PORT ANGELES — Community contra dances — open to beginners as well as experienced dancers of all ages — begin again at the Black Diamond Community Hall, 1942 Black Diamond Road just south of town, this Saturday.
“We are having an extra-special contra dance event,” said co-organizer Elizabeth Athair, “to start our new season off, with two afternoon classes and a potluck,” all with visiting dance caller David Kaynor of Massachusetts.
Kaynor will give a class titled “How to Call a Contra Dance” from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and then a two-hour fiddling class starting at 3 p.m. Each session will cost $10.
To sign up and find out more, phone organizer Tom Shindler at 360-457-5667. More about Kaynor’s offerings, meantime, awaits at DavidKaynor.com.
Then comes the potluck at 5:30 p.m. at the community hall. That should fuel everybody up for the main event: the dance, with 15-year-old fiddle player Kate Powers and the Powerhouse family band.
It all starts with a beginners’ dance workshop and refresher at 7:30 p.m., so dancers have a chance to learn or remember the steps for contra, a progressive style not unlike square dancing.
Once the workshop is done, the Powerhouse sextet will get going at 8 p.m. with old-time, Scottish and Irish tunes plus “In the Mode,” a Kate Powers original.
“Dancers at Black Diamond are extremely nice to meet and dance with,” Powers said, adding that you don’t need a partner to get out there. “You can always sit back and watch the band; that’s fun too,” she said.
Admission to the community contra dance is $8 for adults and $4 for those ages 17 and younger. More information can be found at blackdiamonddance.org.
