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What
is contra dancing?
Dancers line up in sets of two lines along the length of the hall—you’re across from your partner and you both are facing another couple. The caller leads you through a sequence of dance figures (reminiscent of square dancing, but generally simpler and with a smooth, continuous flow of movement) with your facing couple. You and your partner then pass through to another couple and repeat the dance. You end up dancing not only with your partner, but with many (and, perhaps by the end of the evening, all) of the other dancers.
Contra dancing is social, community dancing and while some couples may choose to dance every dance together, many couples “see each other for the next dance” as they have different partners for many of the dances. It’s common for dancers to arrive singly as there is so much changing of partners. It’s a great way to meet a community of people while doing simple yet engaging dances to wonderful live music.
Watch
a five minute segment on contra dancing (23
Mb QuickTime movie) —
or watch a smaller 7 Mb version —
produced by Rocky Mountain PBS Life Wise.
Watch a contra
dance video clip produced by New Hampshire
Public Television (requires free RealOne Player).
Read Hands Four by Greg Rohde of The Commonspace in St. Louis.
A page of links
Why
become a member?
Join CFOOTMAD to get Attic Windows—our newsletter—mailed to
you. (For three complimentary issues, or for membership information, membership@cfootmad.org.)
Members pay lower admission to the dances too. Your membership dollars also
support the organization and pay for publishing Attic Windows. Memberships
are $15 per year ($25 for family memberships). See our membership
form (87 Kb PDF).
What is English Country Dance?
A Brief History of English Country Dance in America
English Country Dances came to America with the first settlers in the early 1700s. They were the traditional social dance in America through the late 1700s, and in many places, well into the 1800s. They are historically important, since they were the direct ancestors of the contra dance and the square dance, AmericaÕs two enduring traditional dance forms. By the 1770s, Americans in many regions were altering and adapting the English Country Dance. This soon evolved into the New England contra dance (contra meaning Òacross,Ó i.e., dances done in long lines with the men on one side, and their partners across from them.) The first genuine contra dances begin appearing about 1775. The development of the square dance takes a more circuitous route. It is heavily influenced by the popularity of the Cotillions and Lancers (French imports --remember, the French were our allies in the fight for independence, and everything French was way cool).
In modern times, the English Country Dance was taken up by Americans with enthusiasm, due primarily to the influence of two school teachers from England, May Gadd and Genevieve Shimer, who brought the dance to their students as a means of teaching social graces and deportment, as well as rhythm and movement, in the 1940s. Since then, English Country Dance has found more of a home in America than in England, with active English Country Dance groups in most major American cities, as well as in many smaller communities. The dances themselves are an elegant and delightful blend of figures and rhythm, with each dance set to its own particular tune. The dances are done in long sets (called Òlongways setsÓ) or in two, three, or four couple sets. There are slow and graceful dances, as well as exciting and energetic ones.
An English Country Dance is also a great form of community dance. By community dance, I mean that they are fun to do, and can be learned by all, young and old alike, with no special training required. They are good mixers, since partners customarily change after every dance. So there is a resulting blend of sociability, mild exercise, and wonderful music. Just the thing to relieve the anomie of a fragmented high-tech society.
That, then, is an extremely brief history of English Country Dance in America, from the early 1700s to the present. They are an important component of our American cultural history, and the principal influence on the only two uniquely American folk dances, the contra dance and the square dance.
Chris Kermiet