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Contra Dance and Waltz in Fort Collins

For Waltz Nights, please see the Waltz Nights page.
Upcoming Waltz Nights are in December, February, and April.

Contra Dances run most 1st and 3rd Saturdays. See schedule below.

Free Lesson 6:15pm, Dance 7–10 p.m
$10–$20 sliding scale, students $5, age 16 and under free
Family plan 2 for 1 adults with infant or toddler

Public welcome - no tickets needed, just pay at door, cash or check

We dance at the fabulous Masonic Ballroom, with its gorgeous sprung wood dance floor.
225 W. Oak St., Fort Collins: Directions (google maps

Masonic Shoe Policy: Only clean, non-marking shoes are permitted.
Please clean the soles of your shoes at home and change into them when you arrive. We will provide shoe-cleaning tools in the lobby if you need to dance in the shoes you arrive wearing.

Upcoming Events:

Check the CFOOTMAD.org calendar for upcoming dances throughout the Denver area.

  • September 6, 2025 - Contra Dance: Raven & Goose (Corwin & Grace) w/Viki Lawrence
  • September 13, 2025 - Waltz Night
  • September 20, 2025 - Contra Dance: Julia Hays & Teri Rasmusson w/caller TBA
  • October 4, 2025 - Contra Dance: Questionable Decisions w/caller TBA – Masonic unavailable: location to be determined
  • October 18, 2025 - Contra Dance: The Buffleheads w/caller TBA – Masonic unavailable: location to be determined
  • October 25, 2025 - Wild Goose Ball: Avalon Ballroom in Boulder, Denver Pops Orchestra
  • November 1, 2025 - Contra Dance
  • November 15, 2025 - Contra Dance
  • December 6, 2025 - Contra Dance
  • December 20, 2025 - Contra Dance
  • December 25, 2025 - HOLIDANCE! Contra Dance Special Time and Location
  • December 27, 2025 - Waltz Night
  • January 3, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • January 17, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • February 7, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • February 21, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • February 28, 2026 - Waltz Night
  • March 7, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • March 21, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • April 4, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • April 18, 2026 - Contra Dance
  • April 25, 2026 - Waltz Night

Callers and bands: E-mail  FoTD@FoTD.org or call the FoTD hotline at 970-829-8689 with booking inquiries.

What is Contra Dancing?

Contra dancing is a form of American folk dancing, usually danced to live music of Celtic origin. Although it has been done since the eighteenth century, contra dancing is a living tradition. Thousands of people contra dance every week all over the country, and new contra dances are being written all the time. Contra dancers form an informal community locally, regionally, and nationally.

Check out this NPR story on Contra Dancing!

Here's what Contra dancing looks like:

Contra dances are community events. At almost any contra dance you will find people of all ages and all dance skill levels, from young to old, beginner to expert. Contra dancers form a very open and welcoming group of people. And you don't have to come with a partner. At a contra dance, it is customary to dance with a variety of partners. It is perfectly acceptable for either a man or a woman to ask someone they haven't met before to dance. You will find contra dancing a great way to make new friends.

Check out some attempts by Gary D. Shapiro to answer the question, "What Is Contra Dance?"

CONTACT

Let us know if you have questions! We are thrilled to have beginners at all our Fort Collins dances.

The Bands

  • Avourneen (pronounced a-vore-neen), The Denver-based trio may specialize in Irish music, but their musical approach pulls from a wealth of other genres and styles. Guitarist/bouzouki/vocalist Adam Goldstein, violinist/mandolin/pianist Cieran Morden, and bassist Alice Alister are fans of incorporating elements from their eclectic influences. Their rocking dance sets blend Contra standards with Irish and American folk tunes, as well as traces of vintage jazz, modern orchestral music and classic rock.

