Details
Kick off your Halloween celebration at the contra dance this week. Costumes will be admired but are not required. Our caller this week is Rachel Ameen, whose enthusiasm for contra is infectious and whose teaching is clear. Live music is provided by Clara Riedlinger on fiddle and Dan Lynch on banjo.
We begin the evening at 7:00 pm with an introductory lesson on the basics of contra dance. Remember, if you can walk, you can dance! The dance party starts at 7:30 pm.
All are welcome. We invite you to pay what you can to attend the dance. If you can pay more, it helps to cover our shortfall. If you can’t, come anyway! More dancers is more fun. We look forward to seeing you and sharing the joyous experience of dancing in community.
Caller
Rachel Ameen
Rachel is an up-and-coming caller based out of Syracuse New York. She focusses on varied sets and lively and humorous teaching. She calls contras old and new, chestnuts, family dances, techno contras, and singing squares (her personal favorite). She began calling in 2024 training under David Smukler and Bob Nicholson, and calls frequently in Syracuse and Rochester, occasionally in Buffalo and Ottawa, and other places sporadically.
Bands
Dan Lynch
Dan Lynch
Dan is an active Rochester-area songwriter, performer, teacher, and audio engineer. Growing up in a musical family, he learned to play guitar, banjo and mandolin from his grandparents and went on to study Music Recording at FLCC, along with Ethnomusicology at SUNY Geneseo. In addition to recording and performing his own music for over a decade, he has also produced and engineered projects for artists from a wide range of genres including Rock, Folk, Funk and Hip Hop to name a few.
Dan also has a passion for preserving New York State folk and traditional music. He has appeared on our stage in the band Clinton’s Folly. He gives private lessons at the Submarine School of Music and is enthusiastic to share his knowledge with students of all ages and experience levels.
Clara Riedlinger
Clara Riedlinger is a fiddle player and ballad singer who travels throughout the mountain region soaking up tunes from elders and tradition-bearers. She hosts a monthly old-time jam at Payton Violins, and has hosted the community open band on 2nd Thursdays.