Contra and square dancing is easy, healthy, and fun. Contra dance skills can be acquired quickly: just show up a half an hour before a dance and you’ll be taught the basics with more moves taught as the evening progresses. Square dancing is much more involved and a series of lessons is needed before you can join in.

Overwhelmingly present square dance lessons are taught without any resources available on the internet. This class changes that. We’ll make use of the 70” TV in the ASC classroom to follow dance animations and two well illustrated online texts (found here and here) in addition to demonstrations and practice. Contra dancing and square dancing are cousins - we’ll note how they differ.

The class begins on Monday March 28 from 2:15 until 3:45 p.m. in the Astoria Senior Center classroom and will continue weekly thereafter.

Contra dancing uses a subset of square dance moves, some done a bit differently, others unique to contra dancing. Long lines are formed, you keep your partner and every 64 beats of music you’ll be dancing with a new set of neighbors. Contra dancing is always done to live music and is fast paced - this is where you’ll learn to “swing your partner”.

Square dancing is much more involved; after going through many moves, it’s quite satisfying to get back home from where you started. We’ll start out with things you may know already such as “Dosado” and “Promenade” – months later we’ll progress to “Follow Your Neighbor” and “Ping Pong Circulate”.

Wear normal everyday clothes and leather soled shoes if you have them. Everyone's welcome. It’s a lot of fun.

Questions?   Contact Craig Holt . . . craig.holt@me.com.

5 Reasons in 8 Short Weeks for You to Become
the Writer You Were Born to Be!

Wow. The fourth quarter of a football game, or of your life, is by definition the final quarter. There is no getting around this. But it can also be the most exciting part. Any doubts? Watch a championship game!

So, although you may not be an athlete competing in a massive metropolitan stadium, you still need to balance your time, your budget, your energy, and your stress level to do what most interests you.

Perhaps you’ve pondered writing a memoir, a poem, or some other story, but the right circumstances never presented themselves. Perhaps now is finally that time.

Amy Tan, best-selling author of The Joy Luck Club, began writing relatively late in her life. Something which inspired her was joining a weekly writing group focused on two things: kindness and honesty.

ENCORE offers such a group, and it fits within your budget

Our Writing Exchange class provides 5 Key Benefits to You as a New Writer:

1. Encouragement
2. How to Constructively Give Feedback to Others.
   
   • This is Not Entirely an Altruistic Act. By Analyzing What Other People Write, it Improves Your Own Work.
3. How to Effectively Receive & Use Feedback.
   
   • Each week, you’ll receive emailed Audio and downloadable Video copies of Your Writing with Constructive Feedback from our class. Listen and Watch People React to Your Work with Signs of Honest Appreciation!
4. A Series of Soft Self-Imposed Deadlines, i.e., Eight Chances to Share Your Writing during the Spring Term.
5. Brief Lectures on the Techniques & Craft of Writing: Based on Master Classes from a Diverse Group of Writers! Borrow Techniques from One Master or More. You Can Be a Better Writer!

ENCORE Spring 2022’s Writing Exchange Course begins Tuesday, March 29 (and runs just 8 weeks till Tuesday, May 17) from 9:45 to 11:45 A.M.

COVID-19 Protocol: For Spring 2022, the Writing Exchange class plans to use a Hybrid Access Approach: (1) meeting in the Astoria Senior Center (for those who prefer face-to-face), while (2) also linking to Zoom (for those who prefer online access).

For more information about ENCORE’s Writing Exchange  class and how to access it, please email the instructor, Eric Anderson, at EricCAnder@aol.com or call (503) 325-3131.

HUMANIST DISCUSSIONS is a group of individuals who enjoy exploring the meaning of events, as well as social, emotional, and philosophical questions. Any topic which pertains to human existence is fair game. At the end of each discussion we decide on a topic for the next meeting. Over the intervening week we contribute videos and written references on the chosen topic. Then on Monday we share our perspectives and explore implications of the topic chosen. Humanist Discussions will be held through Spring term, March 28th through May 16th. We meet on Monday mornings from 10:00 to noon. Sign up by contacting Tod Lundy at todlundy@gmail.com. You may also call. My phone number is 503-442-2446.

Tod

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