Norfolk Contra Dance

Thanks to all who came out last night to the Watermen's Museum for our season-ending dance and potluck. We had a robust turnout, great music and great calling! Thank you Jim Hockett , Gene Bowers, Tommy Britt , and Gwyn P. Williams !

We will see you all again in the fall. Until then, to get your fix, you can dance in Richmond!

Richmond Contra Dance – Sponsored by: TADAMS (Traditional American Dance and Music Society) https://share.google/DF8IfbkANy8wPJDKN

Our 2025-26 Norfolk Contra dance season will conclude with a dance at the Yorktown Watermen's Museum on Saturday, June 20, 2026!
Know before you go -
* We dance under a canopy, so a little rain won't stop us! (a hurricane might!) We'll let you know if there are any weather issues, but at the moment it looks good for Saturday.
* There is parking directly adjacent to the Museum, across the street, and down the street is the Riverwalk Landing Parking Deck.
* If you have a decent sized pedestal fan, we could probably use a couple more, please, to keep the air moving.
* Bugs... are possible! Bring your mosquito spray - this is an outdoor event.

We hope to see you there!
~ 6:00 - 7:00 Potluck dinner
~ 7:00 - 7:15 TCDC Meeting
- 7:30 - 10:30 Contra Dance with local caller Gwyn Williams and The Hoedown Hobos (Tommy Britt, Jim Hockett and Gene Bowers)

Watermen's Museum
309 Water St, Yorktown, VA 23690
https://maps.app.goo.gl/CW9dwJ4dKiVy2F8u8

TCDC will hold its annual General Membership meeting prior to the dance, in order to hold Board of Director elections.

For more details see
Tidewater Community Dance Council, Inc. - TCDC
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571109335083
Norfolk Contra Dance
https://norfolkcontradance.com/

Our 2025-26 Norfolk Contra dance season will conclude with a dance at the Yorktown Watermen's Museum on Saturday, June 20, 2026!

We hope to see you there!
~ 6:00 - 7:00 Potluck dinner
~ 7:00 - 7:15 TCDC Meeting
- 7:30 - 10:30 Contra Dance with local caller Gwyn Williams and The Hoedown Hobos (Tommy Britt, Jim Hockett and Gene Bowers)

Watermen's Museum
309 Water St, Yorktown, VA 23690
https://maps.app.goo.gl/CW9dwJ4dKiVy2F8u8

TCDC will hold its annual General Membership meeting prior to the dance, in order to hold Board of Director elections.

For more details see
Tidewater Community Dance Council, Inc. - TCDC
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571109335083
Norfolk Contra Dance
https://norfolkcontradance.com/

Tidewater Community Dance Council (TCDC)
TCDC plans to hold its annual General Membership meeting on Saturday, June 20, 2026, prior to the Norfolk Contra dance, which is set for The Watermen's Museum in Yorktown.


Elections to the Board of Directors will be held at the annual membership meeting. In order to serve as a Board Member or vote for the Board membership, you must be a member in good standing.



Board Members are elected for a two-year term. There are four (3) Board Members whose terms expire this year and are up for re-election. There are as many as (5) additional “at large” positions available, for a total of (12) possible Board Members. Additional nominees will be welcomed from the floor at the meeting.

Current Board members, and their term dates, are:

Up for re-election:

Birgit Huskey (2024-26)
Ray Moody (2024-26)
Mary Jo Baylor (2024-26)
Elected last year, 2025

Ben Allbrandt (2025-27)
Richard Shelly (2025-27)
Andy Mills (2025-27)
Renee Starling (2025-27)


Article 5. Board of Directors. The members shall elect from their number a board of directors consisting of not less than five, nor more than twelve persons empowered to oversee the uses of funds raised and the general management of the business of the organization. Members of the board shall serve without compensation.

Elections to the Board will take place each year near or at the end of the dance season each year (usually in the month of June) at an annual all-members meeting. Directors shall be elected for a two year term by majority vote of the membership present at the meeting. The Initial Directors shall serve for a one-year term in order to establish a rotation where approximately one half of Directors’ terms expire each year. New board members shall take office at the beginning of July each year.

Duties of board members include attending two-thirds of the board meetings per annum as stated in the minutes. If a board member resigns, his or her place may be filled by appointment by the Board within a two-month period from the date of resignation to fill the unexpired term.

Article 6. Nominations and Election. Nominations and elections for the Board of Directors shall be conducted as follows:

a. Each year, the President shall solicit written nominations from the Board and the general membership. The slate of nominees shall be reported to the membership at least three weeks prior to the annual meeting. Nominations for Board members may also be made from the floor during the annual meeting upon written petition of at least five members, provided consent of the member nominated has been obtained.
b. A majority of the members voting is required for election.

c. Election may be by voice or written ballot.

Our next Norfolk Contra Dance will be Saturday, May 16th, at First Lutheran Church, 1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk.

Our band is Orion and our caller is Virginia Varland!!
Time: 7:30 PM Beginners Lesson, 8:00 – 10:30 PM Dance
Address: 1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk, VA, parking and entry is from the lot in back.

