Category Archives: English Country Dance

Contra Dance Sept 24 and English Country Dance Sept 25

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We’re hosting two dances this weekend: a contra dance on Saturday, September 24th and an English country dance on Sunday, September 25th. Details for both dances are below.

Contra Dance
Talent: Eric Black calling to the music of Persons in Black
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Time: 7:00–10:00 pm, with newcomer’s orientation at 6:30 pm
Location: Coloma Community Center, 4623 T St, Sacramento, CA
Cost: $12 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

Eric Black has been calling for four decades, and has called dances in all 50 states and several other countries. One of his specialties has been introducing thousands of first-timers to the joys of contra dancing. Local favorite Persons in Black is Sue Jones on concertina and recorders, David Wright on fiddle and mandolin, Clark Smith on guitar, and Del Eckels on percussion.

A newcomer’s orientation is offered at 6:30 pm, perfect for people who have not contra danced before, or who could use some refresher. Experienced dancers are invited to partner with newcomers during the orientation and early dances to help integrate them into the community.

English Country Dance
Talent: Alan Winston calling to the music of Quite Carried Away
Date: Sunday, September 25, 2022
Time: 2:00-5:00 pm, with newcomer’s workshop at 1:30 pm
Location: Young Ladies Institute, 1400 27th St., Sacramento, CA
Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

Alan Winston has called for balls, camps, and special events from Southern California to the Bay Area to Oregon, Washington, and Victoria BC. His clear, cheerful, and witty instruction serve dancers well, and it is Alan’s great joy to share the joy of community through country dance. The music will be provided by Quite Carried Away, our house band: Dick Holdstock on octave mandolin and banjo, Susan Jones on concertina, Arlene Jamar on piano, Jane Kostka on whistle, Martin Lodahl on viola da gamba, and David Wright on fiddle and mandolin.

As usual, beginners are welcome.  If you are bringing, or know of any, first-timers, please urge them to come at 1:30 for the introductory workshop that precedes the dance.

No partners are needed, so come by yourself or with friends or with family. Both events are accessible to people with disabilities.

For more information, and lost and found, contact Laura Leonelli, 916-549-7093, or email info@sactocds.org.

September 11 English Country Dance

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Talent: Yvonne Couvillion and Gary Sandler calling to the music of Quite Carried Away
Date: Sunday, September 11, 2022
Time: 2:00-5:00 pm, with newcomer’s workshop at 1:30 pm
Location: Polish American Hall, 327 Main St, Roseville
Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

Gary Sandler believes in helping dancers get more fun out of their dances, whether through safe and comfortable hand-holds or clear direct instructions.  He likes to vary the dance structures, shifting from lines to circles and squares.  Yvonne Couvillion began calling 30 years ago. She met her husband, Andre, at a contra dance in Bastrop, Texas 26 years ago. They now live in Sacramento where they attend, teach and host a variety of dance events, including English country dance. The music will be provided by Quite Carried Away, our house band: Dick Holdstock on octave mandolin and banjo, Susan Jones on concertina, Arlene Jamar on piano, Jane Kostka on whistle, Martin Lodahl on viola da gamba, and David Wright on fiddle and mandolin.

As usual, beginners are welcome.  If you are bringing, or know of any, first-timers, please urge them to come at 1:30 for the introductory workshop that precedes the dance.

No partners are needed, so come by yourself or with friends or with family. Both events are accessible to people with disabilities.

For more information, and lost and found, contact Laura Leonelli, 916-549-7093, or email info@sactocds.org

August 27 Contra & August 28 English Country Dance

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Sacramento County is out of the red zone, and we’re hosting two dances this weekend: a contra dance on Saturday, August 27th and an English country dance on Sunday, August 28th. Details for both dances are below. Please note that this English country dance will be held at a new location, The Hastings Annex in Old Sacramento.

Contra Dance
Talent: Celia Ramsay calling to the music of Claudia’s Kitchen
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2022
Time: 7:00–10:00 pm, with newcomer’s orientation at 6:30 pm
Location: Coloma Community Center, 4623 T St, Sacramento, CA
Cost: $12 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

Celia Ramsay has been calling contra dances since 2002, but has been telling people what to do for much, much longer. She chooses dances that fit the people in the room, uses clarity and brevity in teaching, and has a warm personality that makes the dancers happy. Claudia’s Kitchen is a local Sacramento group that loves old-time, Celtic, and folk music.

