Update, March 12, 2025
We danced Friday, March 7, at our new venue in Pasadena!!
We’re staying at least through the month of March, though longer term plans are still under discussion. See Mar 2nd update below for map and directions.
Check back for updates, or if you’d like to get direct email updates, you can sign up for our email list on the Contact page.
Dates: Every Friday
Time: 7:30 PM till 9:30 PM
Westminster Presbyterian Church
1757 N. Lake
Pasadena, CA 91104
Admission: $6 (members $5) Additional donations welcomed
We’re currently having programmed dances and requests from our large collection of recorded ethnic dance music from countries around the world. See our This Month page for upcoming playlists. Special Friday-night activities have been suspended since the Eaton fire, but we plan to bring them back in March or April. See the Events page for more details.
Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op at Pasadena Art Night
Friday, March 14, 2025, 6:00 till 10:00 PM
Visit the Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op booth at Pasadena Art Night! We’ll be hosted by Red Hen Press at 1540 Lincoln Ave. Stop by and see/participate in our dance programs at 6:15, 7:15, 8:15, or 9:15 pm. (Notice that this is our Friday night dance night, but you could do both!) Go here for more info on Pasadena Art Night in general, or here for a delightful article about our booth by Toti O’Brien in ColoradoBlvd.net. Toti will be there, along with other co-op members, Rick Cofield, Kate Cook, Pat Cross, and Don Krotser.
Co-sponsored by the Folk Dance Federation of California, South and Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op
Update, March 2, 2025
We have a new place to dance!! And we’re giving it a trial run this Friday. Come and join us and see what you think. Here’s the scoop:
March 7th, 2025, 7:30 till 9:30 PM
Westminster Presbyterian Church
1757 N. Lake
Pasadena, CA 91104
We’ll be in a room at the back that has a nice wood floor suitable for about 30 dancers. There’s ample parking behind the church–the driveway is off Atchison, which is the next cross street south of Woodbury. And we’ll have signs up (thank you, Ann Armstrong!).
Thanks go to Marshall Cates for making this connection.
Hope to see you there.
Update, January 25, 2025
We are having Friday Night Dancing at a temporary location in El Monte. The search for a permanent venue continues but until then we invite you to join us at:
1st Christian Church in El Monte
11025 Lambert Ave, El Monte, CA 91731
Every Friday evening from 7:30 till 9:30 PM
until further notice
Thanks go to Ann Armstrong for securing the facility at her church, to 1st Christian Church for letting us use the space, to Marshall Cates for rebuilding a music system for us, and to Ellen and Ted Stern for donating an awesome pair of speakers.
Beginners’ hour is not resuming yet, but we hope that will happen shortly after we find a permanent venue. Beginners, you’re still welcome to come–people will help you along.
Update, January 16, 2025
Hello Dancers,
Here is a message from one of our members who many of you know lost her house in the Eaton fire:
I’m OK but really hope our Co-Op can find another place and get together soon. I will be living farther away but will do my best to join you all again! Much love to all of you, and am hoping those of you who lost homes and community will find peace soon.
Our continued well wishes to to An and everyone suffering from the disaster. Also we’ve continued to receive messages of support from friends both in and outside the area–thank you to all who have reached out.
The co-op board met on Zoom Tuesday night, with the main focus being re-establishing ourselves and resuming dancing. The biggest priority is finding a new venue. Ann Armstrong has taken charge of the committee to work on that, and we would love to have help from anyone who can assist. Information on likely possibilities can be sent to Ann directly, or sent by email through the Contact page. Here is a message from Ann on the information wanted:
Please include the following info if possible. Any other pertinent information is welcome (ie secure storage etc):
- Name, address, and contact information
- Include floor material and space (ie tile, wood) (ie kitchen or storage)
- Is there off street parking available and how many spaces are available
- Availability on Friday night and Is there a curfew
- Price
Peace and good wishes,
Mari Werner
for Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op
Update, January 13, 2025
Hi Dancers,
I hope you’re all managing well. We’re grateful for the kind messages of support and offers of help we’ve been receiving, and also want to offer condolences and well wishes to everyone suffering losses and hardships in this disaster.
