The Pittsburgh Contra Dance is MOVING! First dance at new location: Friday, July 21st (and all subsequent dances)
Location: Winchester Thurston School 555 Morewood Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Parking lot, more room to dance and grow as a community, air conditioned hall, and bus access (82, 77, 75, 71A, 71C, 71D, East Busway). Questions? Give us at call at (412) 945-0554
Our super-fun Pittsburgh Family Contra Dance welcomes people of all ages, no experience necessary!
Dates: Friday August 18, Friday September 29, Friday October 13, Saturday November 25
Cost: $5 per person or $10 per family
Time (New!): 6:30-7:30 p.m
Place (New!): Winchester Thurston School, 555 Morewood Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Come learn contra while you dance to live music by the Music Makers and expert calling by Pittsburgh’s own Gaye Fifer. Have a snack after dancing. And if you’d like to stay, enjoy free admission to our regular weekly dance at 8. This is a great chance for older kids (and parents!) to try more challenging figures while little ones play.
News from the Community Meeting: We’re moving?! We’re moving! At our June community meeting we discussed many important things such as what we’ve accomplished over the last year, volunteer roles, and mostly about our need to find a new venue and our research thus far.
We have been looking into moving dance venues for some time now to make the dance more accessible to people who do not have cars and to address parking issues. After much research, and feedback from the community meeting we have decided to move our weekly Friday night dances to Winchester Thurston (555 Morewood Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213). We are very excited to be making this move this summer (more details coming soon about when). There’s a great dance floor (with room for our community to grow), a great connection with the school, accessibility by bus and location near the Universities, a parking lot, and lots more! Keep your ears open for more details coming soon. If you have any questions give us at call at (412) 945-0554 or email us at info@pittsburghcontra.org.
Do you want to know more about calling contra dances? Do you want to help people learn about calling contra dances?
This form is to collect interest in a callers group in Pittsburgh. This is not a fixed-length class, and there is no particular commitment required. Based on the people who respond, we will organize one or more introductory sessions, and the group can evolve from there based on people’s interests and goals.
If you want to learn more about calling, let us know. You don’t have to have any particular goal or commitment level. We’ll try to organize opportunities for people at any level. If you are a caller and want to offer to mentor folks or lead practice sessions or one-off workshops, let us know that too.
Bronwyn will be coordinating the initial collection of interest and the first meeting or two, and after that this will be a group effort and will go in whatever direction works for the people involved.
Help spread the word about our dance! Like us on Facebook, or join our Meetup.com group. You can also RSVP to dances on these sites to help organize with other dancers for shared rides or coordination with your friends.
Save the date for the 2017 Pittsburgh Fall Dance Weekend!
November 10-12, 2017.
This year, as always, we have an amazing lineup of bands and callers. Lisa Greenleaf and Sarah VanNorstrand call to the music of the Stringrays and the Ripples!
We’ve been organizing family dances through the school year, and they have been great fun! Doors open at 5:45pm, dancing runs from 6 to 7pm. There is an optional potluck at 7pm, and attendees are invited to stay for the evening contra dance afterward. This is a great chance for big kids (and parents!) to try more challenging dances.
The family dance welcomes people of all ages, no experience necessary! Family dances are listed on our main event calendar, or you can download this flyer to reference or print. We hope to see you and your family on the dance floor!
There are upcoming dances on January 6th, February 3rd, March 3rd, April 7th and May 5th.
The Pittsburgh Contra Dance Network is 100% volunteer run. Volunteers sit at the desk to welcome dancers, come early to set up, stay late to clean up, help with the sound, and much more. Would you like to become one of these volunteers? We will work with you, your skills, and your availability to determine how your skills can best support our community. Have new ideas? We’re always open and welcome new ideas- so please share with us!
Please fill our this volunteer form: https://goo.gl/forms/tQLx2H0loGYKqwBB3
Or email info@pittsburghcontra.org directly.
We’d love for all of you to attend as many dances as possible. A full dance hall is great for everyone — the band, the caller, experienced dancers and brand-new beginners all benefit from a bunch of nice long lines full of people like you.
With that in mind, we are delighted to announce the Pittsburgh Contra Dance Season Pass!
Starting today, season passes will be available for $120.This is very nearly half-price for a full season of dancing – the 6th of January through the 19th of May (20 dances). You can sign up at any Friday dance, or sign up online by following this link — not only is this is very nearly half-price for a full season of dancing, it’s also a great way to show support for the community!
We’d love for all of you to attend as many dances as possible. A full dance hall is great for everyone — the band, the caller, experienced dancers and brand-new beginners all benefit from a bunch of nice long lines full of people like you.
With that in mind, we are delighted to announce the Pittsburgh Contra Dance Fall Season Pass! Sign up for a season pass and gain unfettered access to every weekly Friday contra dance in our fall season, September 9 through December 31. As a season pass holder, you’ll also receive two single-use guest tickets (to help you spread the joy of contra), and a personalized “Seasoned Dancer” name-button.
Starting this Friday, July 8, season passes will be available for $100. You can sign up at any Friday dance, or sign up online by following this link — not only is this is very nearly half-price for a full season of dancing, it’s also a great way to show support for the community!