Dances are $12 for Members of TCDC, $15 for non-members, and we have military, student and family pricing.

Please bring a snack to share, and a pair of comfortable, soft soled shoes! No partner required to attend - you will find plenty of friendly people to dance with at the hall.
Also, please invite a friend.

--

TCDC
Tidewater Community Dance Council, Inc.

Tidewater Community Dance Council, Inc. - TCDC | Norfolk VA

Norfolk contra dance Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067509588420

Norfolk Contra dance Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2342747525999607

Norfolk Contra Dance Website

https://norfolkcontradance.com/

British Isles Dancers:

https://www.facebook.com/BritishIslesDancersOfNorfolkVA/

Nice dance, great energy and lots of new dancers last night at the Norfolk Contra dance, with Cutie and the Hot Wings and Ben Allbrandt !

Please plan to come back on May 16 for our dance with Orion (Steve Suhring, Kenneth Veazey and Joe Healey ) with Virginia Varland calling!

Also stay tuned for details of our final dance of the season, which we are hoping to have at the Watermen's Museum (confirmation to follow). You can check out past events held there, here

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DWabQqXmyPMMvkCY9

Our next Norfolk Contra Dance will be Saturday, April 18th, at First Lutheran Church, 1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk.

Our band is Cutie and the Hot Wings and our caller is Ben Allbrandt!!

Time: 7:30 PM Beginners Lesson, 8:00 – 10:30 PM Dance

Address: 1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk, VA, parking and entry is from the lot in back.

Dances are $12 for Members of TCDC, $15 for non-members, and we have military, student and family pricing.

Please bring a snack to share, and a pair of comfortable, soft soled shoes! No partner required to attend - you will find plenty of friendly people to dance with at the hall.

Also, please invite a friend - their first time is free!
--
TCDC
Tidewater Community Dance Council, Inc.

Tidewater Community Dance Council, Inc. - TCDC | Norfolk VA

Norfolk contra dance Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067509588420

Norfolk Contra dance Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2342747525999607

Norfolk Contra Dance Website

https://norfolkcontradance.com/

British Isles Dancers:

https://www.facebook.com/BritishIslesDancersOfNorfolkVA/

Fantastic turnout last night at the Norfolk Contra Dance for the Open Band eXperience!! More than 20 musicians, and a floor full of dancers!

Thanks to everyone who came out, helped out, and shouted out! We hope to see you again on April 18, with Cutie and the Hot Wings !!

Tomorrow night!!!!

Friends in Music -

A reminder that the Norfolk Contra Dance is this Saturday March 21. The band will be the Open Band eXperience.
Ben Allbrandt will be our caller.

Hope to see you tomorrow night!

Norfolk OBeX
Saturday March 21, 2026
6:15 PM Workshop 7:30 Contra Dance
First Lutheran Church of Norfolk
1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk, VA
Parking & entrance at the back of the church

Be sure to check out the expanded music notation offerings for the OBeX Tunebook(s)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X2G1ilM0DCq9sYw9UbmgGwGadUkEtJ-e

Give a shout if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Bring a friend or two. It should be a good night for music, laughter, and fun.

In Music,

Steve
[email protected]

The Norfolk Contra Dance is sponsored by TRADiN
Information on the Norfolk Contra Dance can be found at
https://norfolkcontradance.com/calendar/

Friends in Music,

The Norfolk Open Band eXperience (OBeX) is coming soon!!

Saturday March 21, 2026
6:15 PM Workshop 7:30 Contra Dance
First Lutheran Church of Norfolk
1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk, VA
Parking & entrance at the back of the church

Be sure to check out the expanded music notation offerings for the OBeX Tunebook(s)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X2G1ilM0DCq9sYw9UbmgGwGadUkEtJ-e

Give a shout if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Bring a friend or two. It should be a good night for laughter and fun.

In Music,

Steve
[email protected]

The Norfolk Contra Dance is sponsored by TRADiN
Information on the Norfolk Contra Dance can be found at
https://norfolkcontradance.com/calendar/

The results are in from our Role Terms Survey. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your views.

In general, the majority of our respondents:

* Are regular dancers
* Have been to a dance called with gender-neutral terms
* Prefer traditional terms of "Ladies and Gents"
* Would be willing to dance to gender-neutral terms
* Would be willing to accept a "Caller's Choice" model, where the role terms may sometimes change

Based on this, we are going to stick with "Traditional Role Terms/Ladies and Gents" as our standard, while remaining open to hiring callers who may wish to use gender-neutral terms.

We will also only accept "Larks and Robins" or Positional calling methods as alternatives, since the generally accepted alternate role terms across the country are now "Larks and Robins," and we believe other terms would just add confusion.

Again, we appreciate your input, and look forward to seeing you as part of the Norfolk Contra Dance Group on the Third Saturdays at First Lutheran Church, 1301 Colley Ave, Norfolk. Lesson at 7:30, dance at 8:00! Next dance Feb. 21!

Norfolk Contra Dance Role Terms Survey.pdf