Thursday Night Contra Dance in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA 19119

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Oct. 31	Dave Rupp with other callers	Raise the Roof - Mat Clark (fiddle, mando), Bob Pasquarello (bass), Judi Stellar (hammered dulcimer), Kathy Talvitie (guitar) (Larks and Ravens will be used after the break.)
Nov. 7	Abigail Hobart	Caravan - Kirsten Erwin (whistles, flute), Ben Kennedy (piano), Thane Glenn (mandolin), Adam Oleksa (fiddle)
Nov. 14	Janine Smith and Susan Taylor	Dead Sea Squirrels - Cathy Mason (fiddle), Henry Yoshimura (guitar), Craig Edwards (fiddle, banjo, mando)
Saturday Nov. 16	Bob Isaacs	Brooklyn Swing Ensemble - Location: Summit Church New start and end time for Third Saturday dances: 7:30 to 10:30 pm
Nov. 21	Jan Alter with other callers	Jovial Beggars - Craig Newberger (hammered dulcimer), Helen Zisook-Speer (fiddle), Jo Anne Rocke (keyboard), Peggy Leiby (recorders & feet), Rachel Hall (concertina)
Nov. 28	NO DANCE - THANKSGIVING
Saturday Nov. 30	CONTRACOPIA - nine hours of dancing, from 2pm to 11pm! Three great bands, three great callers, and waltz breaks! Location: St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church First: Terry Doyle calling to Chimney Swift Second: Michael Karcher calling to Buddy System Third: Maia McCormick calling Larks and Ravens to Larry Unger & Friends Waltz breaks with Bob Pasquarello (piano) and Ellen Tepper (harp)
Dec. 5	Scott Higgs with other callers	SPUDS - Philadelphia's phabulous open band
Dec. 12	Rick Mohr with other callers	TWeLve - Nathalie Levine (fiddle), Miranda Weinberg (fiddle), Kathy Talvitie (piano)
Dec. 19	Jim Kitch with other callers	Grip It & Rip It - Larry Feldman (fiddle), Rich Myers (mandolin), Ed Bonghi (guitar), Mark Schultz (banjo), Ron Greenstein (upright bass)
Saturday Dec. 21	The WINTER COTILLION - 7:30 pm - Location: Summit Church Special event - special pricing Bodacious refreshments - festive dress encouraged! Rick Mohr calling to the music of Cedar Stanistreet, Jesse Ball, and Ness Savedoff-Smith
Dec. 26	Sue Gola with other callers	Instant Ensemble - Roberta Goren (flute), Dave Miller (fiddle), Adlai Waksman (piano)

(Full calendar)

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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.

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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.

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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 to dance with whoever is coming at you!

Role Terms Taskforce and Round Table Discussions

The Role Terms Taskforce is working to guide discussion and identify options for the future. The Taskforce has been hosting round table discussions where community members can learn about, discuss and contribute to the decision about the role terms to be used at our dance. Two discussions took place on October 10 and 24 before the dance.

If you wish to express your views and you are unable to attend either session, please and let us know when and how you would like to participate. We are open to scheduling an additional round table session in November.

(Read more about the Role Terms Taskforce, including a timeline, reasons why and why not to change, discussion and dancers' comments, and the membership vote in March of 2020.)

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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!

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