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October Dance 2025

- Carter Brannon
Dereck Kalish, Craig Edwards, Cathy Mason, and Henry Yoshimura after the October 11 Worcester Contra Dance.

The second Worcester contra dance of the 2025-26 series at the Wesley United Methodist Church was held October 11.  Dereck Kalish called the dances to the music of the Dead Sea Squirrels, consisting of Cathy Mason, Craig Edwards, and Henry Yoshimura.

The October dance had a smaller group of 44 dancers, representing a wide range of ages.  It was a particular joy to see children participating, demonstrating the wide range of ages that dancing can appeal to.  

The next Worcester Contra Dance will be November 8, 2025 at Wesley Methodist Church, 114 Main St.  Joy Factor will play the music, and Paul Wilde will call the dances.  As a reminder, our times have changed.  Beginners’ lessons will be at 6:45pm, and the dance will be from 7-10pm.

Dances from the Saturday, October 11, 2025 Dance:

  1. Contra: “Easy Peasy” (Diane Silver)
  2. “Frederick Contra” (Tom Hinds)
  3. Contra: “You Can’t Get There From Here” (Linda Leslie)
  4. Contra: “Get Me Going” (Lisa Greenleaf)
  5. Contra: “To Turn a Page” (Bob Issacs)
  6. Contra: “Tica Tica Time” (Dean Snipes)
  7. Waltz: “Chère joues roses”

Break

  1. Contra: “Rock Creek Reel” (David Harris)
  2. Contra: “Friday Night Fever” (Tony Parkes)
  3. Contra: “United We Dance” (Bob Issacs)
  4. Contra: “Hocus Pocus” (Lisa Greenleaf)
  5. Contra: “20 Below” (Bill Olsen)
  6. Waltz: “Halfway Pond”
Carter Brannon

First dance of the new season – September 2025

- Carter Brannon

After a summer break, Worcester Contra Dance happily returned to Wesley United Methodist Church on Main Street September 13 for our first dance of the 2025-2026 season.  Don Veino called the dances to music played by Accentricity, consisting of Paul Lizotte and Carol Bittenson fiddling, and Debby Knight on piano.

Our Saturday night event had 54 dancers.  Our earlier start time does not seem to have deterred our established regulars, who were ready for another year of dancing.  We also welcomed many new dancers, with caller Don Veino and all the dancers happy to teach and guide.  It is also worth noting the large and growing group of students from Clark University, who continue to bring more and more dancers.

We are looking forward to our next dance, with Dead Sea Squirrels playing and Dereck Kalish calling.  The dance will be Saturday, October 11 at Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main St, Worcester.  As a reminder we have changed the time of our dances this year;  the dance will be 7-10pm, with beginners’ lessons at 6:45.

Dances from the Saturday, September 13, 2025 dance:

  1. Contra: “Greeting”
  2. Circle Mixer: “Trip to Hollywood”
  3. Contra
  4. Contra: “Purple Haze”
  5. Contra: “Pumpkin Spice Madness”
  6. Contra: “Golden Ticket”
  7. Waltz

(Break)

  1. Contra: “Box the Cat”
  2. Contra: “After the Solstice”
  3. Contra: “Matt Just in Time”
  4. Contra: “Old Time Elixir"
  5. Contra: “New World Festival Reel”
  6. Waltz

The two waltz tunes played were “Emma’s Waltz” and “Haapavesi.”

Carter Brannon

A Jumping June

- Ken Gagne

The Worcester contra dance closed its 2018–2019 dance season to the music of Concepdance and the calling of Rich Sbardella! The summer heat was slowly making its presence known, but we remained cool and comfortable with ice cream novelties at break time, alongside traditional snacks of crackers, almond bars, and fruit salad.

Speaking of refreshments, you can always count on us to keep you hydrated — the water flows freely at our dances! But starting in this fall, we're going to be environmentally friendly by asking dancers to bring their own water bottles. We appreciate your support as we seek to eliminate cups from our dances.

Thank you to everyone who made this season a success! We're looking for volunteers to assist with opening the hall and taking admission in the new year. If you're interested, please contact us!

