Dancing In Lansing - Contra

"Greetings,
The last month of 2024 is upon us. The years really do seem to go faster as I get older.

There is a contra dance this coming Sat, Dec 7, at the Central United Methodist Church (CUMC) - 215 N Capitol Ave in downtown Lansing (just N of the State Capitol building). Live dance music will be provided by The Curb Climbers -with Martha Vanderkold calling. Inclusive calling will be used throughout the dance.

The evening begins at 6:30pm with new dancer instruction. This is followed by a community contra (and sometimes squares) dance from 7pm until 10pm.
Admission is on a sliding scale - more if you can, less if that is more comfortable for you. The scale is $5 - $25- we suggest $15.
Feel free to bring a finger food type snack to share
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PARKING NOTE - CUMC is asking that we Do Not Park in either of the lots on Church property. Use nearby street parking please.
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Covid (and other contagious stuff) is still out there. Masks are welcome and appreciated, but not required. Wash/sanitize your hands before you eat. And if you are sick - or feel like you might be getting sick- it is best to stay home. There will be another dance in a couple weeks.
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*Quoted text comes from the Dancing In Lansing emails generously writing and sent out by ~Julie LW.

---This is just the highlight for this weekends dance, if you wanna see the whole email next time, just sign up for our mailing list on the LGMAA website.

A Letter from Julie:

“Well hello - Here we are - one full year since Covid was declared a Pandemic. One year ago last Sat, on March 7, 2020, we gathered to celebrate Bob Stein's upcoming 85th birthday. English country in the afternoon - potluck -and contra in the evening, with Gaye Fifer and hot tunes from Big Fun.

I know I thought, back in March and April, that surely we'd be dancing again by Fall. Surprise, surprise.

I'm very thankful that, as far as we know, no cases happened due to the dance on March 7. With the first Covid-19 case reported in Michigan a few days later, we know it was out there- it just didn't come to the dance- whew!

I'm missing seeing all your smiling faces and gathering together to enjoy music and the fun of dancing together.

The dance committees from Ten Pound Fiddle, and Looking Glass met last month, and plan to meet again soon to talk about what comes next. The rollout of the vaccines is a positive sign that we may be able to come together and dance. Right now, we are hoping to be able to gather to dance by New Year's Eve. We're taking a "wait and see" approach to the upcoming fall. Depends on vaccines and mutations and limiting community spread. Early on, Dr. Fauci said, "The virus makes the timeline" - so we are listening to experts and waiting to see how it all plays out.

We are planning to gather in person- just for fun - at Lake Lansing Park - North on Sat May 22. We're pretty sure we can find some musicians to serenade us, but we won't be doing any called dancing. I suppose you and a person with whom you share a household would be able to share a waltz. Just not too close to other dancers! More details about this will be coming closer to the date.

I hope you are doing OK and staying safe. I'm really enjoying this warmer weather, but as a native I know that we probably have not seen our last snow fall. But real spring will be here before we know it.

Julie LW”