe  and Marshall Gould call.
  • May 1 – Riffraff: Evo Toney on fiddle, Jesse Partridge on guitar or piano, and another musician to be named later.  Hannah Chamberlain calls.
  • May 8 – Raccoon Carnival is a Seattle-area large band (or small orchestra) led by fiddler & music teacher Sarah Comer.  Dance to well-arranged classic tunes and maybe some surprise tunes as well.  Kelsey Hartman calls.
  • May 15 – The Star Charters are Cecilia Vacanti, Mark Price,  and Jess Newman.  With Cecilia and Jess on fiddle and Mark holding down rhythm on guitar, they bring lyrical twin-fiddle harmonies and joyful, off-the-cuff improvisation to complement their technical prowess and a rock-solid groove.  Annie Kidwell calls.

  • May 22 – No dance here.

    Go to Northwest Folklife for 4 days of music, dance, food, & discoveries.  (You’ll find us there.)
  • May 29 – Raven and Goose is Corwin Zekley on fiddle and Grace Fellows on piano.   Corwin plays with intensity yet delicacy, with eclectic musical roots in Celtic, jazz, country, & metal.  Grace grew up playing traditional music on fiddle, and in recent years has become a powerhouse contra-pianist with a potent sense of rhythm.  Qwill Duvall calls.
  • June 5 – GinSu graces the stage: Marni Rachmiel (woodwind & woodwind-like instruments), Claude Ginsburg (fiddle), and Dave Bartley (guitar & guitar-like instruments).  Sherry Nevins calls.
  • June 12 – Bison Socks: Elise Snoey (fiddle), Vienna Scheyer (fiddle), and Rosie O’Neil (guitar).  Victoria Fox calls.
  • June 19 – Hayden Stern on fiddle, Ezra Jane Landsman on guitar, and Dana Christie bass.  Shannon Horst calls.
  • June 26 – River Road is Sarah-Hadley Yakir (fiddle), Jesse Ball (guitar & guitar-like instruments), and Kristen Planeaux (keyboard).  They deliver beauty, power, and groove to contra dances with a mixture of contemporary and traditional tunes influenced by Quebecois, New England, & maritime traditions.  Isaac Banner and Liz Nelson call.
  • July 3 – Sweet Potato is Rosie O’Neil on guitar, Alex Sturbaum on accordion (and maybe other instruments), Hayden Stern on fiddle.  Susan Michaels calls.
  • July 10 – Leah Wollenberg, Alex Sturbaum, and Ida Hoequist are Chance.  Anchored by Leah’s driving and dancing fiddle, Ida’s smooth-as-glass woodwinds, and Alex’s powerhouse rhythm guitar, the sound of this trio draws inspiration from a wide array of sources: traditional and contemporary Celtic music, as well as the folk music of England, Sweden, and Newfoundland.  You’ll dance to tender waltzes, mighty jigs and reels, and the occasional full-throated labor song – a sound rooted in tradition and firmly of the moment. Listen to their music here.  Ali Webb calls.
  • July 17 – To be determined
  • July 24 – The Electrodes are Joe Bowbeer on electric fiddle, Joe Micheals on guitar, and Marcy Kubbs on piano.
  • July 31 – PajamaJam: Rosie O’Neil on guitar and Cayley Schmid on fiddle.  Jesse Partridge calls.
  • August 7 – Oliver Scanlon and Rose Jackson.  Koren Wake calls.
  • August 14 – Contra Quartet is Jesse Partridge (fiddle), Jay Finkelstein (guitar), Steve Cifka (cello), and Julie Bennett (percussion). You’ll dance to fluid melodies, solid rhythm, and harmony that holds it all together.
  • August 21 – Condor Sutra: Hayden Stern on fiddle, Dave Bartley on guitar &related instruments, and Marni Rachmiel on Aerophone & flute.  Otho Sandwick calls.
  • August 28 – Alex Sturbaum & friends
  • September 4 – 3 Guitars: Dave Bartley, Ezra Jane Landsman, Alex Sturbaum on… guitars.  Eric Curl and Ben Douglas call.