Country Dancing in Kalamazoo

Country Dancing in Kalamazoo sponsors great American and English traditional dancing to live music. Local callers are at some dances, out-of-town callers at others. All dances are taught. New dancers (singles and couples) are always welcome and should come early; dances get more challenging during the evening. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes for energetic dancing. No smoking, no alcohol. A snack or beverage to share during the break is always welcome. Upcoming events. Membership letter: Microsoft Word document, Adobe pdf document. Membership and volunteer forms: Microsoft Word document, Adobe pdf document. Schedule of Saturday dances: Microsoft Word document, Adobe pdf document. Schedule of Wednesday and Sunday dances: Microsoft Word document, Adobe pdf document. The Board of Country Dancing in Kalamazoo. Links to Other Country Dancing and Folk Life in Southern Michigan. Gallery of photographs of dancing at the Oshtemo Grange.

Calendar of Dances for 2009–2010

September 2009

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12 Contra and Square Dance caller Laurie Pietravalle Brook Farm String Band
13	14	15	16 English Country Dance callers Jan Coray and Roger Williams recorded music	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26 Contra and Square Dance open microphone FiddleFire
27	28	29	30

October 2009

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				1	2	3
4 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	5	6	7	8	9	10 Contra and Square Dance caller Ed Vincent Dr. Grangelove
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21 English Country Dance callers Roger Williams and Jan Coray Thorn Among the Roses with Earl Gaddis	22	23	24 Advanced Contra and Square Dance caller Jo Mortland Cosmic Otters
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

November 2009

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14 Contra and Square Dance caller Mike Clark FiddleFire
15	16	17	18 English Country Dance (7:30 to 10:30) callers Roger Williams, Jan Coray, Mike Clark Debbie Jackson and Earl Gaddis	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

December 2009

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
6 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	7	8	9	10	11	12 pot-luck dinner at 5:30pm Contras and Square Dance caller Glen Morningstar Brook Farm String Band
13	14	15	16 English Country Dance callers to be announced band to be announced	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

January 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2
3 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	4	5	6	7	8	9 Contra and Square Dance caller Mike Clark band to be announced
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20 English Country Dance callers to be announced band to be announced	21	22	23 Contra and Square Dance open microphone FiddleFire
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

February 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	8	9	10	11	12	13 Contra and Square Dance caller Danika Murray band to be announced
14	15	16	17 English Country Dance callers to be announced band to be announced	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27 Contra and Square Dance caller to be announced band to be announced
28

March 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	8	9	10	11	12	13 Contra and Square Dance caller to be announced band to be announced
14 Advanced Contra and Square Dance 2pm to 5pm caller to be announced band to be announced	15	16	17 English Country Dance callers to be announced band to be announced	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27 Contra and Square Dance caller to be announced band to be announced
28	29	30	31

April 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10 Contra and Square Dance caller to be announced band to be announced
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21 English Country Dance callers to be announced band to be announced	22	23	24 Contra and Square Dance caller Danika Murray Brook Farm String Band
25	26	27	28	29	30

May 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
						1
2 Dance Just for Fun waltz, contra, English, squares, etc. local callers recorded music	3	4	5	6	7	8 pot-luck dinner at 5:30pm Contra and Square Dance caller Mike Clark FiddleFire
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19 English Country Dance callers to be announced band to be announced	20	21	22 Contra and Square Dance caller to be announced band to be announced
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

June 2010

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12 Contra and Square Dance open microphone band to be announced
13	14	15	16 event to be announced callers to be announced band to be announced	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26 Advanced Contra and Square Dance caller Mike Clark band to be announced
27	28	29	30

Check back in August 2010 for the schedule of dances for the 2010–2011 season.

• September 12, October 10, November 14, December 12 (pot-luck dinner at 5:30), January 9, February 13, February 27, March 13, March 27, April 10, May 8 (pot-luck dinner at 5:30), May 22, June 26
• 7:30pm to 10:30pm
• Dance skills workshop at 7:00pm
• Oshtemo Grange, corner of 3rd Street and H Avenue, west of Kalamazoo (exit 38B off US-131, west 3.5 miles on M-43, Big Rock Drive to 3rd Street, north 1.5 miles to H Avenue).
  
