Norfolk Contra Dance

04/19/2026

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

04/16/2026

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!
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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/

03/22/2026

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 !!

03/20/2026

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/

02/27/2026

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/

02/15/2026

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!

02/11/2026

Our next Norfolk Contra Dance will be Saturday, February 21, at First Lutheran Church, 1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk.

Our band is Cutie and the Hot Wings and our caller is Gwyn P. Williams!!

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!

https://norfolkcontradance.com/

02/03/2026

If you haven't had a chance to take our survey, please do. The responses are anonymous, so please only respond one time. Thank you!

Many dances around the country have decided to stop using the terms "Ladies and Gents" and switch to gender neutral role terms. Most urban dances have made this change, including dances in Washington DC, Charlottesville, Richmond and Williamsburg. This survey is intended to get a sense of how the No...

01/23/2026

The dance that was scheduled for tomorrow, January 24, has been rescheduled to Saturday, May 23, due to the forecast winter storm.

NO DANCE tomorrow, January 24, at the American Theatre. Please stay safe during the coming inclement weather.

Update ❄❄❄

Due to inclement weather, the January 24th Contra Dance class has been cancelled.

We are a few days away from Contra Dance at The American TheaWe are a few days away from Contra Dance at The American Thea ! 🎶🎵

Join us January 24th for an evening of social dancing inspired by American folk traditions.

Held monthly, these beginner-friendly classes are guided by a professional caller and accompanied by live music.

Learn more at HamptonArts.org

01/18/2026

Thanks everyone for coming out last night for a fun, high energy evening! Virginia Varland called some fun dances, and Orion kept the place buzzing!!!

Our next dance is Feb. 21, with Gwyn P. Williams and Cutie and the Hot Wings band!

01/16/2026

Many contra dances around the country have decided to stop using the terms "Ladies and Gents" and switch to gender-neutral role terms. Most urban dances have made this change, as well as several dances in Virginia. Washington DC, Charlottesville, Richmond and Williamsburg/Norge have all now gone to gender-neutral calling.

We have put together a survey to poll our dancers. If you've been to the Norfolk dance in the last few months, you know that we have done some "experimenting" with gender-neutral terms. Now we want to get a sense of how the Norfolk contra dance community feels about the issue, and whether changing how we do things makes sense or not.

We decided to allow this to be an "anonymous response" survey, so please only respond one time. We hope share the results before the Norfolk contra dance in February. Thank you for taking the time to respond!

Many dances around the country have decided to stop using the terms "Ladies and Gents" and switch to gender neutral role terms. Most urban dances have made this change, including dances in Washington DC, Charlottesville, Richmond and Williamsburg. This survey is intended to get a sense of how the No...

01/11/2026

Our next Norfolk Contra Dance will be this coming Saturday, January 17, at First Lutheran Church, 1301 Colley Avenue, Norfolk.

Our band is Orion (Steve Suhring, Joe Healey, Ken Veazey), and our caller is Virginia Varland-O'Neill!

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!

NOTE - the church is servicing their HVAC in the sanctuary, thus moving the Sunday worship 3rd floor Fellowship Hall, where we normally dance. So we will dance in the reception hall just off the lobby this time.

https://norfolkcontradance.com/