Light Fantastic Celebration

Check out that guy with the knobby knees over there. Yeah, the one wearing the kilt doing that Romanian dance. Yep, that’s about as multicultural as it gets, and that’s New Year’s Eve with the Pasadena Folkdance Co-Op. They’ve got dances on tonight’s program from all over the world, including China and the good ol’ U.S. of A.

There will be some instruction in the first hour for those who have never tried folk dancing. As for the other dances, “I’d say a third of them are doable by people who know their right foot from their left,” co-op President Marshall Cates said.

He said many dances can be picked up just by watching them.

“There are lots of dances that are patterned after, say, a waltz,” Cates said. If that seems too complicated, “we don’t mind people dancing on the side” of the floor, he added.

There will be a buffet too. Cates said the group has bought some deli platters and will be bringing salads and desserts.

“We don’t try for international food, but there’s usually quite a mix,” he said.

The music will be recorded. “It’s very hard to get a band that plays international,” said Cates, since most bands specialize in music from one country or culture.

Also, folk dancers know many different dances. Cates said he knows 400, and he’s only been dancing for 12 years. People who have been dancing a lot longer often know more than 1,000.

The party takes place at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Admission is $8.