Port Angeles

Contra Dance

2020 Contra Dance
Black Diamond Schedule

1/4/2020
Kate Powers and David Rivers
Lindsey Dono calling

2/1/2020
David Rivers and Kate Powers
Susan Michaels calling

3/7/2020
Ground Lift
Michael Karcher calling

4/4/2020
Heliotrope
Gwen Rouseau calling

5/2/2020
Dave Bartley and Anita
Greg Frock calling

6/6/2020
Kate Powers and David Rivers
Susan Michaels calling

Dances held at

Black Diamond
Community Hall

1942 Black Diamond Rd.,
Port Angeles, WA 98363

1st Saturday of every month

Free Lesson begins at 7pm,
Dance 7:30-10:30pm

Suggested Donation
Adults $8, 12-18 $4, 0-11 Free

Upcoming and Past Events

April 4, 2015 contra to the Counter Currents and Eric Curl’s calling

Caller Eric Curl comes to Black Diamond with the Countercurrents band

Black Diamond Contra Dance, April 2015

Eric started calling in 1996 and called in California and Colorado before moving Seattle in 2006. A mechanical engineer working for Boeing, he now enjoys calling in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia on a semi-regular basis. In his spare time, he likes to hike, snowshoe, camp, visit friends and family, play music, and of course, dance and call.

Countercurrent formed officially in 2014, but began over half a decade earlier. Brian Lindsay and Alex Sturbaum met as freshmen at Oberlin College in 2009, where they bonded immediately over their love of traditional Irish music. They began playing concerts shortly thereafter, and in 2010 co-founded the wildly successful contra band Gallimaufry, which has toured extensively throughout the Midwest and the East Coast. When the winds of change blew Alex and Brian to the Pacific Northwest, they decided immediately to begin playing for contra dances as a duo. Combining driving guitar and lyrical fiddle with lush harmony vocals and boundless energy, Countercurrent is a contra dance band with a new, invigorating sound and infectious enthusiasm.

There is a workshop at 7:30pm. The dance begins at 8:00. All other dance details are on the “About Our Dance” page on this website.

March 7, 2015 Contra to Scott and Jeanie

Black Diamond Contra Dance, March 2015

Linnaea Chapman calls to music by Scott and Jeanie

Linnaea grew up barn dancing in Upstate NY and became an avid contra dancer during her time in college near Utica, NY. She started calling five years ago in Syracuse, NY before moving to Seattle. With support and encouragement from many people in the dance community, she has had the opportunity to call in WA, OR, BC, VT, and NY. She has a healthy appreciation for traditional dances, which she learned in the North East, as well as a love of fun and interesting ones. This leads to a unique mix of new and old styles. Linnaea picks dances that she has enjoyed dancing herself and are accessible to beginners while still entertaining for experienced dancers.

The Possum Carvers consist of Scott Marckx on fiddle, Jeanie Murphy on banjo, and Chris Cooper on guitar. (Some instrument switching goes on, however.) They have all been playing old-time music for a combination of years that probably comes close to the century mark. They have been known to be hijacked by a certain bunch of contra and French tune-playing folks known as The Glutton-Free Loafers. They look amazingly like Scott, Jeanie, and Chris. They all live in Port Townsend.