"Best dance weekend ever!" as one smiling, exhausted dancer proclaimed.

There’s no better endorsement. Come to Atlanta in May to experience Catapult for yourself.

Registration is open now! Register Online to pay via PayPal or Credit Card

No matter how you slice it, Catapult is the best bargain on the contra dance festival circuit. Here’s the breakdown…

• Early Adopter Rate: Closed. Was only $100 if you had signed up before the talent line-up was announced.


• Standard Rate: Closed. Was only $110 if you had signed up before April Fools Day.


• Procrastinator Rate: $120 for late sign-ups before advanced online registration is closed (May 25, 2017)


• Walk-In Rate: $125 for full weekend walk-in registrations

Signing up in advance for the full weekend maximizes your fun and your value, and minimizes your risk. Are you a gambler?

Walk-in prices are higher and only available if advanced full-weekend tickets are not sold out. Click for walk-in prices.

Tickets are limited. Don’t be on the outside looking in. Register Now!

To help with lodging, we luckily have a fantastic, generous community of dancers willing to host folks from out of town.

If you sign up before April 1, we’ll try to match you with a local dancer. As we get closer to Memorial Day, we’ll keep trying, but there are no guarantees.

After April 1, check your favorite online travel site, reach out to your friends in Atlanta, or post your housing needs on the Catapult Facebook page.

Planes. Trains. Automobiles. Bikes. Feet. All roads lead to Atlanta.

Snacks will be provided at all dance events throughout the weekend. You’re on your own for meals, but there are lots of great, inexpensive restaurants in the Clarkston\Decatur\Atlanta area.

Catapult is a showcase, not a competition. We won’t be voting folks off the stage. Everyone is a winner - musicians, callers, and dancers!

All Catapult events will be held at the Clarkston Community Center at 3701 College Ave Clarkston, GA 30021.

Thanks for asking! Here are a few easy things you can do...

• Join the Catapult! group on Facebook and share with everyone
• Follow @catapultshow on Twitter and tweet, tweet, tweet

Yes! Catapult is planned as an biennial event every other Memorial Day weekend. Sign up soon for 2017, and plan your calendars for 2019, 2021, and beyond.

For the even years, keep Atlanta on your contra dance calendar for Butterfly Whirl on Memorial Day 2018, 2020, and beyond.

In short, Talent, Desire and Impact…

Talent. Bands must be great musicians who play great together. Varying their sound, mood, energy and tunes within or across musical styles. Having talents in other areas for potential workshops is a plus.

Desire. Bands must be driven to play on the national contra dance circuit. The life of a band traveling great distances for little financial reward is not for everyone. Catapult is looking for bands that WANT to be on this path and are willing to WORK for it.

Impact. Bands must have the "oomph" that contra dancers want. The bottom-line is that all great contra bands drive those in the hall into an altered state dance after dance after dance.

That’s what we’re looking for.

There are many fantastic bands and musicians on the contra dance touring and festival circuit today. We love to dance to them, but they are not the ones we’re looking for. We want to showcase undiscovered talent from around the country. Not the folks with widespread national name-recognition.

The bands will be selected by a small team of respected musicians, callers and dancers from around the country. They will review the applications, watch\listen to the submitted materials, follow up with references, and confer with their regional contacts. That’s the easy part. The team will then refine the list of band applications and make the final selection to be announced in January 2017.

All performers - bands and callers - will be paid for their stage time based on a profit-sharing model. If the weekend does not breakeven financially, the amount will be zero. We all hope that’s not the case.

The primary benefit for bands providing their time, talents and energy comes in the form of exposure to festival organizers and dancers from far and wide. Each musician in the selected bands will also receive free entry to the Catapult weekend.

To bring in bands from across the country to Atlanta, a significant amount of the Catapult budget goes towards travel. The travel subsidy per band will be determined based on distance from Atlanta, mode of travel, number of musicians in the band, and other factors. Our goal is to cover airfare, train fare, bus fare or gas expenses.

Housing and ground transportation will be provided by local Atlanta dancers.

