Indianapolis Contra occasional announcement

[Kathryn C. Millis]

This is your "once in a blue moon" email about contra dance and
related events around Indianapolis. First up, a reminder to always
carry in a pair of clean, soft soled shoes that won't mark or scratch
the floor. You want them to be smooth too, so that even on a humid
night you won't stick to the floor.

On top of dancing every Tuesday between now & Christmas Eve, 7:45 -
9:45 p.m. Eastern Time, we have a number of special events, shown here
in chronological order. This is only a sample of our plans:

Tuesday, July 30th, special band Dot Dot Dash, with guest drummer
Kevin Anderson, play while Ken Gall calls. I saw a great video of
Kevin a few months ago, doing body percussion for a school group.
Can't find it now, so I can't share it, but I really think Tuesday
will feature great music! Here's a video featuring the band without
Kevin: http://youtu.be/2P3boW6uZ5Q Note the crowd. How close can we
come to that kind of turnout on Tuesday?

Ken starts the evening at 7:20 with a workshop on contra corners!
Please come if you've found these confusing, and please tell any board
member about anything you'd like coved in one of our brief workshops.
An investment of 10 - 20 minutes can really result in more dance fun
for everyone.

Thursday, August 15th we have a special contra at the Indiana State
Fair, featuring music by Troika. That day there's free admission for
AAA members, and we have a few passes available for dancers. This 7 -
9 p.m. dance is in addition to our Tuesday dance that week.

August 20 & 27, the weeks before and after Sugar Hill, we have guest
callers Kristin Seibert and Brian Hamshar.

September features Open Band on the 3rd. If you have any musician
friends, please invite them to come try it. This is for amateurs, so
they needn't feel like they're ready to be a headline band, just ready
to sit on the stage & play with friends. Any instrument is welcome,
and if they bring a new vibe from experience playing salsa, big band,
or classical, well, great! We need new folks there about 7:15 so we
can set up the right chairs, audio equipment, etc., and go over the
not so secret signals that mean things like "one more time."

We have Open Calling on the first Tuesday of odd numbered months, Open
Band on the first Tuesday of even ones.

On September 10th, the Contrarians play while North Carolina's Jack
Mitchell calls. Here's the band about a year ago:
http://youtu.be/UtweJFIEgXM

Gypsy Moon Ball, featuring Gaye Fifer & Dugan Murphy, Coffee Zombies &
Cocks of the North with Pokey, is Friday - Sunday, October 18 - 20.
We'll dance to, I think, about midnight both nights, and have a
Saturday of workshops, contras, advanced contras, & theme contras, and
then Sunday waltzing and contra roughly 10 to 3. Details as they firm
up can be found at http://www.indycontra.org/?page_id=1989

"Pokey," fyi, is a very, very popular drummer who livens up every
event he plays. Not that the rest of the bands is chopped liver.

We need local dancers to help by housing guests, bringing snacks,
decorating and cleaning up the hall, sweeping, staffing the admission
table, and tending the food & water. Free or reduced admission is
available for folks who do some of this.

A few last, not exciting things:

This year both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are on Tuesdays, so we
won't dance.

Due to increased costs we've raised the price of admission to our
dances. (We do provide free parking & as you may know, Indy now
charges for parking to about 9 p.m.) Regular admission is now $7, $4
for those under 25, and $5 for members. When we have a visiting band
or caller we generally raise that $1 to help cover the extra costs.
(We offer free or reduced admission to regular dances in exchange for
setup/cleanup, and staffing the door, so talk to any board member.)
Membership, just $15/year, is really a bargain.

Clean, smooth, non-marking shoes! Not like we want to say it
repeatedly, but a nearby dance group has lost their venue due to
damage to the floor. We don't want that to happen to us!

Friends who don't dance are always welcome to come try it, or just
listen to the music. Please make sure they arrive in time for the 7:30
intro to contra. Covering basics (partner, neighbor, musical phrases)
then instead of during the walk throughs makes everybody happier.

Other info, including the schedule, videos, membership forms, and
links to nearby dance communities, is on our website, IndyContra.org

Also, feel free to send questions to IndyC...@gmail.com, or to call
us at (317) 759-4863.

Hope to see you soon,

--
Kathryn