  • The Procrastinators: Adam Goldstein, Joel Hayes, Ed Secor on clarinet and saxophone.
  • Nerea The Fiddler & Tony Branch on percussion
  • NEREA the fiddler is an accomplished musician, dancer, teacher and all around entertainer. A Canadian Folk Music nominee, she has performed on 4 continents​ for audiences as large as 17,000. Her music originally hails from Celtic traditions but she now combines traditional and modern fiddling, fusing it with dance, in a way you have never seen before. She has performed at the Bercy Stadium in Paris (televised live), Edinburgh Castle, for the Sheikh of Dubai, the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the renowned Musica Hall of Beirut, to name a few. NEREA has captivated audiences from Dubai to Paris, Los Angeles to Beirut.
  • Stringtown: Adam Goldstein, Joel Hayes, Charlie Rosario
  • The Towhees: Jake Lowe, John Nielson, Lexie El Sharif, Peter Nielsen
  • The Coffee People are Rodney Sauer on piano and accordion, Cieran Morden (of Avourneen) on fiddle, mandolin, and piano, and a third rotating position to change up the sound. Often it’s Ben Cohen on percussion, or Rebecca Jonas on cello, or Julia Hays on fiddle.
  • Rodney Sauer
    • Once the youngest person in the world, Rodney Sauer is now too old to be a child prodigy. He has been playing piano and accordion for square and contra dances up and down the front range of Colorado for over 20 years, providing rhythmic support to a variety of bands, duets, and trios. He's been playing monthly dances with Eric Levine in Fort Collins since 1986, but is also a member of Deb and the Pariahs, Unstrung Heroes, The Boulder Hat Band, and often shows up with Teri Rasmusson, Sandra Wong, Bonnie Carol, and anyone else who needs a one-man back-up band. His musical interests include folk dance music, vintage ballroom dance, and silent film scoring with his nationally touring quintet, the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
  • Katydid: Kate Kerr, James Armington, Jeff Haemer
  • Step in Time includes Deb Carstensen on fiddle, Ed Secor on clarinet and saxophone, and Rodney Sauer on the keyboard and accordion.
    • Check out Deb's website. Deb Carstensen’s fiddle music has inspired many happy feet at contra dances. She started playing classical violin when she was 10, and played through her first year of college. Then she did not touch the violin for 15 years. In 1990, she picked it up again and decided that she wanted to play for the fun of it and for the “right brain” of it. She looked for a teacher who could help her learn to play by ear and improvise, and found Ron Jones at Swallow Hill. Deb says, “He does a great job at teaching classical violinists to play folk music, and therefore fiddle! I immediately was attracted to Celtic music, and here I am today.”
    • Deb likes playing for dancers, whether contra, or Irish Step dancers or cloggers. She loves dancing herself, and so tries to find music that she would enjoy dancing to. She adds, “I try to play in such a way that it lifts the dancers and drives them up and down the halls!” One of her secrets is to surround herself with excellent musicians. She often plays with Tina Gugeler (hammer dulcimer), and they like to add other musicians—keyboard, guitar, flute, etc.—to add rhythm and new dynamics to the sound. The two of them, with various combinations of other people, have formed the bands Highstrung, Unstrung, Restrung, Wellstrung, and Unstrung Heros. “Whatever the band,” she says, “I am playing with some of the finest musicians in the area.” She has also studied at fiddle camps and workshops with some of the best fiddlers in the world, including Alisdair Fraser, Buddy McMaster, Jerry Holland, Martins Hayes, Kevin Burke and many others. She says, “This has really helped me get the essence of the different Celtic idioms and helped me appreciate the music even more.” In conclusion she says, “Fiddling has opened a world to me that is filled with some of the best people I know and I am extraordinarily lucky.”
  • Prairie Dog Picnic is Dave Firestine on mandolin, Kate Kerr on fiddle, Phil Norman on cello, Rodney Sauer on piano and accordion, and Bonnie Carol on hammered dulcimer. Kate is one of those fiddlers who got raised the right way with correct positions and classical music but somehow got sidetracked into old timey, French Canadian, and contra dance music. Rodney is such a fixture at the Front Range Dances that it might be redundant to remind you that he plays traditional music, yes, but he’s also the musical composer and director of a very important silent film ensemble, The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. Now Phil Norman: who doesn’t love the cello, and when played by a genuine music school graduate who illustrates that anything can be beautiful on cello, it’s irresistible. Bonnie Carol has made her living playing music for … oh … too many years to mention and has won or placed in all the hammered dulcimer contests in the nation. The four amply educated musicians come together to make new sounds from old music!
  • The Rhythm Rangers is Barb Kirchner, Ed Secor, and Mark Brissenden
  • Sandra Wong: Sandra plays driving, haunting melodies and harmonies in the genre of Irish, Old-time and Bluegrass. If you haven't danced to her music, you are certainly in for a treat. Humble and sweet, she appears unaware of her ability to captivate a room with her charm and oustanding musicianship. Her love of music is absolutely apparent! Shes writes of herself: "Although I was too young to remember, my parents tell me that I displayed a real love of music from a very early age. My lullabye was Beethoven's 5th (I could not fall asleep to anything else!)." Find out more about Sandra on sandrawongmusic.com.
  • Julia Hays, Tina Gugeler, & Ben Cohen
  • Jake Lowe & Teri Rasmusson