News and updates will be posted here and on the Events page, and we also send notices to our email list. If you don’t receive our emails and would like to, let us know through our Contact page and we’ll add you to the list.
Friday Night Dancing
Dates: Every Friday
Time: 7:30 PM till 9:30 PM
Place: Altadena Community Church, 943 Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91001
Admission: $6 (members $5) Additional donations welcomed
This Month at the Co-op
This month during the teaching sessions, Rick Cofield will be teaching two Serbian line dances, Makazice and Bela Rada.
Also see the This Month page for lists of the programmed dances for each Friday of the month, and if you’d like to brush up on any of them, you can find links to videos for most on our Dance List/Videos page.
Memberships
As previously announced, co-op memberships expired at the end of June. Regulars, have you remembered to renew? And newer dancers, would you like to becoming a member? It’s only $10 for the whole year, saves you a dollar on every admission, and we’d love to welcome you into the member group. See Rick Bingle on any Friday night to renew your membership or become a new member.
Folk Dance Resources
Most of you probably know that Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op is a member of the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc. Through the federation we are connected with other folk dance groups around the region, and the federation provides us with support and a wealth of folk dance resources. They also sponsor our festivals and those of our sister organizations in the area. On their website you can find a directory of federation clubs, advices on teaching, organizing events, and managing clubs, as well videos and syllabi for an enormous library of dances, plus folk dance news and events, and more.
Something probably less well known is that via the federation we belong to the National Folk Organization (NFO). NFO also offers a wealth of resources on their website and through various events both online and in-person nationwide, and they offer scholarships to many of their events. Check out a recent newsletter to get a flavor of who they are and what they do.
Folk Dance Scene
Folk Dance Scene is the official publication of the Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc. It comes out ten times a year in both print and email form (monthly, with combined issues for June/July and December/January). In it you’ll find news and information on our sister clubs in the area plus interesting articles on folk dance, music, costumes, customs, lore, and culture of the peoples of the world, as well as news of folk dance opportunities in other regions. Design and layout are done by our own Pat Cross and Don Krotser.
Click here to peruse a sample issue (April 2023) and if you’re interested in a subscription, send an email to: subscriptions@FolkDanceScene.org.
Set Dance Reviews
Marshall Cates has renewed his past practice of holding Set Dance review sessions once a month before regular dancing. These are planned for the second Friday of each month starting at 6:30 PM. They are geared mainly for dancers with some Set Dance experience, but newcomers are welcome to come–if you’re not up to joining in at first you can learn by watching.
Beginner Orientation
We offer beginner orientation sessions, scheduled according to interest and availability. When we have them, it’s a half-hour session starting at 7:00 before our regular dancing begins. We cover types of folk dances, hand holds, some basic folk dance patterns, and two or three of the simplest dances.
To find out about future sessions, use the Contact page. If you’ve attended before, it’s fine to schedule again for a refresher, or if you know an interested beginner, please send them this way.
*****
Current Covid-19 Protocols for Co-op Dancing
As of March 24, 2023 we no longer require proof of Covid-19 vaccination.
- Do not attend if you are sick
- Face masks are strongly recommended but not required
- Please bring your own water and any snacks you want to have
- Hand sanitizer is available
Some Co-op History
from Marshall Cates
In the middle 80’s the Pasadena Coop was at a very low state We had been dancing at the Odd Fellow’s Lodge -upstairs when they suddenly doubled our rent. I was President at the time, so It fell on me to find a new location. I thought I had a place at the congregational church, but when they said we had to quit at 10:30, it was a deal breaker (we were dancing to 11:30 at the time). We finally settled on Holliston Church even though the floor was not wood. Slowly we lost people, eventually Ray Augustine quit coming. This was a serious blow as he and I were the main teachers with Ester Purcell doing beginning. He brought the new dances from Stockton. We dropped to about 15 with Cheryl bringing refreshments, both of us opening and closing and me doing most of the teaching. We started quitting at 11:00. About two years later Phil Gamble found Throop hall with its wonderful floor. Ray returned and we began again to flourish. By 1993 we had good attendance at both the New Year’s Eve party and the Winter Festival.
1990s
Quotes
The job of feet is walking, but their hobby is dancing.
– Amit Kalantri
Hard times require furious dancing.
– Alice Walker
Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.
– Voltaire
If you hit a wall, climb over it, crawl under it, or dance on top of it.
– Unknown