A newcomer’s orientation is offered at 6:30 pm, perfect for people who have not contra danced before, or who could use some refresher. Experienced dancers are invited to partner with newcomers during the orientation and early dances to help integrate them into the community.

English Country Dance
Talent: David Newitt calling to the music of Quite Carried Away
Date: Sunday, August 28, 2022
Time: 2:00-5:00 pm, with newcomer’s workshop at 1:30 pm
Location: 1002 2nd St., Sacramento, CA
Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

The dance location is just south of the corner of J St. and 2nd St. and adjacent to the Old Sacramento Visitor Center. It’s difficult to find free parking unless you like a long walk! Paid options include multi-level garages, and parking at meters on the street. Another option (cheaper than parking) is to take Light Rail to the AMTRAK station. Also, RT buses 30, 38, and 62 come very close to Old Sacramento.

The music will be provided by Quite Carried Away, our house band: Dick Holdstock on octave mandolin and banjo, Susan Jones on concertina, Arlene Jamar on piano, Jane Kostka on whistle, Martin Lodahl on viola da gamba, and David Wright on fiddle and mandolin.

As usual, beginners are welcome.  If you are bringing, or know of any, first-timers, please urge them to come at 1:30 for the introductory workshop that precedes the dance.

No partners are needed, so come by yourself or with friends or with family. Both events are accessible to people with disabilities.

For more information, and lost and found, contact Laura Leonelli, 916-549-7093, or email info@sactocds.org

CANCELED – July 3rd English Country Dance

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We’re sorry to announce that Sacramento and surrounding counties are in the CDC’s red zone again this week, so the English country dance that was scheduled for Sunday, July 3rd, has been canceled. 

Don’t forget to check our calendar before heading out to SCDS dances in the near future. We’ll try again to hold an English dance in a couple of weeks on July 17th, depending on what Covid has in store for us.

CANCELED – June 6th English Country Dance

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This week the CDC declared all our local counties (Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, and Yolo) to be in the red zone for Covid, meaning that our hospitals are under immediate threat of being overwhelmed. 

To be good stewards of our community, the SCDS board had previously agreed that we would temporarily pause our dances if that happened, so we are canceling the English dance that was scheduled for this Sunday, June 6th. 

We apologize for the late notice. Unfortunately, the CDC’s weekly data release does not fit very well with our dance schedule.

Contra & English Dances on May 14th & 15th

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We’re hosting two dances on the same weekend: a contra on Saturday, May 14th and an English country dance on Sunday, May 15th. Details for both dances are below.

The SCDS Covid safety policy requires full vaccination, including boosters. Masks must be worn at all times while inside the building. We recommend N95, KN95, or KF94 masks and do not allow masks with exhaust valves (because they don’t protect others) or cloth masks unless they are worn on top of a surgical mask. Please bring your own water and snacks, and plan to step outside to eat or drink. Windows and doors will be open to ensure good ventilation, so please dress accordingly. Most importantly, if you’re not feeling well, stay home and join us next time.

If you haven’t been to a dance yet, please email a photo of your vaccination card to Laura Leonelli at lauraleo524@gmail.com before the dance. Please also print a copy of our waiver form, sign it, and bring your paper copy to the dance. You only need to do this once; we will record that you have provided this information, so that it will be valid for future dances.

Contra Dance

Talent: Mark Goodwin calling to the music of Star Thistle
Date: Saturday, May 14, 2022
Time: 7:00–10:00 pm, with newcomer’s orientation at 6:30 pm
Location: Coloma Community Center, 4623 T St, Sacramento, CA
Cost: $12 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

Mark Goodwin began calling contra dance in Chico in 2001 and has called for local regional dances, including Nevada City and Newcastle. His aim is to call programs that bring everyone along for the ride, with dances that are memorable, have intuitive transitions, and weave familiar and interesting elements into a variety of dancer interactions. 

Star Thistle plays contra dances featuring Celtic, old-time, and other music. The band is Lonna Whipple (fiddle), David Wright (fiddle and mandolin), Clark Smith (guitar), and Del Eckels (percussion).

A newcomer’s orientation is offered at 6:30 pm, perfect for people who have not contra danced before, or who could use some refresher. Experienced dancers are invited to partner with newcomers during the orientation and early dances to help integrate them into the community.

