| Rain Country was founded in 2006 by a group of dancers, teachers, performers, and DJs who wanted to ensure the continuation of dancing and dance venues in the Puget Sound area via an organization which would allow community ownership of the local country-western dance scene. You can read a little bit more about our history and community in this 2023 article from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Mission: Cultivating LGBTQIA+ community in the Puget Sound through country-western dancing and lessons. Vision: LGBTQIA+ empowerment through dance Values: Joy: We promote LGBTQIA+ joy by providing an opportunity for fun, playfulness, connection, and self-expression through dance. Learning: We stimulate lifelong learning through programming that provides ongoing opportunities to grow in our dancing, leadership, and community-building. We value the process of learning and actively invite people with all skill levels into our spaces. Well-being: We recognize that joy, learning, and community are easiest to access when people feel wholly accepted and welcomed. We work to create an accessible space through aligning intent and impact. Community: We strive to create a community in which people care for one another through and beyond our shared interest in dance. Our self-sustaining organization continues the international legacy of gay, country-western dancing.How exactly do we do this? We promote the teaching and dancing of Country Western line and partner dancing, as well as related dance forms and provide venues for learning, practicing, and perfecting those skills. We present the public performance of those dance forms, preserving the history and continuity of Country Western and line dancing in our regional area. We schedule DJs and instructors and organize special theme nights, membership only dances and fundraisers. Our organization also produces dance workshops throughout the year—including our premier event, Emerald City Hoedown—and quarterly members-only dances. Visit the What we dance and Events pages to learn more. Rain Country works with community businesses and venues to provide for the needs of the dance community without relying on those businesses to be the sole support system for the dance community. As a registered nonprofit, all of our programming is made possible in thanks to our members, many of whom volunteer with us throughout the year. To learn more about volunteering with Rain Country, visit our Volunteer With Us page. Code of ConductWe seek to ensure that all those interested in participating in our community feel safe and welcome. We expect our members and event attendees to respect one another, including on social media. No form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment will be tolerated. We treat any concerns regarding these issues seriously and will review any brought to our attention promptly. For any questions or reports, please contact us. We invite all to support our community, to dance and to have fun. If you wish to have a picture of yourself removed from our site or social media channels, please contact us and we will edit or remove the image as soon as possible. |
June 2023
Winter Membership Dance - December 2022
