Adults: $10-15 — Students: $8 — High School: $6
First-timers who attend our 7pm Beginner's Lesson: FREE

Our Regular Venue (above) is the
Pacific Lodge Masonic Hall
99 Main St, Amherst, MA
Between the Black Sheep Deli and the Police Station



Our Summer Venue is the
Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst
121 N. Pleasant St, Amherst, MA
Our summer dances are held at the UU Church. Please enter through the right-side door. Our dance returns to the Masonic Hall in the fall.

Please bring a water bottle and soft soled shoes. This is a fragrance-free and substance-free event. Please refrain from wearing scented products. Dances are smoke, drug and alcohol free.

The Downtown Amherst Contra Dance prides itself on being a very safe and welcoming community. If you ever have physical or emotional safety concerns at our dance, please reach out to a committee member and we will attend to the issue as quickly as possible. Committee members are identifiable by our buttons, which say "committee" and have a ribbon around them. Help us make our dance as safe as it possibly can be for you and everyone else!

read our SAFETY POLICY

Dance Schedule

January 15, 2020

Calling: Hannah Johlas

Music: Kingfisher

Cecilia Vacanti - fiddle
Jeff Kaufman - piano, mando, percussive effects

January 22, 2020

Calling: Dereck Kalish

Music: The Gaslight Tinkers

Audrey Knuth - fiddle
Peter Siegel - mando, guitar
Garrett Sawyer - bass
Jopey Fitzpatrick - drums

January 29, 2020

Calling: Ron Blechner

Music: Rachel Bell, Donal Sheets, Kristen Planeaux

Rachel - accordion
Donal - cello
Kristen - piano

February 5, 2020

Calling: Dela Murphy

Music: Free Association

Carol Bittenson - fiddle
Amy Larkin - fiddle
Debby Knight - piano

February 12, 2020 - No Dance

February 19, 2020 - TECHNO CONTRA!

Music & Calling: DJ Luminous

NOTE: no Free Admission for first-time dancers this night

February 26, 2020

Calling: Gaye Fifer

Music: Chimney Swift

Zoë Madonna - accordion
Daniel Raine - frets
Cecile Leroy - cello
Yaron Shragai - percussion

March 4, 2020

Calling: Sarah VanNorstrand

Music: Kestrel

Dave Langford - fiddle
Kate Barnes - piano, guitar

March 11, 2020 - No Dance

March 18, 2020

Calling: Rich Sbardella

Music: Larry Unger and Eileen Kalfass

Eileen - fiddle
Larry - guitar, banjo, jaw harp

March 25, 2020

Calling: Emma Anderson

Music: Eileen Kalfass and Kristen Planeaux

Eileen - fiddle
Kristen - piano

April 1, 2020 - Alternative Music Party!

Music & Calling: Lisa Greenleaf

April 8, 2020 - No Dance

April 15, 2020

Calling: TBD

Music: Eileen Kalfass, Rachel Bell, Karen Axelrod

Eileen - fiddle
Rachel - accordion
Karen - piano

April 22, 2020

Calling: Diane Silver

Music: Laurie Indenbaum, Jim Fownes, and Andy Davis

Laurie Indenbaum - fiddle
Jim Fownes - piano
Andy Davis - accordion

April 29, 2020

Music & Calling: Swallowtail

David Cantieni - flute, sax
Ron Grosslein - fiddle, mando
George Marshall - calling, concertina, bodhran
Timm Triplett - piano
Tim VanEgmond - calling, hammered dulcimer

Click here to download a PDF of the current Amherst flyer

Dances organized by Amherst Area Contradances, a group of local dance enthusiasts. For information, Click HERE

This dance series is funded in part by the New Leaders, Good Leaders Fund of the Country Dance and Song Society