Thursday Night Contra Dance in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA 19119
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SPUDS
Third Saturdays at Summit Church
Sliding scale -- pay what you can!
Local bands: $15-$5; *touring bands $20-$8.
Free admission for children 12 and under.
| Aug. 1 | Anne Lutun with other callers |
The Phase Shifters - Jeff Gauthier (whistle, percussion), Ross Harriss (guitar, whistle, tenor banjo), Nathalie Levine (fiddle), Miranda Weinberg (fiddle) |
| Aug. 8 | Jan Alter with other callers |
Allemande - Christopher Germain (fiddle), Heidi Sanders Germain (bass), Greg Loux (guitar), Palmer Loux (fiddle) |
| Aug. 15 | Jim Kitch | George, Max, and Friends - George Wilson (fiddle), Max Cohen (guitar), Molly Hebert-Wilson (bass), Alex Bell (drums) |
| Aug. 22 | Liz Burkhart | Calluna - Eileen O'Grady (fiddle), Gus Cantieni (banjo, mandolin), Jesse Ball (guitar, piano) |
| Aug. 29 | Sue Gola with other callers |
SPUDS - Philadelphia's Phabulous Pickup Band |
| Sep. 5 | Donna Hunt | 
Dave Wiesler and David Knight - David Knight
(fiddle), Dave Wiesler (piano, guitar)(Larks and Ravens will be used for this dance.) |
| Sep. 12 | Anne Lutun with other callers |
Cantabile - Bill Nixon (fiddle), Clare Maher (cello), Adlai Waksman (piano), Kirsten Erwin (flute, whistle) |
| Sep. 19 | Bob Isaacs |
Blue Jersey Contra Band - Frank Ruck (mandolin), Allan Rubin (violin), Ellen Ruck (guitar), Ed Jankiewicz (bass) |
| Sep. 26 | George Marshall | Wild Asparagus - Ann Percival (piano, guitar, vocals), David Cantieni (flutes, whistles, oboe, saxophone, bombard), Becky Tracy (fiddle), George Marshall (concertina, rhythm) |
(Continued in the full calendar)
We dance every Thursday night (except Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) in Mt. Airy at the Commodore Barry Club, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19119 (directions). The Third Saturday Contra Dance is at Summit Church, also in Mt. Airy. We thank the staff of Glenside Memorial Hall for supporting our dances for nearly 20 years.
Sliding Scale Admission
We offer admission to our Thursday night dance on a $15-$5 sliding
scale *($20-$8 for touring bands).
Some guidelines to help you decide how much to pay:
| Local bands | *Touring bands | |
| $15 | $20 | Dance supporter - you make it possible for others to come to our dance. Thank you! |
| $10 | $12 | Dance sustainer - you make our dance sustainable by paying enough to help us meet our costs. |
| $5 | $8 | Basic admission - on a tight budget? You too are a valued member of our community. We're happy you're coming to dance! |
No one is turned away for lack of funds. Ask us about work grants.
Larks and Ravens
As
part of our mission to make contra dancing accessible to anyone who
wants to dance, we are experimenting with non-gendered dance role
terms. On selected evenings, dances will be called using the terms
"Larks" (for the dancers generally on the left,
traditionally the "gents") and
"Ravens" (for the dancers generally on the right,
traditionally the "ladies").
At every dance, we encourage people to dance whichever role(s) they like, and dance with whoever is coming at you!
Tell your friends!
If this is your first time, WELCOME!
"If you
can walk and count to 4, you can contra dance!"
Not your first time? Bring your friends and let them too discover the joy, energy, swirling awesomeness, and just plain fun of contra dancing!
As contra dancers, we need to always be recruiting in order to grow
our dance and have more fun. Now is the time to start talking to that
friend who you think would love to dance with us.
The best way to get people to try something new is to personally ask them: share your love for dancing, bring them early, teach them how to swing, et cetera. The more we grow our dance, the more fun we can all have. Who will you recruit? Will it be someone from work? Someone from your place of worship? Someone from your knitting group or Zumba class? A stranger on the street?
See you and your new dancer friends soon!
Want to Know More?
See Welcome Information for more about the volunteer-run Thursday Night Dance and general information about Contra Dancing. See also the article "Mt Airy Contra, Dancing with your Neighbor" (by Kae Kalwaic, with a video clip). See our contact page to get answers to your questions or to volunteer.
Weather-Related Cancellations
In case of inclement weather please check this website or our Facebook page.SPUDS
The Summit Pick Up Dance Society (SPUDS) is open to all musicians who wish to participate, and has musicians of different levels of ability among its members. Since it is a contra dance band, the tunes range from reels and jigs to waltzes. We play for the Thursday night dance about seven times a year and occasionally for other events. For more information on how you can take part, including jams and rehearsals, visit the SPUDS website or contact SPUDS Coordinators Kim Neubauer and Bill Quern.
Links
Third Saturday Contra Dance at Summit
Church in Mt. Airy
The Seven Day
Dance Guide for links to dances in the Philadelphia region
Ted Crane's
Dance Database
Contra
Dance Links
Germantown
Country Dancers
Mostly Waltz
ContraCopia
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PATMAD
The Thursday Night Contra Dance is sponsored by Philadelphia Area Traditional Music and Dance (PATMAD), a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation that is an affiliate of the Country Dance and Song Society. PATMAD also sponsors the Third Saturday Contra Dance, SPUDS, and Allons Danser. PATMAD's non-profit filings are available from foundationcenter.org.
PATMAD is committed to the safety and comfort of the people who attend the events it sponsors.
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