Performers
Callers
- Alex Deis-Lauby
- Adina Gordon
Bands
- Stovedragon (Oliver Scanlon, Rose Jackson, Sam Zakon-Anderson, Max Newman)
- Julie Metcalf and Larry Unger
Venue
Cambridge Masonic Hall1950 Mass Ave Cambridge MA (map)
Schedule
Beantown Stomp 2025 runs from the evening of Friday March 14th through the afternoon of Sunday March 16th and is followed, in the same hall, by BIDA's 3rd Sunday regular evening dance.We have two spaces this year:
- Main Hall: our wonderfull ballroom
- Upstairs room: chill space (❆), unless otherwise noted. Puzzles and board games will be available throughout the weekend. Childcare is available during some sessions (); please include on your registration (or write beantown-stomp@googlegroups.com) if you'd like to use it.
We're still working on our final schedule for 2025. For a sense of what it's likely to be like, here's our 2024 schedule:
Main Hall | Upstairs Room | |
---|---|---|
Friday | ||
7:00pm | Hall opens | Room opens |
7:30pm | Mean Lids with Will | ❆ |
9:00pm | Break | |
9:30pm | Figments with Maia | |
11:00pm | Dancing ends | |
11:30pm | Hall closes | Room closes |
Saturday | ||
9:00am | Hall opens | Room opens |
9:15am | Family dance, led by Andrew Stout
+ Acoustic Open Band led by Jeff Kaufman | |
10:30am | Break | ❆ |
10:45am | Figments with Will | |
12:00pm | Lunch | Song Swap with Lisa (12:30-1:30) |
1:30pm | Chaos is Beautiful Workshop, with Maia and Annie
+ Mean Lids | ❆ |
3:00pm | Break | |
3:15pm | Mean Lids with Will | Irish Stepping workshop with Sam Jones |
4:45pm | Break | |
5:00pm | Kerry Sets with Sam Jones
+ Ethan and Owen | Harmony singing with Anna |
6:00pm | Dinner | Laughter yoga with Emily (7:15-7:45) |
7:45pm | Figments with Maia | ❆ + Jamming |
9:00pm | Break | |
9:30pm | Mean Lids with Will | |
11:00pm | Dancing ends | |
11:30pm | Hall closes | Room closes |
Sunday | ||
9:30am | Hall opens | Room opens |
10:00am | Open Waltzing with the Figments | ❆ (childcare ends 2:15pm) |
11:15am | Break | |
11:45am | Mean Lids with Maia | |
1:00pm | Break | |
1:30pm | Figments with Will and Maia | |
3:00pm | Dancing ends | ❆ |
4:00pm | Hall closes: unless you're staying for cleanup please leave; you can come back at 5pm | Room closes and doesn't reopen (take your stuff!) |
5:00pm | Hall reopens for jamming and hanging out | Room closed |
7:00pm | Beginner lesson for regular evening dance | |
7:30pm | Regular BIDA dance (separate admission) |
Pricing
We want people to be able to come regardless of means, so we're offering a sliding scale of $45-$120.We're predicting our break-even figure will be about $65/person, and the more you're able to contribute the more we're able to pay our musicians and let others attend below cost.
Any money that the weekend makes above breaking even will be split between BIDA and our musicians and callers.
$65 Break-even point: this is the amount we estimate will cover
our costs for performers, venue, sound, food, everything. If
everyone paid this, we'd come out ok. But, read on...
$45 Minimum: if you can only afford this much, that's ok! We'd
love for you to be able to come and dance. If you can't pay at least
$45, we recommend volunteering.
$80-$100: this is an opportunity to help cover the difference
for someone who can't pay a full ticket. Maybe you're in a good job
or comfortable situation, or maybe you're wanting to give back
directly to your community. It's been a weird, hard couple of years
for many. Paying $80 will cover the difference of one person
attending at the minimum. Paying $100 will cover two.
Giving even more: Paying $100-$120 will allow us to give extra
to our performers and help BIDA continue to run affordable events in
the future!
Unfamiliar with sliding scales?
Money is a social construct, right? But also, its effects are very
real: we need it to buy food, pay rent, get to dance weekends, pay
talented musicians for creating magic that brings us together,
etc. etc. So a sliding scale is a way of accommodating different
incomes and asking you, the dancers, to take account of what kind of
financial situation you're experiencing, and pay accordingly. Here are
some examples:
Gender and Roles
All calling will be gender-free, with Larks/Robins terms. The bathrooms will also not be gendered. This event is not gender or role balanced, and anyone is welcome to dance either or both roles.Housing
Housing isn't included, but we expect to set something up to try and help out-of-town dancers match with local dancers who are willing to host.Transportation
Public Transit
Public transit is a great way to get to and from the hall, which is at the Porter Square stop on the Red Line Subway, the Fitchburg Line Commuter Rail, and the 77, 83, 87, and 96 buses. For detailed directions and schedules Google Maps works well: Cambridge Masonic Hall.Driving
- Friday and Saturday:
The parking lot at the Kennedy School (map) a short walk away is free to use when school is not in session.
Parking meters on Mass Ave or at metered municipal lots in Davis Sq.
- Sunday:
All parking meters and residential spaces are free on Sunday.
Please don't park in the big shopping center lot across the street from the hall, because they tow.
Accessibility
See BIDA's general accessibility information; note that the venue is not wheelchair accessible. Unlike BIDA's regular evening dances, this event is low-fragrance.Covid
We'll require proof of a negative covid rapid test taken on Friday. You'll show your test or a photo of it when you check in. Masks will not be required, but are certainly welcome. In line with BIDA's policy, vaccination is also not required. Please don't attend if you're at all sick, with anything! We'll fully refund any cancellations due to illness. Let's have a healthy dance weekend!Refund Policy
We'll refund you for any reason, if we can fill your place. Refunds will not include Venmo's fee (usually under $2).If you become symptomatic (of anything!) or test positive for COVID, we will refund you fully—Don't come if you're sick!
Childcare
Childcare will be available Saturday daytime after the family dance (with the exception of lunch) and all day Sunday. On the schedule these times are marked withVolunteering
We will have a limited number of SuperVolunteer roles who get free admission to the weekend in exchange for a larger time commitment. You can sign up for most smaller volunteer roles at check in. More details in the registration form.Saturday Morning
We'll start Saturday off with a family dance to an open band. While this is included in a weekend registration it's also open to all: you can pay at the door with cash or Venmo ($3 for kids, and $5-$20 for everyone else). As always, the open band is free for musicians, though we're happy to take donations! People attending the family dance are also invited to stay until noon to dance to The Figments and Will Mentor.If you would like to play in the open band, just bring your instrument. It will be very relaxed - no microphones, no arranging, just playing tunes acoustically. We haven't decided on the tunes for this year, but here are the 2024 tunes so you can get a sense of the kind of tunes we usually do:
- La Bastringue (D)
- Galopede (G)
- Road to Boston (D)
- Sasha (Dm/D)
- Marie's Wedding (G)
- Liza Jane (A)
- Hundred Pipers (A)
Sponsors
This weekend is a project of Boston Intergenerational Dance Advocates.Questions
Please write to us at beantown-stomp@googlegroups.comPast Stomps
- 2024
- 2023
- 2022 cancelled
- 2021 cancelled
- 2020 cancelled (retrospective)
- 2019 (retrospective)