Queer Contra Dance Camp is a queer-normative contra dance weekend in the California redwoods with incredible talent and an enthusiastic and friendly community. 

Monte Toyon 
220 Cloister Lane
Aptos, CA 

Sliding scale admission starts at $125 
Food and housing included 

We are currently making plans for Queer Contra Dance Camp 2025 and registration will open in the fall of 2024. If you would like to be added to the list to receive email notification of when future camps open, please email: queercontracamp@gmail.com. If you would like to know what a weekend at Queer Contra Dance Camp looks like, you can find the details from Queer Contra Dance Camp 2024 below.

Dancing – Commuity - Redwoods

Our Camp

San Francisco Bay Queer Contra Dance's thirteenth annual camp welcomes dancers of all identities and experience. We use the calling terms larks and robins, prioritize consent, and have gender-free facilities so that everyone can be included. New dancers will find that contra is an exuberant, social, and easy-to-learn American barn dance with roots in English folk dance. For experienced dancers, dancing as part of a community that prioritizes inclusion and everyone's enjoyment is one of the most magical opportunities contra provides. Take a weekend away with us to dance, relax, make friends, and enjoy the lovely California redwoods. See what campers said about Queer Contra Dance Camp 2019!  

Talent 2024

Nimbus

debuted at Folk Life 2023 with Alex Sturbaum (guitar and others), Brian Lindsay (banjo and fiddle), and Cedar Stanistreet (fiddle). Alex and Brian played Queer Contra Dance Camp together in 2019 as Countercurrent, the popular powerhouse duo from Washington, and Cedar joins them from Vermont and more than a decade of playing music with contra dance bands such as Nor’easter and Cloud Ten. Together they blend classical and traditional backgrounds and music from both sides of the Atlantic into a spirited and dynamic whole.

River Road

delivers beauty, power, and groove to contra dances with a highly revered mixture of contemporary and traditional tunes with strong influences from Quebecois, New England, & maritime traditions. While they are geographically divided by the Connecticut river, an aptly named River Road connects Sarah-Hadley Yakir (fiddle) Kristen Planeaux (piano, flute, and accordion), and Jesse Ball (mandolin, guitar, accordion, and foot percussion) to create an energy that has taken New England by storm.

Andy Shore

has been teaching & leading social dances in the LGBTQ community since 1989, and calling contras since 2007. He moved to the Palm Springs area in 2021, but before COVID, he called regularly around northern and central California as well as farther afield and had been a mainstay of our SF Bay Queer Contra Dance community for over a dozen years. With 30 years of calling experience, Andy loves everything from teaching beginners to satisfying seasoned dancers. Dancers enjoy Andy's clear and concise walk-throughs and his dry wit while he takes them on a journey through choreography and music. 

Isaac Banner

is a long-time contra dancer and caller from the Seattle area. He is known in the Pacific Northwest for his particular blend of humor, mayhem, and dance instruction, which he brought to Queer Contra Dance Camp for our “Science Ceilidh” in 2023. A self-styled contra dance Willy Wonka, he brings moments of magic into the lives of newcomers and veteran dancers alike. 

Nick Cuccia

has provided dancer- and musician-friendly sound at numerous events throughout northern California during the past twenty-five years, including BACDS Family Week, English Week, Fall Frolick, and Playford Balls and camps; NBCDS Mad Robin Balls, SCDS Echo Summit weekend, RSCDS-SF Valentines' Ball and Asilomar Scottish Country Dance Weekend & Workshop, and every Queer Contra Dance Camp. Nick also calls contras and English country dances throughout central and northern California.

Seth Gorrin

grew up in the Bay Area contra scene and has been attending Queer Contra Dance Camp for over a decade. After studying technical theatre in college he returned to the Bay Area and has been running sound at both Queer Contra Dance Camp and Circle Left ever since. He also originated the traveling skirt, which has made appearances across the United States and helped numerous dancers get excited about wearing skirts for contra dances. 

Our talent provides a full weekend of contra dance, with a second track of dance and singing workshops led by the community during the day. Specifics will be announced as camp approaches, but workshop topics in the past have included waltz, consent conversations, English country dance, pop contra, traditional folk songs, playing music for contra, and much more. Sessions targeted to beginning and advanced dancers are also included. 

Venue

Nestled in a grove of coastal redwoods in Aptos, California, Camp Monte Toyon offers hiking trails and a beautiful rhododendron garden. The cost of camp includes dormitories to stay in, three meals on Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday, and a delicious spread of snacks throughout the weekend. Meals are served buffet-style with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. Refrigerator space is available for those on special diets. Accommodations are shared rooms ranging from 4-10 people or campground space for those who would prefer to bring a tent to sleep in. Rooms are pre-assigned, and campers have the chance to express housing preferences and needs as part of registration. Campers need to bring their own towels, pillows, and sleeping bags or sheets and blankets. Local dancers are asked to bring extras and help with transportation for campers flying in from out of state which allows us to help with those logistics for some of those dancers.  

Registration

The cost of running camp is about $380 per person, but we have a sliding scale starting at $125 to make the weekend accessible to as many people as possible. Transparency about our costs and our sliding scale recommendations are on the second page of our waitlist form. As of now, Queer Contra Dance Camp 2024 is full, however we usually experience a number of cancellations and are able to invite people from our waitlist to join us in the order they signed up. If you need to cancel your registration, we will fully refund cancellations through January 31 or for health reasons. After February 1, other refunds (minus a $50 fee) are not guaranteed but may be available if your vacant spot is filled. If paying the full cost when registering is stressful, you can register and pay later. Additional payments for camp can be made via PayPal donation.

Health Safety Precautions

We know that everyone is in different places as to their own feelings around COVID-19 and health safety. As a group event in 2024 we want to put some precautions in place to help to lessen the chance of illness for our talent and campers and allow the most people possible to attend.

Currently, we expect everyone to test before camp within 72 hours of arriving and bring a picture of the test to camp. We expect anyone who tests positive or feels sick not to come to camp and will refund their registration. Everyone will also need to mask while dancing or in a room with a dance or workshop, unless actively drinking water, calling dances, or playing music. Doors and windows in the main dance hall will be left open for maximum ventilation during the day and until they need to be closed for sound reasons in the evening. Masking will be optional for the rest of camp activities.

We encourage vaccination and getting the September 2023 COVID booster, but do not require it. Our venue has outdoor dining, tent camping, and outdoor social spaces available for those who would like to not be unmasked indoors with other people. We recognize that the situation continues to evolve, and we will review our policies as camp approaches. If they happen, we will announce any changes to attendees in advance of camp.

Transportation

Queer Contra Camp is 79 miles or a 2 hour drive south of San Francisco. Monte Toyon is only accessible by private vehicle, with limited parking on-site. If you can offer a ride or need a ride to/from camp, please let us know on the registration form. We are able to get some campers a ride from the Bay Area if they need one. If you are flying in, we recommend arriving at Oakland or San Jose airports by 5:00 pm on Friday, April 7. While we will have snacks Friday night, we recommend everyone coming eats before they arrive at camp. Campers flying into San Francisco who we are arranging rides for may need to take public transit to meet their carpool and we don’t expect to have rides available for campers arriving in the evening.

Code of Conduct

We want all people to feel safe and comfortable at Queer Contra Dance. We value and expect consent and communication, community mindness, and physical safety. Harassment of any kind won't be tolerated. If someone's behavior is offensive or harassing during the dance, we encourage you to speak with one of the organizers.

Please read our Values and Expectations if you would like to know more about our community norms and how we handle unwelcome behavior.

Queer Contra Dance Camp

April 11-13, 2025