NBCDS has been
sponsoring contra dances since
we became a 501c 3 nonprofit organization
in 1993. Our first dances were
in Sonoma at the Sonoma Valley
Women’s
Center and Santa Rosa at various locations. We
moved from Piner Elementary School, to Schaefer
Elementary School, Willowside School, and Oak Grove
School finally settling at Monroe Hall in September
of 1994. In October of 1995, we added a dance at
Hermanson Sons Hall in Petaluma called “Old
Time Barn Dances.”
1993
The Sonoma 3rd Friday Contra
Dance and the Santa Rosa Country
Dance Society joined forces to
become NBCDS with non-profit status,
due to the efforts of founding
board members Jerry Allen, Don
Bradley, Stephen Brown, Robin
Cohen-Sankin, Emily Flouton,
Moira Hill, Patricia Seaton and
Sue Wendrow.
The first issue of the "North
Bay Dancer", Vol. 1, No. 1, was
printed for Fall
1993.
NBCDS joined the national Country
Dance and Song Society.
Regular dances were held in Santa
Rosa at
Willowside School and Sonoma at
the Sonoma Valley Women’s
Center.
A weeklong country-dance workshop
was sponsored for Willowside school
students with Barbara Richman (Coole)
calling and Janette Duncan playing.
The first Gala Benefit Dance was
held at the Santa Rosa Dance in
December with the Callers’ Jubilee
and Jam Band.
1994
The calendar included non-NBCDS
dances at Fairfax Community Center,
St. Helena (at varying locations)
and Ukiah Methodist Church.
The Santa Rosa dance moved temporarily
to Oak Grove School in July and
finally settled at Monroe
Hall in September.
1995
The St. Helena dance moved
to the Presbyterian Church of St.
Helena in January.
Started by Jerry Allen and Emily
Flouton, Old Time Barn Dances began
at Hermann
Sons Hall in October,
starting earlier to include families,
1996
A Family Barn Dance was held
at Sonoma County Folk Festival
in March.
Another non-NBCDS dance was added
to the calendar in April, started
by Stuart Moody and held at Druid’s
Hall in Novato.
The Sebastopol
English Country Dance was started by Lydee Scudder
and Mark Carroll in August, and
held at the Sebastopol Community
Center.
1997
In April we put on one of
our first “big
name’ dances, bringing Wild
Asparagus to the Petaluma Veterans
Memorial Building, with great success.
The first San
Rafael dance started at the
Marin Fellowship of Unitarians
in September.
The Sebastopol English Country
Dance, at one year old, became
an official NBCDS dance with its
move to Wischemann
Hall on Sunday
afternoons in October of 1997.
The Petaluma Barn Dance went “on
hiatus” indefinitely.
1998
In the spring issue, the "North
Bay Dancer" became "Hands Four,"
as we know it today.
Special Contra dance with master
caller, Fred Park, from North Carolina
was held at Hermann Sons Hall in
May.
Special dances started at Monroe
Hall on fifth Saturdays in October.
Apple Tree
Morris,
started by Kalia Kliban, joined
NBCDS in the fall, offered a fall
Morris workshop and performed at
the December Gala.
1999
A Dance Line was installed
@707-527-9794 with a listing of
all current dances. Apple Tree
Morris held their first annual “Dance
up the Sun” on
May 1st.
The St. Helena dance moved to the
Tucker Farm Center in Calistoga
in April.
New, non-NBCDS dances started in
Philo at the Grange Hall and in
Point Arena above Holy Grounds.
A special Sonoma dance, held at
Vintage House in May with Big Hoedown,
was a smashing success with 120
dancers.
A special Dusk Dance was held at
Petaluma Veterans Memorial Building
in October, with Roger Diggle from
Wisconsin.
Apple Tree Morris performed at
the Celtic Festival in September.
Our new website was launched at
www.nbcds.org.
2000
The Novato dance, re-christened
the Marin dance, temporarily moved
to Nautilus of Marin, and then
settled at its current location
at Marin
Masonic Hall starting
in March.
Special Contra was held in Marin
with Reckless Abandon from New
Hampshire in April.
Summer Contra Mini Festival held
in July with dance, music, workshops,
singing and picking sessions, Morris
performance and more.
Celebration of 30 years of English
Country Dancing in the Bay Area
held at Wischemann Hall in October.
2001
Special dance was held in
San Rafael in October featuring
Hotpoint, from Ohio,
with Flashpoint and Swing
Farm.
2002
Elizabeth Douglas started
the Sebastopol
Contra dance at
Wischemann Hall in May.
Wild Asparagus returned
to play at Marin Masonic Hall in
June. First Mad Robin Ball was
held in June at Herman Sons Hall
in Petaluma.
To celebrate our 10 year anniversary,
the Hotfoot Festival (featuring
Hotpoint from Ohio) was held from
August 9th to 11th at the Sebastopol
Veterans Memorial Building. The
Contra Plus series, featuring the Groovemongers and Becky Hill, was
held in October in San Rafael.
2003
Reckless
Ramblers from Ohio
performed at the San Rafael Dance
in January.
US Scottish fiddle champion, Jamie
Laval, played at Sonoma Dance in
February.
Second Annual Mad Robin Ball was
held at Hermann Sons Hall in May.
A Waltz workshop preceded the July
contra dance in Sebastopol.
New Year’s Eve was celebrated
at Marin Masonic Hall with Swing
Farm and Driving
Fergus.
2004
The Sonoma dance moved to
Finnish American Home Association’s
Heritage Hall in January.
A new non-NBCDS dance started
in Caspar in March.
Sebastopol Contra Dance second
anniversary was celebrated with
Waltz workshop, Beckett dances,
and potluck and evening contra
in May.
The Mad Robin Ball brought Philippe
Callens from Belgium to the Sebastopol
Veteran’s Building in June.
2005
Summer Solstice Contra Mini-Fest
weekend was held with Notorius in
Santa Rosa and San Rafael in
June. New Year’s Eve Contra Gala
included two nights of dancing:
Hotpoint
Stringband in San Rafael
on the 30th and Santa Rosa on the
31st.
2006
Fautline Frolic dance weekend
was held at Monroe Hall with Notorious
and Erik Weber in June.
With great sadness at the passing
of our oldest dance, the last Sonoma
dance held in October,
A new Petaluma Contra Dance series
began at Hermann Sons Hall.
Dances Without Borders, an afternoon
of folk dance and evening of contra
dance, was held at Marin Masonic
Hall in September.
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