Regularly-Scheduled Contra Dance Series

BACDS operates five regularly-scheduled contra and square dance series on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. If you live in the greater San Francisco Bay area, one of our regular contra dances is close to you.

Palo Alto / East Bay Fridays / San Francisco / Berkeley Wednesdays

Palo Alto Contra Dance

The Palo Alto contra dance, originally the Stanford contra dance, is the oldest continuous contra series in the Bay Area, perhaps in California. Brad Foster was one of the early callers for this pioneering dance series, which started in the early 1970's.

Eric Black has been the programmer and chief caller for the Palo Alto dance since its days at Stanford, shepherding its moves to various locations including the Mountain View Masonic Temple and Cubberly Pavilion, before setting into the Peninsula YWCA for 17 years. Its current home is the First United Methodist Church in downtown Palo Alto. Eric specializes in making zesty contras fun for newcomers and old-timers alike (with a handful of squares to keep things interesting) danced to music drawn from traditions ranging from Celtic, New England and Quebecois to old time.

East Bay Friday Contra Dance

Kirston Koths started this dance in 1980 as a Wednesday-night dance at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley. After working its way through Hearst Gymnasium at UC-Berkeley, John Muir School, Glenview and St. Leo's Schools in Oakland, St. Joseph's and Finn Hall in Berkeley, and Prospect Sierra Middle School in El Cerrito before moving to Humanist Hall in Oakland in January 2008.

Kirston retired from programming this series after 25 years of amazingly good fun. His successor is Lynn Ackerson, who programs with the intention of showcasing good callers who don't show up very much on the BACDS calendar. The dance is a high-energy, sociable evening.

San Francisco Contra Dance

The San Francisco contra dance began life in 1981 as a Thursday night dance run by the San Francisco Folk Music Club's Plowshares Cafe. This early series featured English country dances, old-time squares, New England contras, and open mic dances. It became a BACDS series in October 1982, and added the fourth Friday dances in October 1986, absorbing an early Marin County series.

Charlie Fenton has been the programmer of this series since its inception. His love of New England music and dance drives both his dance selection and the music. This dance also plays host to both regional and visiting callers and musicians.

Berkeley Wednesday Contra Dance

This dance began its life in or around 1984, after Kirston's dance moved from Wednesday nights to Fridays. Numerous programmers, including current San Diego area dance leader Harry Brauser, Palo Alto series programmer Eric Black, and current Ashland, Oregon caller Ruth Lowengart, have contributed to high-caliber mid-week contra dancing in Berkeley throughout the years.

Since his bay area arrival in 1994, highly-regarded caller and dance author Erik Hoffman has been the programmer for this odd-Wednesday-evening series. Music is provided on most evenings by an open band led by groups whose genres range from old-time to New England to electric. Open caller evenings on most fifth Wednesdays complete this dance's reputation as an incubator for up-and-coming musical and calling talent.

On the first Wednesday of most months, this dance is preceded by an hour-long workshop at 6:30 pm, on varying topics: contra styling, couple dances like waltz, hambo, and swing, and choreographed couple dance sequences. Check the calendar or the dance page for current information.

Special thanks to Kirston Koths, Charlie Fenton, Erik Hoffman, and Craig Johnson for providing the historical information above.