Palo Alto: 3/26 Eric Black with Mercury Rising

newcomers’ welcome/intro at 7:30

Talent: Eric Black with Mercury Rising - fiddler Lee Anne Welch, pianist Ruth Anne Fraley, and guitarist/luthier Topher Gayle

Joyce Fortune will be managing and Karl Franzen is on sound.
Susan Goodis is our food diva.

Prices: Supporter: $15; Non-member: $10; Member: $8 Student/Low-income: $5; or pay what you can!

Palo Alto Contra is in need of volunteers to join the group of managers. Email back if you are interested in giving back to the community by managing a dance once a quarter – it involves coming early and staying late, doing a little accounting and delegating tasks to helpful volunteers.

Potluck Table

We have a potluck snack table open at the break. You are invited (but not required) to bring something yummy to share. Fresh fruit and savory low-calorie snacks are especially appreciated. Please prepare your food ahead of time so it is ready to go straight onto the table. You can also contribute to the donations for food and supplies if that is easier. (It helps us pay for cups and napkins!)

Lost and Found

If you think you’ve lost an item at PA contra, ask the manager or contact FUM directly.

Be A Thoughtful Dancer!

Many dancers have injuries to wrists, shoulders or other areas of the body. Some don’t like to twirl and others have their own plans for the dance. Be gentle when leading – offer (don’t force) a twirl or other embellishment, fast spin or dip. Take “no” for an answer and respect other dancers’ needs and desires!

A Word About Gender Roles

Country dancing lends itself to flexibility about gender roles. Although we call the roles “gents” and “ladies,” all dancers dance either role and same-sex couples (and LGBT singles) are very welcome. Like many dances, the Palo Alto Contra dance sometimes is skewed in the direction of more men or more women. We encourage all dancers to learn both gender roles and especially encourage experienced dancers to take the opposite gender role, if needed, so that newcomers can learn to dance the traditional role first. Also, we support everyone’s choices to dance either or both roles and realize that sometimes people even switch back and forth. Dancers who choose to dance a non-traditional role or swap roles are asked to be aware of other dancers’ possible confusion. All dancers should remember to dance with the position, not the person.

Pre-Dance Jam Session 5:30-7:30 at First United Methodist Church – Room 250 (The Rainbow Room)

Come have some fun and develop and amplify your skills with musicians of all levels. Various jams will highlight styles such as Old-Time, Contra, Irish, Celtic, English, and perhaps Blues, Broadway and Jazz.

How You Can Help

It takes a village to raise a dance. Here’s how you can help:
• Volunteering to coordinate putting away chairs and cleaning the floor after a dance (email back)
• Coming 1/2 hour early to help out with the newcomers’ introduction or dance setup
• Sitting out one dance at the door so the manager can dance (sign up when you arrive)
• Staying late to help clean up in the kitchen or put away sound or manager gear
• Joining the group of food managers who keep our tummies happy and the kitchen clean (email back)
• Joining the programming committee – it’s a great way to learn about bands and callers and have a say in which callers and musicians come to Palo Alto Contra (email back)
• Volunteering to help out with organizing, managing, or publicity (email back)
• Learning to do sound (email back)

How to support our newcomers

Newcomers are vital to PA contra…. they keep the dance going by coming and bringing friends and they have great energy and enthusiasm. We can support them by making sure that they have strong partners, watching to see that they are invited to join each dance and also by not overwhelming them with too much information. Encourage them to not worry and just have fun and tell them that you remember being new, too!

A Fragrance-Free Environment

We attempt to minimize artificial fragrances at BACDS events because some of our dancers are affected by these chemicals, which make it hard for them to dance. Please refrain from wearing perfume or other unnecessary scents and if you bring friends, it’s great if you can ask them to do so also.

Notable Upcoming Events

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Sunday, April 3- San Jose Contra – – First Unitarian Church of San Jose, 160 3rd St, San Jose, 2:30pm – Celia Ramsey with Whimsicla (Janette Duncan, Regan Hemphill, Beth Christian, Roxanne Oliva, Debra Tayleur)

Thursday, April 7 – The Syncopaths, a popular contra dance band, will be doing a house concert in Santa Clara – email SantaClaraHouseConcerts@yahoo.com for more information.

Sunday,May 1 – San Jose Contra – – First Unitarian Church of San Jose, 160 3rd St, San Jose, 2:30pm – Alan Winston calling with band George Paul/Ben Schreiber

Sunday, June 5 – San Jose Contra – – First Unitarian Church of San Jose, 160 3rd St, San Jose, 2:30pm – Celia Ramsey with Fresh Possum (Ben Schreiber & Daniel Steinberg)
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