Once the Catapult lineup is selected and confirmed, each band will be randomly assigned one night-time (2 hours), one day-time (1.5 hours), and one workshop (1.5 hours) time slot in the schedule.

The bands and callers will be independently assigned to their schedule slots. Band-caller pairings will be determined by this assignment. Each band will work with two callers - one for their night-time dance and one for their day-time dance.

The bands and callers will be notified of the pairings, and provided with contact information in advance to allow for (and to encourage) working together to plan their Catapult dances.

In addition to all the dancing and fun, Catapult also provides musicians with a chance to network with influencers and decision makers. We will provide a list of Talent Scouts to the Catapult Bands just in case you don’t have a chance to connect during the weekend.

In short, Talent, Desire and Impact…

Talent. Callers must excel across all aspects of calling - programming, teaching, working with the band, fixing things on the fly, and, oh yeah, calling. Plan\call\adjust to exceed the wants and needs of the contra dancers through figures, variety, energy, style and humor. Having talents in other areas for potential workshops is a plus.

Desire. Callers must be driven to call on the national contra dance circuit. The life of a caller traveling great distances, often alone, for little financial reward is not for everyone. Catapult is looking for callers who WANT to be on this path and are willing to WORK for it.

Impact. Callers must have the "savoir-faire" that contra dancers want. The bottom-line is that all great contra callers navigate that fine line required to move a hall full of dancers with different skills\personalities\preferences\desires towards an altered dance state and then slide into the background while remaining on alert.

That’s what we’re looking for.

There are many fantastic callers on the contra dance touring and festival circuit today. We love to dance to them, but they are not the ones we’re looking for. We want to showcase undiscovered talent from around the country. Not the folks with widespread national name-recognition.

The callers will be selected by a small team of respected musicians, callers and dancers from around the country. They will review the applications, watch\listen to the submitted materials, follow up with references, and confer with their regional contacts. That’s the easy part. The team will then refine the list of caller applications and make the final selection to be announced in January 2017.

All performers - bands and callers - will be paid for their stage time based on a profit-sharing model. If the weekend does not breakeven financially, the amount will be zero. We all hope that’s not the case.

The primary benefit for callers providing their time, talents and energy comes in the form of exposure to festival organizers and dancers from far and wide. Each selected caller will also receive free entry to the Catapult weekend.

To bring in callers from across the country to Atlanta, a significant amount of the Catapult budget goes towards travel. The travel subsidy per caller will be determined based on distance from Atlanta, mode of travel, and other factors. Our goal is to cover airfare, train fare, bus fare or gas expenses.

Housing and ground transportation will be provided by local Atlanta dancers.

Once the Catapult lineup is selected and confirmed, each caller will be randomly assigned one night-time (2 hours), one day-time (1.5 hours), and one workshop (1.5 hours) time slot in the schedule.

The callers and bands will be independently assigned to their schedule slots. Band-caller pairings will be determined by this assignment. Each caller will work with two bands - one for their night- time dance and one for their day-time dance.

The callers and bands will be notified of the pairings, and provided with contact information in advance to allow for (and to encourage) working together to plan their dances.

In addition to all the dancing and fun, Catapult also provides callers with a chance to network with influencers and decision makers. We will provide a list of Talent Scouts to the Catapult Callers just in case you don't have a chance to connect during the weekend.

The band and caller applicants will be vetted by a national team of respected organizers, musicians, callers and dancers - much like you. The team will assemble a lineup with the talent, desire and impact it takes to energize the dancers on the festival dance floor. Your specific selection criteria may vary slightly, but with all of the outstanding talent showcased on the Catapult stage, you’re certain to have a tough time picking which ones to schedule at your next dance weekend.

There are many, many aspiring bands and callers around the country. Take a look at the 2012-14 line-ups, representing 25 different states from Alaska to Florida to Maine to California.

For bands and callers selected to perform at Catapult, we’ll provide as much travel money as possible so they can afford to make the trip to Atlanta.

When the Catapult bands and callers are announced, the information for the bands will be posted on the website.

Better yet, come and meet them yourself in Atlanta next May. Over four days there will be plenty of opportunities to dance and socialize with the outstanding Catapult talent.