What is contra dancing?

It’s community interaction at its best. You dance to the music with your partner, with other couples in your group of four, then everyone else in your line.

• Singles love it because you get to dance and meet so many new faces.
• Families like it because it allows mixed ages to get some social skills in a healthy (no smoke or alcohol) environment.
• The continuous motion provides a great workout (provided you don’t spend too much time at the snack table between dances.)

By the end of the evening you’ll have smiled at or danced with everyone else in the hall.
 

                                                    HOW IT WORKS

In contra dancing two people form a couple and pair for figures with the couple next to them as the dance caller cues the changes. Then positions change and partners dance with another couple, and then another, repeating simple movement patterns until the dance is completed. Most contras are done in long lines with your partner opposite you. Each dance lasts about 6 to10 minutes depending on the number of dancers.

Figures are simple and are usually done with a walking step, although skipping, polka, and clogging steps may also be used. You may have heard some of these figures’ names from square dancing -- back to back (do-si-do), star right and left, allemande, sashay, promenade, turn your partner, swing your partner. In a contra dance you’ll often hear: contra corners, buzz step, ladies chain. All of the motions are simple and can be done from the beginning. Knowing where to go next can take some repetition, but the caller and experienced dancers will guide you.

Dress is casual. No special classes are required, but most groups have sessions before a dance to introduce beginners to the basic moves. Contra dancing is more fun than formal: men ask women to dance, women ask men, and it’s okay to dance with someone of your own gender.

                                                   The Tunes
Dances are usually done to lively acoustic music that energizes the dancers, which in turn energizes the musicians. The music for contras is based on fiddle tunes, reels and jigs with melodies that parallel the dance figures. Instrumentation is usually acoustic strings (fiddle, guitar, and mandolin) for melody with some bass or hand percussion for support.
 You might dance to the same time-tested tunes your great-grandparents enjoyed!