Housatonic 

Family Contra Dance

This dance series has ended as of 12/18/23.  We hope to try again sometime soon in something like the style of David Kaynor's writing below.

 See you then or out on the dance floor somewhere else.

Can something like this happen at a more child accessible time with maybe a half hour of "newcomers" workshop instead of an hour? The below was written by David Kaynor about the Newcomers Contra Dance that he hosted at the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, MA:

Friday 11/30/2018 is Newcomers' Night at the Guiding Star Grange Hall.   Everyone who takes part in the hour-long introductory dance is invited to dance the *entire 4-hour evening* for free. 

This invitation is both for the newcomers themselves and for the experienced dancers who come to help them develop dance skills and knowledge.  

We start at 7:00 PM and immediately get into dancing to music, moving gradually from the utterly simple to the more complex and subtle.  Because there are important matters to touch on, we'll be doing some talking, as well, but we'll mostly be dancing.

The more experienced dancers we have, the better!  We'll greatly improve our chances of bringing new people and energy into the dance scene if we have a critical mass of happy and hospitable experienced dancers helping create a memorable and irresistible first impression of contra dancing.

For people attending the dance (which starts at 8:00 PM) alone, we invite self-determined, free-will contributions which pay the rent and enable us to go home with some gas money.  $10 is an easy round number, but we want all contributions to feel comfortably affordable for all. 

The core of the big sit-in-welcoming band is Becky Hollingsworth at piano and Ron Grosslein playing lead fiddle.  I'll be calling and playing some harmony fiddle and viola, and our grand Back Row Band will nourish the heart and soul while inciting the feet.

Workshop at 7:00 PM

Main dance 8:00 - 11:00 PM

Join the Dance: Sunday, December 17, 2023 from 3PM-4:30PM

Unitarian Universalist Church, 1089 Main Street, Housatonic, MA 01236

Suggested Donation: $10 per person over age 6. Any proceeds above dance costs are donated 

to the People's Pantry in Great Barrington.