Andrew Addessi, of Milton-Freewater, dances the handy hand allemande Feb. 17, 2024, at contradancing night at Timberrib in Milton-Freewater. Addessi is a guitarist for the Wednesday Night Band, who play lively string band music at the venue.

MILTON-FREEWATER — About 25 nimble-footed participants took to the floor Feb. 17 at Howard and Trudy Ostby’s Timberrib building in Milton-Freewater to swing and sway the contradance way.

The name might conjure up an image of armed resistance fighters with bandoliers looking to stamp out all instances of rhythmic movement to music, but the contradance is an old tradition related to square dancing. 

“This originally began in France,” Howard said. “The dances emigrated to England and then to the United States and it became popular in New England and Appalachia. Then it migrated all over the country and especially to college towns.”

Whitman College in Walla Walla holds the dances in association with the Ostbys’ group, using the callers, although they have their own band, “Big Joe,” to provide music.

The moves in the dances reveal the kinship to square dancing.

“There’s swing, dosey-doe, allemande left and allemande right, promenade, circle, down the hall and back,” Howard said.

Host building an heirloom

The Milton-Freewater dances are in a building architect Stanley Tucker designed. He was Trudy’s father.

“I remember painting the ribs back in the 1950s,” Trudy said.

The family used the building to host square dances when she was a child.

“Then later on in 1985 we decided we needed to have an organization that could sponsor dances and the concerts we used to put on,” Trudy said. “We formed Walla Walla Friends of Acoustic Music and that’s when we started doing the actual contradances.”

“It’s not country and western swing or country and western line dancing,” Howard said.

And it appears to be a lot of fun with frequent laughs and applause among the dancers.

The Feb. 17 meeting requested newbies to arrive at 7 p.m. sharp so Howard could teach them the moves. He began working with a group of four.

“There, that’s a promenade,” he told the group. “And you might be more turning in a circle, but the woman’s always on the right, because ‘the woman’s always right.’”

The caller of the first dance, Dan Clark repeated that instruction.

Reichs dive right in

One couple in this group of four was Dan and Terese Reich.

Dan Reich said this was his first contradance. 

“I’ve never danced in my life,” he said. “I don’t have any idea what I’m doing here.”

And what made him want to come?

“Who said I wanted to come?” Dan asked. “My wife told me I was coming.”

“I’ve wanted to try this for years and I love the music,” Terese said.

The band

The Wednesday Night Band gets its name from their accustomed rehearsal day and on Feb. 17 five musicians were present. Trudy and Sharon Thompson played fiddle. Thompson also plays in the string section of the Walla Walla Symphony and was once the orchestra’s general manager. Trudy has retired from her own symphony gig. 

Harvey Neuber brought his Irish banjo and concertina.

Andrew Addessi was the guitarist and brought Terra Howard and daughter Luci, 4, with him.

Both halves of the couple have a long relationship with the Ostby’s Timberrib. Even little Luci said she had been there “lots of times.”

“I grew up going here when I was 3,” Howard said. “This is where we had our wedding.”

The band was rounded out with Terri Trick. Area audiences may remember her from frequent casting at the Little Theatre of Walla Walla, but Feb. 17 she had dancing hands on the piano.

Trick said she has been a Wednesday Night Band member since 1988 or 1989.

“I have danced with the group since 1983,” she said. 

She got called up for the piano draft when they lost the previous keyboard player.

Trick showed a notebook of 200 songs the band can play.

Last waltz an original

“We just added a waltz by Glenn Morrison that he wrote and we’re going to be performing it tonight,” she said.

Sure enough, just before the first break for musicians and dancers, the group played “Timberrib Waltz” while Morrison sang.

The chorus goes, “The last dance of the night was always a waltz, where we’d glide across the floor with a song in our hearts. With a tip and a twirl our feet sliding in time, we’d finish the dance with the Timberrib Waltz.”

The song seemed to be a very big hit with all in the building.

Stanley Green said he is a 27-year veteran of the dances. 

“My friends told me about this,” Green said. “I was sort of reluctant at first but when I came I really enjoyed it. One of the things I like is it’s okay to come single or with a partner and it’s not considered a big social gaffe. If you ask someone to dance with you, nobody takes it as if you’re trying to create some kind of relationship drama.”

Next dances

The next dance is Wednesday, April 3, 7-9 p.m. at Whitman College’s Reid Center Ballroom, 280 Boyer Ave. Admission is free and donations are appreciated.

Then, on April 20, the group will dance at 7 p.m. at the Timberrib, 84847 Winesap Road in Milton-Freewater. Admission is $5, or $3 for WWFAM members.

To join the mailing list, send at email to htostby@gmail.com.

Walla Walla Friends of Acoustic Music hold contradances every month, rotating between the Timberrib in Milton-Freewater and Whitman College in Walla Walla.

The next two dances are:

• April 3, 7 p.m., Whitman College’s Reid Center Ballroom, 280 Boyer Ave. Admission is free.
• April 20, 7 p.m., Timberrib, 84847 Winesap Road in Milton-Freewater. Admission is $5 or $3 for WWFAM members.

To join the mailing list, or to learn more about the group, email htostby@gmail.com.