As folk dancers, we all know getting together and dancing has a rejuvenating, perspective-improving effect. To that end, the board will be meeting soon to coordinate and expand the efforts we’ve been making individually toward getting up and running again.
In the meantime, here are some other possible places to dance. (Consider carpooling with your fellow dancers.)
Details of he following groups are on our Associated Groups page:
- Yael Steinfeld’s Israeli group meets tonight and every Monday evening in Claremont.
- Valerie Daley’s group meets Tuesdays & Thursday afternoons and some Sundays in Ventura
- Nomad Dancers aka ‘dancing in the park’ meets weekends, and plans to meet this weekend (Jan 18 or 19) either in Sierra Madre or Duarte,depending on conditions. You can reply to this email for more info.
- Foothill Dancers meets in La Canada Thursday evenings
Also see the federation’s Clubs page for details on lots of other folk dance groups in So Cal, including:
- Narodni in Bellflower, Thursday evenings
- Cerritos Dancers in Cerritos, Tuesday evenings
- Laguna International Dancers in Laguna Woods, various days and times
- Conejo Valley Folk Dancers in Thousand Oaks, Wednesday evenings
Lastly I’d like to share with you this link to a sweet article on Altadena Community Church, sent in by Steve Waller.
Stay safe and well,
Mari
for Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op
IMPORTANT UPDATE January 9, 2025:
Dear Dancers,
Sadly, I have to inform you that our dance venue has burned down in the Eaton fire. Our condolences go out to the staff and members of Altadena Community Church, along with thanks for the years they’ve hosted us. A number of our dancers have been affected by the disaster, but by all reports, everyone is safe and well. I hope all of you are also safe and well.
We will dance again soon though not right away, and we won’t be able to have our Winter Festival on the 18th. After personally affected board members have had time to recover and regroup, we’ll meet and organize and find a new venue. Possibly we’ll dance at a temporary venue for a little while.
Dancing in the park will continue. See Nomad Dancers on the Associated Groups page, and you’ll find other dance groups listed there as well.
Please keep the faith and keep dancing in your heart. We shall overcome. Stay safe and well.
All the best, Mari Werner
for the Pasadena Folk Dance Co-op Board
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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: **To be determined**
Admission: $6 (members $5) Additional donations welcomed
Wishing all of you a 2025 filled with the joys of dancing and friendship
New Year’s Eve Dance Party
We danced, we ate and drank, some of us played and sang
…and a good time was had by all.
Thank you everyone who joined us, many thanks to Fifth Friday for playing for us, and a big thank you to the board members and volunteers who did the work to bring it all together.
Notable Thoughts for our times…?
“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask whether your country has been inhaling paint-thinner fumes.”
— Dave Barry
“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
— Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Co-op Memberships
A membership year at the co-op is July through June. A membership costs $10 for the full year and it gets you into Friday night dancing for $5 rather than the standard $6 as well as making you eligible to vote for the board of directors and to serve on the board. Plus it’s just a nice expression of solidarity and support for the Co-op.
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.
Join the Folk Dance Federation Facebook Page
The Folk Dance Federation of California South now has a page in Facebook Groups here. If you’re a Facebook user, joining it will help you stay informed on all the great folk dance happenings going on in the whole region and also connect you with lots of folk dance clubs and individual folk dancers.
Federation Scholarships
Are you interested in attending folk dance festivals and camps, but maybe a little short of funds? The Federation offers scholarships for camps and festivals to dancers who are participating in their local clubs and supporting the growth of international folk dance. You can receive up to half of camp tuition or the full registration fee to festivals with teaching. Click here to find out how to apply.
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 (March 2024) and if you’re interested in a subscription, send an email to: subscriptions@FolkDanceScene.org.
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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