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"Serving the South Bay area..." Olympia Contra Dance

What is Contra Dancing?

Contra is community-oriented social folk dancing to live music. It's lively, joyful, welcoming, modern, traditional, and fun! No partner or experience is needed to have a great time, so we hope to see you on the dance floor!


The Details

When:

Our dances are typically held on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month.

  • Lesson: for new dancers: 7:00 pm.
  • Dance: 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm

Ways to stay connected and learn about upcoming dances:

Cost: Sliding scale $10-25 (NOTAFLOF). We prefer cash (so we can easily pass it along to the performers), but also accept checks and online payment forms using your smart phone.

Role terms: Our callers typically use non-gendered role terms (larks and robins) to identify the two dance roles. There are many resources describing these role terms; here is one collection of Q&As on role terms gathered by another dance organization.

Health: Well-fitting masks are encouraged and provided, but not required. We strongly encourage dancers to do all that they can to take care of their own health and the health of those around them. For those who can, this could mean staying up to date on all available vaccinations (Influenza, COVID, etc.), wearing masks, and staying home when sick. Full COVID protocols here.

Where: Dances are held at the South Bay Grange at 3918 Sleater Kinney Rd NE, Olympia, WA 98506. There is a gravel parking lot just to the south of the building along Sleater Kinney and you are welcome to use the school parking lot across the street.

Community: contra dancing is not just about dancing to great music, it's also about being part of a safe, supportive, and inclusive community. Check out our community standards and code of conduct. Use our feedback form to share any suggestions or requests, or to let us know if something happened that made you feel uncomfortable.

Who: Since dancing restarting in 2021, these contra dances have been hosted by a committee of the South Bay Grange and countless volunteers. Contact us: SBGrangeEvents@gmail.com;mailto or anonymous feedback form.

  • Archive Feb 24, March 9
  • Add: April 13, 2024: Hayden and Patrick with Amy Wimmer calling! The band is Hayden Stern (fiddle) and Patrick Gunning (guitar).
  • Add: April 27, 2024: Riffraff with Shannon Horst calling! The band is Lindon Toney (fiddle), Evo Toney (fiddle), and Jesse Partridge (guitar).
  • Add: May 11, 2024: Olympia Volunteer String Band with William Watson calling! The Olympia Volunteer String Band is conducted by Jesse Partridge. This event is a benefit for the South Bay Grange.

    Upcoming Dances

    Friday, March 22, 2024: Squares and Lines, an evening of contra and square dancing at the Grange! Live music from One Dollar Whiskey (Brian Lindsay, Penka Jane Culevski, and Alex Sturbaum), with contra dances called by Lindsey Dono and square dances called by Suzanne Girardot.

    Saturday, March 23, 2024: Contra Quartet with Valerie Cohen calling! The band is Jay Finkelstein (guitar), Steve Cifka (cello), Julie Bennett (percussion), and Jesse Partridge (fiddle).

    April 13, 2024: Hayden and Patrick with Amy Wimmer calling! The band is Hayden Stern (fiddle) and Patrick Gunning (guitar).

    April 27, 2024: Riffraff with Shannon Horst calling! The band is Lindon Toney (fiddle), Evo Toney (fiddle), and Jesse Partridge (guitar).

    May 11, 2024: Olympia Volunteer String Band with William Watson calling! The Olympia Volunteer String Band is conducted by Jesse Partridge. This event is a benefit for the South Bay Grange.

    Add our upcoming dances to your Google Calendar (you must be logged into a Google account)


    Past Dances

    2024 contra dances

    2023 contra dances

    2022 contra dances

    2021 contra dances

    COVID exposure tracking results

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    Updated 2024/03/18 11:28:56

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