Head to
https://contrabridge.org/ to join our mailing list or add our calendar.
๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ!
Welcome to Contrabridge contra dance in Cambridge on Saturday 28th June
โข Intro lesson from 7:30pm
โข Dancing runs from 8:00pm to 11pm
โข Calling will be gender-free
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The Stoneyard Centre is located at 43 St Andrew's St, Cambridge, CB2 3AR. The venue is just off St Andrew's Street, down a short passage next to St Andrewโs Street Baptist Church. The hall is upstairs, at the back of the building. If you arrive late, you may need to ring the bell and wait for someone to come down and let you in.
Entry to the Stoneyard Centre building is flat, via a heavy door, from St Andrew's Street. There is a lift to the hall on the first floor. An accessible toilet is available on the ground floor. We're happy to discuss your access needs!
Maps:
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https://goo.gl/maps/Z9vkwYCU2Y6MPVP16
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https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/225571644
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต?
Tickets are available on the door. The prices are ยฃ15 for supporters, ยฃ10 for standard and ยฃ7 for students or those who otherwise can't afford full price. Nobody turned away for lack of funds. You can pay with contactless or cash.
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Two of the most exciting players on the Contra dance scene. With creative, colourful accordion player Ali Messer (Blue Mountain, Alterations, Fat Harry, Fiddle Chicks) and high energy fiddling from Linda Game (ECDB, Token Women) expect an evening of fabulous dance music. Box the gnat and swat the flea, but can you spot the frog?
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Louise Siddons was born in the UK but moved to the United States as a child, where she grew up surrounded by folk music and song. Now back in the UK permanently, she is known on both sides of the Atlantic as a contra, English country dance, and ceilidh caller. Louise believes that we should invest in the evolution and sustainability of folk traditions and their ongoing relevance to contemporary culture. As a caller and dance teacher, she strives to create a fun and welcoming atmosphere with her low-key and light-hearted stage presence. She received the 2016 Mary Judson/Brad Foster Award for English Dance Teachers from the Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS), and has been a committee member for the Friends of English Dance (UK) since 2018. In 2021, she received a diversity grant from the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) in support of her gender-free teaching and calling. In 2022, CDSS published her booklet on gender-free, positional calling, โDancing the Whole Dance: Positional Calling for Contra.โ This winter, she is starting Winchester's first-ever queer ceilidh series, WinQeilidh.
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Contra dance is community folk dance similar to ceilidh or barn dance, and we will dance to live music! No partner is necessary, and new dancers are especially welcome. Anyone may ask anyone to dance, and everybody is supportive and friendly in enjoying the dance together. You don't need prior experience, mistakes are welcome, and the aim is to have lots of fun!
The caller will teach each dance, then prompt when you dance to the music. You will dance with a partner and another pair of dancers and progress to a new pair each time through the tune, moving up and down the line so you dance with everybody.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด / ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ?
Bring a water bottle (we have a tap for refills) and wear comfy shoes (preferably not too grippy, no high heels). Avoid perfumes and scents. Swirly skirts are a lot of fun to wear for contra (for people of all genders). No need to bring a partner. Drinking alcohol and smoking are not permitted in our venues.
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Contra dancing is an activity that involves hand-to-hand or arm-to-arm contact and a โballroom holdโ swing. Being physically close to multiple other dancers in an indoor space carries risk of spreading COVID-19.
We ask that all attendees at our dances consider the following risk mitigations:
โข not coming to this dance with unexplained respiratory symptoms.
โข not coming to this dance if you are feeling unwell for any unexplained reason
โข not coming to this dance if you know or suspect you have COVID-19 (or any other illness that may be spread by folk dancing).
โข not coming to this dance if government guidelines say you should stay at home.
โข testing before dancing - LFTs are easily available for ยฃ2 from most supermarkets and pharmacies
โข being fully vaccinated - COVID-19 vaccines and boosters reduce the risk of severe illness and may limit spread.
As organisers we will mitigate risk by:
โข keeping the room as well ventilated as possible.
โข providing facilities for contactless payment (but will also accept cash).
Face coverings have been shown to reduce COVID-19 infections in indoor spaces. However, they are currently not recommended by the WHO for vigorous physical activity. Please respect othersโ choices about wearing masks.
๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ?
Yes, there are further dances throughout 2025! Join our mailing list, add our calendar and follow our Facebook page to keep in touch.
If you have any questions about the dance, what to expect, what to wear, or anything, feel free to reach out to our Facebook page, or ask any of the organisers on the night. See less
Also check out other Entertainment events in Cambridge, Music events in Cambridge, Dance events in Cambridge.