English Country Dance:
Talent: TBD calling to the music of Quite Carried Away
Date: Sunday, May 15, 2022
Time: 2:00-5:00 pm, with newcomer’s workshop at 1:30 pm
Location: Polish American Hall, 327 Main St, Roseville
Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

The music will be provided by Quite Carried Away, our house band: Dick Holdstock on octave mandolin and banjo, Susan Jones on concertina, Arlene Jamar on piano, Jane Kostka on whistle, Martin Lodahl on viola da gamba, and David Wright on fiddle and mandolin.

As usual, beginners are welcome.  If you are bringing, or know of any, first-timers, please urge them to come at 1:30 for the introductory workshop that precedes the dance.

No partners are needed, so come by yourself or with friends or with family. Both events are accessible to people with disabilities.

For more information, and lost and found, contact Laura Leonelli, 916-549-7093, or email info@sactocds.org

English Country Dance on April 17th

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Talent: Alisa Dodson calling to the music of Quite Carried Away
Date: Sunday, April 17, 2022
Time: 2:00–5:00 pm, with newcomer’s orientation at 1:30 pm
Location: Polish-American Community Hall, 327 Main St., Roseville, CA
Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for college students with ID; $5 for dancers under 18; $25 maximum for families (cash or check)

Alisa Dodson has been English country dancing since 1980 and calling since 1990. She was involved in BACDS dance in the Bay Area for many years before moving away, and she now lives in the old gold mining town of Murphys.

The music will be provided by Quite Carried Away, our house band: Dick Holdstock on octave mandolin and banjo, Susan Jones on concertina, Arlene Jamar on piano, Jane Kostka on whistle, Martin Lodahl on viola da gamba, and David Wright on fiddle and mandolin.

The SCDS Covid safety policy requires full vaccination, including boosters. Masks must be worn at all times while inside the building. We recommend N95, KN95, or KF94 masks and do not allow masks with exhaust valves (because they don’t protect others) or cloth masks unless they are worn on top of a surgical mask. Please bring your own water and snacks, and plan to step outside to eat or drink. Windows and doors will be open to ensure good ventilation, so please dress accordingly. Most importantly, if you’re not feeling well, stay home and join us next time.

If you haven’t been to a dance yet, please email a photo of your vaccination card to Laura Leonelli at lauraleo524@gmail.com before the dance. Please also print a copy of our waiver form, sign it, and bring your paper copy to the dance. You only need to do this once; we will record that you have provided this information, so that it will be valid for future dances.

As usual, beginners are welcome and no partners are necessary.  If you are bringing, or know of any, first-timers, please urge them to come at 1:30 for the introductory workshop that precedes the dance.

These events are accessible to people with disabilities.

For more information, and lost and found, contact Laura Leonelli, 916-549-7093, or email info@sactocds.org

English Country Dance on March 20th

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In case you missed our recent announcement, we are dancing together again! English Country Dancing resumes on Sunday, March 20, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, preceded by our usual introductory session at 1:30 pm. Calling by Alisa Dodson, live music by Quite Carried Away.

Polish-American Hall
327 Main St, Roseville 95678

If you are attending the March 20 dance, there are important things you need to know and important things you need to do!

Things to Know

The SCDS wants to assure that we have taken all reasonable steps to provide a safe environment for dancers. This includes minimizing risks of virus transmission. Therefore, for the time being, we are requiring three things of all dancers.

1. Vaccinations for COVID. Each dancer must show proof of being fully up to date on vaccination. That means two shots of Moderna or Pfizer plus one booster shot, or one shot of J&J plus one booster shot.

2. Waiver of liability. Each dancer must sign a waiver of liability, so that they acknowledge their awareness of risks associated with dancing.

3. Masks. For the time being, we will continue to require wearing of masks at all times when in the dance hall. The best masks are the N95 type (N95, KN95, KF94). Surgical masks (such as the ones offered when you enter a medical facility) are acceptable, and can be made additionally effective when worn with a cloth mask on top. As you no doubt know from news sources, since the emergence of the omicron variant, it has been demonstrated that cloth masks are ineffective, so please leave those pretty cloth masks, bandanas, neck gaiters, etc. at home.

