Kirston Koths (1948-2024)

The year was 1980 when Kirston Koths (1948–2024) moved to the Bay Area. A new caller from Boston, he started a 2nd Friday contradance in Berkeley. Contradance was new to the area—the only regular dance was in Palo Alto. BACDS did not yet exist, and when it formed Kirston became member #2.

Kirston organized, managed, and called his Berkeley dance for 25 years, eventually asking BACDS to take it on. By then contradancing was flourishing in the Bay Area, with dances in Palo Alto, San Francisco, Mill Valley, Santa Cruz, and many nearby cities. Contradancing took hold in the Bay Area, as in much of the country  due to the efforts of the early organizers, and Kirston was one of them.

Kirston wrote at least a dozen dances. “Nantucket Sleigh Ride,” with its distinctive dip-and-dive figure, was wildly popular in the ’70s in New England. His most memorable West Coast dance, is “Triskaidekaphobia”.  Triskaidekaphobia means "fear of the number 13" - since Kirston's dance was held on the 2nd Friday of the month, it often would occur on Friday the 13th.

A memorial celebration & dance was held at the Hillside Club in Berkeley on Friday December 13 (of course!) 2025.  The attached material was collected as part of that celebration; much of it appeared on the Discussion page of the Facebook event.

• Flyer for "Triskaidekaphobia – a celebration of caller Kirston Koths" (PDF)

• Kirston's dances

• Photos

• Timeline

• The 2nd Friday Contra - 10 years of Amazingly Good Fun (PDF) - article by Kirston. Bay Area Country Dancer Issue #26, Summer/Fall 1990.

• Remembrances

• Other Interests & Accomplishments