(Last update: May 26, 2026)
Emerald City Contra Dance
with the Seattle Folklore Society present
Contra dancing nearly every Friday night at the
Phinney Neighborhood Center
6532 Phinney Avenue North, Seattle (98103)
in the Community Hall of the brick building, near the lower parking lot
Beginner’s workshop at 7:00 pm. Dance from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm.
We no longer require masks while dancing – however, we still encourage you to wear them if you can. We still require you to sign a registration form (for contact tracing) and waiver upon entry. If you have attended a dance elsewhere, you’ll still need register at this dance as well.
We also recommend that you keep up-to-date with vaccinations. We may reinstate mask and vaccination requirements at a later date, if COVID conditions change or we receive more reports of illness within the community.
– As always, we suggest you check Public Health – Seattle & King County for more information about COVID.
– For information about COVID practices and cases from earlier dances, check here.
Admission prices (cash, check or Venmo only):
– Sliding scale $10-$20.
– Students $5 with a school ID.
– Free for people under the age of 16.
Admission limited to 125 people. This total includes paying & non-paying dancers, children, and adults acting like children.
If this is your first contra dance ever you’ll get a coupon for free admission to your next dance.
Coupon redemption limited to first five coupons on any single night.
Follow us on Facebook. There’s a Lost and Found “Featured” file on that page where you can find items that you left behind at the dance.
Please help the PNA achieve their sustainability goals. Consider carpooling, walking, biking, or riding the bus to the dance. If you drive, please park in the PNA parking lots.
All dances taught. No partner necessary.
Light, comfortable clothing recommended.
Please join us without perfumes, colognes, aftershave, scented lotions, etc.
More information for dancers.
Information for bands and callers.
Past caller set lists.
Bands and callers: please contact us at ECContraDance@Gmail.com
For information not already posted here: 206-440-9839 or ECContradance@Gmail.com
Enough of the suggestions, disclaimers, and notifications. Here is what you really want to know…
Callers will use the terms “larks” and “robins” for dance roles.
- May 29 – Raven and Goose is Corwin Zekley on fiddle and Grace Fellows on piano. Corwin plays with intensity yet delicacy, with eclectic musical roots in Celtic, jazz, country, & metal. Grace grew up playing traditional music on fiddle, and in recent years has become a powerhouse contra-pianist with a potent sense of rhythm. Qwill Duvall calls.
- June 5 – GinSu graces the stage: Marni Rachmiel (woodwind & woodwind-like instruments), Claude Ginsburg (fiddle), and Dave Bartley (guitar & guitar-like instruments). Sherry Nevins calls.
- June 12 – Bison Socks: Elise Snoey (fiddle), Vienna Scheyer (fiddle), and Rosie O’Neil (guitar). Victoria Fox calls.
- June 19 – Hayden Stern on fiddle, Ezra Jane Landsman on guitar, and Dana Christie bass. Shannon Horst calls.
- June 26 – River Road is Sarah-Hadley Yakir (fiddle), Jesse Ball (guitar & guitar-like instruments), and Kristen Planeaux (keyboard). They deliver beauty, power, and groove to contra dances with a mixture of contemporary and traditional tunes influenced by Quebecois, New England, & maritime traditions. All of the money collected at the door will go to the Country Dance & Song Society, an organization that promotes traditional music and dance in the US. As an additional bonus, all donations will be matched by a local dancer. Isaac Banner and Liz Nelson call.
- July 3 – Sweet Potato is Rosie O’Neil on guitar, Alex Sturbaum on accordion (and maybe other instruments), Hayden Stern on fiddle. Susan Michaels calls.
- July 10 – Leah Wollenberg, Alex Sturbaum, and Ida Hoequist are Chance. Anchored by Leah’s driving and dancing fiddle, Ida’s smooth-as-glass woodwinds, and Alex’s powerhouse rhythm guitar, the sound of this trio draws inspiration from a wide array of sources: traditional and contemporary Celtic music, as well as the folk music of England, Sweden, and Newfoundland. You’ll dance to tender waltzes, mighty jigs and reels, and the occasional full-throated labor song – a sound rooted in tradition and firmly of the moment. Listen to their music here. Ali Webb calls.
- July 17 – Rufous is Manda Brown on fiddle, Nick Leininger on guitar, and Melissa Coffey on aerophone and fiddle. Sarah Trop calls.
- July 24 – The Electrodes are Joe Bowbeer on electric fiddle, Joe Micheals on guitar, and Marcy Kubbs on piano. Caitlin Bannan calls.
- July 31 – PajamaJam: Rosie O’Neil on guitar and Cayley Schmid on fiddle. Jesse Partridge calls.
- August 7 – Oliver Scanlon and Rose Jackson. Koren Wake calls.
- August 14 – Contra Quartet is Jesse Partridge (fiddle), Jay Finkelstein (guitar), Steve Cifka (cello), and Julie Bennett (percussion). You’ll dance to fluid melodies, solid rhythm, and harmony that holds it all together. Amy Wimmer calls.
- August 21 – Condor Sutra: Hayden Stern on fiddle, Dave Bartley on guitar &related instruments, and Marni Rachmiel on Aerophone & flute. Otho Sandwick calls.
- August 28 – Countercurrent is a powerhouse acoustic folk duo based in Olympia, Washington, featuring driving guitar (Alex Sturbaum), lyrical fiddle (Brian Lindsay), harmony vocals (both of them), and foot percussion (one of them). Elisabeth Monica calls.
- September 4 – 3 Guitars: Dave Bartley, Ezra Jane Landsman, Alex Sturbaum on… guitars. Eric Curl and Ben Douglas call.
- September 11 – Alex Cumming & Audrey Jaber are a dynamic duo in the traditional folk music scene, known for their captivating performances and deep-rooted passion for folk traditions. You’ll enjoy Alex’s traditional vocals and rhythmic accordion paired with Audrey’s infamous fiddling. Lindsey Dono calls.
- September 18 – To be determined. Shell Stowell calls.
- September 25 – Dawn Chorus: Cedar Stanistreet (fiddle), Grace Hendrickson-Jones (flute), and Rosie O’Neil (guitar). Susan Petrick calls.