Beantown Stomp 2023

This is an archived page, which we've kept online for historical reasons. To see information on the next Beantown Stomp, visit beantownstomp.com.

Friday 3/10 - Sunday 3/12, 2023

Gender-free non-residential Boston contradance weekend.

This weekend is registration-only, except for the Saturday morning family dance where you can pay at the door.

Beantown Stomp is sold out, and we now have more people on the waitlist than we'll be able to admit even if we get a lot of cancellations.

Performers

Callers

Luke Donforth
Lisa Greenleaf

Bands

River Road: Sarah-Hadley Yakir, Jesse Ball, and Kristen Planeaux
Eloise &Co.: Becky Tracy, Rachel Bell, and Bethany Waickman

Plus an open band.

Venue

Cambridge Masonic Hall
1950 Mass Ave Cambridge MA (map)

Schedule

Friday
7:00pm	Hall opens
7:30pm	Eloise & Co. with Lisa
9:00pm	Break
9:30pm	River Road with Luke
11:00pm	Dancing ends
11:30pm	Hall closes
Saturday
9:00am	Hall opens
9:15am	Family dance, led by Luke + Acoustic Open Band led by Alex Cumming
10:30am	Break
10:45am	River Road with Lisa
12:15pm	Lunch
2:00pm	Connection and Flourishes workshop, led by Lisa and Izebel + Eloise & Co.
3:30pm	Break
4:00pm	River Road with Luke
5:30pm	Dinner
7:15pm	River Road with Lisa
9:00pm	Break
9:30pm	Eloise & Co. with Luke
11:00pm	Dancing ends
11:30pm	Hall closes
Sunday
9:30am	Hall opens
10:00am	Open Couple Dancing with Eloise & Co.
11:15am	Break
11:45am	River Road with Luke
1:00pm	Break
1:30pm	Eloise & Co. with Lisa
3:00pm	Dancing ends
3:45pm	Hall closes

Sessions marked have free childcare available. Please include on your registration (or write info@beantownstomp.com) if you'd like to use it.

Family Dance

The family dance will be on Saturday morning, and will be open to everyone, not just families, but will have dances targeted at very young dancers.

If you want to come to only the family dance, you don't have to register for the weekend. Just show up and pay cash at the door: $3-$10. All other sessions require registration.

Open Band

We will have an open band during our Saturday morning family dance. It will be very relaxed - no microphones, not much leading, just playing tunes acoustically.

Wind players are welcome, but please bring your own rapid test to take upon arrival.

Pricing

We want people to be able to come regardless of means, so we're offering a sliding scale of $40-$120.

We're predicting our break-even figure will be about $60/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, LCFD, and our musicians and callers.

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:

$60 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...
$40 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 $40, we recommend volunteering (above).
$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!

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.

Food

Meals

You can bring food, buy food at the supermarket across the street, or eat at one of the many nearby restaurants. There is refrigerator and freezer space available at the hall, as well as a microwave. We're planning on breaks for lunch and dinner on Saturday.

Snacks

There will be plenty of snacks at the hall, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. There will be light snacks out most of the time, and more substantial snacks Sunday around lunchtime. If you have dietary restrictions there's a space for that on the registration form.

Housing

Housing isn't included, but we will try to match out-of-town dancers with local dancers who are willing to host. There's a bit asking about this on registration. We can't guarantee a match, but we will do our best.

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. This includes high-filtration masks and boosters for everyone eligible. The venue is not wheelchair accessible. Unlike BIDA's regular evening dances, this event is low-fragrance; see the registration form for more details.

Covid

Please rapid test before arriving on Friday. If you don't feel well, please stay home and we're happy to refund you.

Beantown Stomp will follow BIDAs covid policy. BIDA requires:

Full vaccination, including a booster if you're eligible for one
Well-fitting high filtration masks (N95, KN95, KF-94, FFP-2, or P100 masks)

More details: BIDA policy.

And please wash your hands before entering the kitchen!

Kids and Childcare

There will be childcare for the daytime parts of the weekend, and a family dance.

Questions

Please write to us at info@beantownstomp.com

Past Stomps

2022 cancelled
2021 cancelled
2020 cancelled (retrospective)
2019 (retrospective)

Beantown Stomp

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