4. Refreshments. In addition to these requirements, we’ve established the following standards for refreshments.

* Water bottles: Please bring your own. Since we are requiring masks be worn at all times when in the dance hall, you’ll need to step outside to eat or drink.

* Breaks: We’ll have 2. Hopefully the weather will cooperate such that it will be nice to step outside onto the lawn to remove masks and consume snacks. Bring snacks for yourself; if you wish to bring snacks to share, please bring individually wrapped items.

Things to Do

To facilitate easy entry to the dance, it would be very helpful if each dancer did the following before the dance. (If you cannot, or you forget, that’s OK. It’ll just mean that you’ll need to take time to do these things at the door, before being allowed into the hall.)

1. Proof of vaccinations. Please email a copy of your vaccination information to Laura Leonelli at lauraleo524@gmail.com

You will only need to do this once. We will not keep a copy of your vaccination record, but we will record that you have provided this information so that it will be valid for future dances.

2. Waiver of liability. Please print a copy of the waiver form, sign it, and bring your paper copy to the dance. Again, you will only need to do this once; we will record that you have provided this information so that it will be valid for future dances.

We hope you appreciate these extra efforts to keep everyone healthy, and we are so looking forward to seeing you on March 20th at the Polish Hall in Roseville!

Upcoming Events:
March 26th – contra dance
April 9th – contra dance

Dancing resumes in March!

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The SCDS Board and committees have been working intensively over the last couple of weeks to get us back to dancing, safely. It’s looking like we may be there! If the transmission rates continue to fall, if no new fierce variant pops up, and if public health advisories remain as they are now, English country dance will resume on March 20th, with Alisa Dodson calling to the music of Quite Carried Away at the Polish-American Hall in Roseville, and contra on March 26th!

This is part of the process of learning to live with COVID, our newest endemic disease. Since you can’t negotiate with a virus, all the concessions are on our side. We won’t be dancing like we did before. Changes include:

·   Proof of vaccination AND BOOSTER required.  There will be a sign-in checkpoint outside the hall, and once verified, you shouldn’t have to show your card again at future dances. Sorry, natural immunity claims cannot be honored.

·   Masking is required. High-quality masks only; no cloth masks, bandannas, neck-gaiters or other foolishness. The idea is to keep us safe, and we have high-risk people in the community.

·   Windows will be open to maximize changes of air in the hall, so dress accordingly.

·   Bring your own water bottle, please, and step outside to drink from it. Similarly, please don’t eat in the hall. Masks must be worn at all times.

·   If you’re not feeling well, come to the next dance, not this one.

It’s really all common sense and consideration. We can take a little inconvenience to keep dancers, callers, and bands safe. As the threat eases over time, we’ll gradually adapt.

My refrain continues to be, check the calendar at https://sactocds.org/calendar before coming to a dance! In the months ahead, we anticipate having to cancel some dances as conditions change, though I hope to be wrong about that.

Martin Lodahl, Board President
Sacramento Country Dance Society

SCDS dances CANCELED through June 30th & Board nominations

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Covid-19, the new coronavirus, is spreading through California, and we need to work together to stop its transmission by staying home for a while. Protecting our community is a key value of SCDS, so we have reluctantly chosen to cancel our dances through June 30th. At that time, we will re-evaluate the situation and decide what to do going forward. We’re very sorry to miss dancing with all of you and hope to be able to see you again soon!

One consequence of this decision is that we will not be able to meet in person to elect a new Board of Directors in April. Instead, the slate of nominees is listed below and in our email newsletter, and we will ask you to vote by email at the end of next month. Please share this information with anyone you know who might be interested. (If you are not yet receiving our email announcements, you can sign up at https://groups.io/g/SactoCDS.)

If you’d like to support freelance callers and musicians during this difficult time, CDSS (our parent organization) has put together a list of ways to help here: https://www.cdss.org/covid19/send-love-to-freelancers.

Closer to home, you can support our musicians and dancers:
Topher Gayle
Celia Ramsay
Ryan McKasson
The Syncopaths
Nancy Thym

2020-2021 SCDS Board of Directors nominations:
Sandra Aamodt
Susan Jones
Laura Leonelli
Karen Leyse
Martin Lodahl
Virgil Schmidt
Douglas Schwilk
Susan Stratton
Pam Wade
Bobbie Watson