October

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

An out-of-this-world October

- Ken Gagne
Dugan Murphy shirts

Thank you to everyone who came to our second dance of the season! We barely got in some wonderful dancing in before Hurricane Matthew opened the skies.

Making the trek from Portland, Maine, was Dugan Murphy, a renowned caller who made his Worcester debut. His thoughtful, encouraging beginners' lesson and energetic, diverse calling accommodated a variety of skill levels, making everyone feel welcome.

Musician Jim Fownes last played the Worcester dance in May 2015, but he returned this month in a different configuration alongside his daughter, Kathleen. Together, they form Light Reaction, whose music totally rocked our hall.

Our thanks to everyone who has been generous with our new sliding scale admission fees! Instead of raising the prices, we've counted on your goodwill to allow us to afford such wonderful talent to perform at our dances. Thank you for being such charitable dancers.

On that note: We're always looking for volunteers to help us open and close the hall for each dance! Please email us if you can donate an hour of your time in exchange for free admission.

Kathleen and Jim Fownes of Light Reaction.
This trio was meant to perform together.
Caller Dugan Murphy. You will never meet another caller who sells his own shirts.
The view from up top.
You're out now, but you'll be back in soon!
Welcome, Jess, to your first Worcester contra dance!
Just who does this little one belong to, anyway?
Triple waltz!!

An outstanding October

- Ken Gagne
The Contra Banditos rock the house.

It may have been a long weekend, but dancers who came to Worcester this weekend were in for a treat! After an absence of several years, the Contra Banditos returned to our dance hall, with their six musicians accompanied by the calling of Don Veino. Don's calling gave us the history of each dance, with the dancers once being allowed to choose the difficulty of the next dance. It was a fun and participatory evening.

This month also marked the first time dancers began using our coupons. New this season, first-time visitors to our dance venue receive a coupon to come back for free! We began issuing these invitations in September and were happy to see dancers return in October.

Whether you're new to Worcester or are a familiar face, we look forward to seeing you for our next dance on November 14!

An outrageous October

- Ken Gagne

Our second dance of the season was a rousing success! A huge turnout, including college students new to the area looking for something to do, made for a fun an energetic October contra dance.

For many, the on-stage talent was the draw. Quena Crain from Brattleboro was calling, keeping everyone moving and taking breaks only to waltz. You'll find her calling next on October 19 at the Peterborough Fall Ball.

Providing the tunes for the Worcester dance was the always-energetic Free Raisins, a dynamic trio from Boston consisting of Audrey Knuth on fiddle, Amy Englesberg on piano, and Jeff Kaufman on mandolin, and trumpet. Their CD album sold well at intermission, though it's not too late for you to get yours!

Enjoy these photos from the evening, a selection of which has also been uploaded to Facebook.

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