Poetry in motion!
In case he needs to check his Instagram mid-song.
"Three strikes — you're out!!"
Banded together.
Wheeee
.75 of Concepdance!
What's a band without a few strings?
Dancing is fun!
Come on over!
Ken shows the new kid around.
A hall full of fun.
Tickle those keys!
Concepdance!

A jovial January

- Ken Gagne

Mere cold won't keep Worcester's contra dancers away from our annual potluck! With clear skies and no chance of snow, the weather cooperated to make our first dance of 2019 a jovial one. Friends and families started arriving at 6 PM bearing a bounty of stews, salads, cookies, and cakes. After an hour of sharing favorite recipes, caller Tim Van Egmond ushered the satisfied diners onto the dance floor to be taught the basics of contra. Once equipped, the dancers balanced, swung, and danced away to the music of the Berlin Country Orchestra.

Our thanks to everyone who made the night a success! Interested in helping us with future dances in exchange for free admission? Sign up now!

Kiddos being kiddos.
e-music!
Food and dancing!
It's a Kenwich!!

einstein's little homunculus with Dugan Murphy calling

- Ken Gagne

At the Worcester contra dance, April showers held off long enough for us to enjoy einstein's little homunculus, a regular fixture at our June dance but coming to us early this season. The five-part band kept everyone moving with their lively music and variety of instruments.

Our calling was provided by Portland, Maine's own Dugan Murphy, completing a three-day contra-calling tour that took him to Concord and Greenfield. His final stop saw him introducing many newcomers to the pastime of contra, while veterans enjoyed the combined kinetic calling and music.

Woo-hoo!
Einstein's Little Homunculus!
Down the hall and back!
Jeremy and Geoffrey discuss how to split the evening's take.
Dela offers a private beginner's lesson.
The front and back of the dance hall!
Stealing snacks at halftime.
Long lines, forward and back!
A backstage pass to elh!
Calling by Dugan Murphy!

We still have two dances left in the season, so please join us on May 12 for the music of Julie Metcalf & Mark David Buckles, with Dereck Kalish calling!

Remembering Linda Leslie

- Ken Gagne
Linda Leslie
Linda Leslie

It is with heavy hearts that we let the Worcester contra dance community know of the passing of caller Linda Leslie on February 11, 2018.

Linda has called the Worcester dance many times in the past decade and was scheduled to call again this June. We wish with all our might that we could see her again on our dance floor.

The family has shared a tribute on Facebook, and we are forwarding the below email from Chris Ricciotti.

Read more

A jocular June

- Ken Gagne

Thank you to everyone who joined the Worcester contra dance this season! It was such a joy to share the music and calling of our bands and callers with so many wonderful dancers, both new and veteran. And what a wonderful way to end the season with einstein's little homunculus and Don Veino!

Stealth shot of caller Don Veino.
LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU
Grand music from elh.
An eclectic band.
Merch! Only $10 per CD.
Balance!
Committee members extraordinaire. (ALL committee members are extraordinary!)
Funky lighting.
Spin, spin!
einstein's little homunculus!
Blow, baby, blow.
It's-a-me!
Sit back and relax, enjoy the show!
LIVE FROM WORCESTER
Inception.
Rockin' & rollin'!
Hey, Ken!
Here comes Peter!
Wheeee!
There are many ways to swing!
Go, Jenny, go!
It's Don!
So happy together.

Our next dance is September 9 — but you don't need to wait until then to get your dance fix! Nearby Rutland will be picking up our slack with two Saturday dances on June 17 and July 15, 8–11 PM. That first dance is less than a week away and features the calling of Tod Whittemore from Connecticut. Joining him will be Julie Metcalf and friends, whose music is sure to delight us all.

The dance will be held at the Finnish Heritage Society on Finn Park Road in Rutland. Admission is $10 per adult and $5 per student.

For more details, visit the website or RSVP on Facebook.

See you in Rutland this weekend and in Worcester this fall. Have a happy and safe summer in between!

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