October Dance 2025

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”

A mirthful May

The penultimate dance of Worcester's contra dance season was a happy and lively one, thanks to the calling of Dereck Kalish and the music of Chimney Swift. Dereck is a regular caller in Worcester, pairing his powerful sound system with talented and enthusiastic calling that accommodates all skill levels. Chimney Swift, a relatively new band from Boston, made their Worcester debut, bringing a rarely seen accordion and some fine vocal accompaniment to our musical scene. Despite some hiccups with the facilities, everyone had a wonderful time.

Expect to see and hear these performers at future Worcester dances. In the meantime, get ready for our June dance, featuring einstein's little homunculus and Don Veino!

A merry May

Could we have asked for a more rocking spring? Our May contra featured three musicians making their Worcester debut: Jim Fownes, Julia Plumb, and Ness Smith-Savedoff, aka the Rock Ness Monster. This particular configuration had never played together before, but you'd never know it from the amazing music they put out! Their music was all the livelier with the sound system provided by Dereck Kalish, a familiar caller on the Boston dance scene who was also making his Worcester debut.

Our thanks to everyone who made this month so merry. Join us in June for the last dance of the season before we take the summer off!

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