• Admission for most dances is $4 for students, $6 for members, $8 for others. For dances with out-of-town callers or musicians, the admission may be slightly increased.
• For more information, call Mike at 269-372-7613.

• September 26, January 23, June 12
• 7:30pm to 10:30pm
• Dance skills workshop at 7:00pm.
• Oshtemo Grange, corner of 3rd Street and H Avenue, west of Kalamazoo (exit 38B off US-131, west 3.5 miles on M-43, Big Rock Drive to 3rd Street, north 1.5 miles to H Avenue).
  
• Admission is $4 for students, $6 for members, $8 for others.
• A great opportunity for novice callers and a great opportunity for dance fun for all.
• Call Jan at 616-396-2060 by the preceding Wednesday to get on the caller roster.

• October 24, March 14 (2pm to 5pm), June 26
• 7:30pm to 10:30pm
• Oshtemo Grange, corner of 3rd Street and H Avenue, west of Kalamazoo (exit 38B off US-131, west 3.5 miles on M-43, Big Rock Drive to 3rd Street, north 1.5 miles to H Avenue).
  
• For dancers who dance with ease in time to the music, know all the basic figures (including heys, contra corners, grand square, etc.) and formations, and easily position and orient themselves moving from one figure to the next. If you often don't know which direction to face or have to hurry to catch up, you will find these dances too difficult to be enjoyable. Children over the age of eight who are skilled and experienced dancers are welcome. Children who usually require adult guidance will find these dances too difficult. One walkthrough for each dance. Figures will NOT be taught. No skills workshop before the dance.
• Admission for most dances is $4 for students, $6 for members, $8 for others. For dances with out-of-town callers or musicians, the admission may be slightly increased.
• For more information, call Mike at 269-372-7613.

• September 16, October 21, November 18 (7:30pm to 10:30pm, $4 students, $6 CDK members, $8 others), December 16, January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19, June 16
• 7:30pm to 9:30pm
• Oshtemo Grange, corner of 3rd Street and H Avenue, west of Kalamazoo (exit 38B off US-131, west 3.5 miles on M-43, Big Rock Drive to 3rd Street, north 1.5 miles to H Avenue).
  
• Admission for most dances is $3 for students, $4 for others. For dances with out-of-town callers or musicians, the admission may be slightly increased.
• For more information, call Roger at 269-375-4867.

• October 4, November 1, December 6, January 3, Februray 7, March 7, May 2
• 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
• Oshtemo Grange, corner of 3rd Street and H Avenue, west of Kalamazoo (exit 38B off US-131, west 3.5 miles on M-43, Big Rock Drive to 3rd Street, north 1.5 miles to H Avenue).
  
• Admission is $4 for students, $5 for others.
• An afternoon of variety in couples dances and set dances. Learn style and skill in a fun, relaxed, supportive atmosphere. It's a workshop and a party!
• For more information, call Mike at 269-372-7613.

The Board of Country Dancing in Kalamazoo

Drew Bolton
Sherry Brodock, President
George Broomell, Vice President
Mike Clark, Treasurer
Jan Coray
Linda Dove, Secretary
Cal Lamoreaux
Becky Lawson
Danika Murray
Phyllis Murray
Sherry Opalka
Barry Taylor
Alashar Waltz
Roger Williams

Links to Other Country Dancing and Folk Life around Southern Michigan

K'zoo Folklife Organization of Kalamazoo.
Allegan Woods Folk Arts Cooperative near Holland.
Dance schedule of the Grand River Folk Arts Society of Grand Rapids.
Looking Glass Music and Arts Association of Lansing.
Ten Pound Fiddle of Lansing.
Ann Arbor Council for Traditional Music and Dance (AACTMAD).
Michigan Dance Heritage.
Goshen Community Contra Dancing of Goshen, Indiana.
Oakland County Traditional Dance Society.
Ted Crane's Dance Database.
Cal Lamoreaux's page of events in the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids area.
Charlie Seelig's page of dances in the Great Lakes region.
Kiran Wagle's page of contra dance information.