Tacoma Contra Dance, with Bandwidth and Nyckelharpa
Matt Temmel
Greetings, Dancers,
Please join us on Sunday afternoon, December 21, for contra dance music by Bandwidth and calling by Craig Wolfe. Workshop is at 3:00, dance 3:30 to 6:00 at Normanna Hall, 1106 South 15th Street, Tacoma.
The band is three first-rate musicians from Portland—Gordy Euler on fiddle, piano, and whistle; Keith Moe on fiddle; and Carl Thor on piano and mandolin. Their bands are a “Who’s Who” of the Portland folk music scene—such as Hands4, Full Moon, Shanghaied on the Willamette, Stepwise, and the Portland Megaband. Be ready for a satisfying spectrum of contra dance music, plus tunes to celebrate the Winter Solstice.
Your caller is Craig Wolfe from Seattle. He will start us off with a workshop for newcomers. If you are new to contra dancing, be there by 3:00 for the workshop. This is a great way to learn the basics of contra dance in a fun atmosphere. We then dance from 3:30 to 6:00.
During the intermission, Peter Johnson will play his nyckelharpa. That is a Swedish instrument that looks like a fiddle and a keyboard, imagine that. You can check it out online. Peter made his own instrument, and he is really good.
Admission is $15 to $30, sliding scale. That means pay what you can afford. An average of $19 or $20 per dancer allows us to cover the costs for rent, band, caller, and sound. See you on Sunday afternoon for a really good dance.
Matt