Contra Dance - What is it?

HOST: Donna J
COST: $10 (Includes dance lesson)
Monthly event: 1st Friday
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Arrive early - limited participants
7:30 is a dance lesson. (I'll teach basic moves at 7:15 before the lesson.)
This is a fun friendly dance group.

• The place is air conditioned, which is cool, but contra dancing is thirsty, sweaty work. Bring water with you, and maybe a fresh shirt if you tend to excess perspiration.
• BDC has a beautiful dance floor, and they ask that we help keep it that way be wearing clean, non-marking shoes. Please no high heels (which are no good for contra dancing anyway) to avoid stabbing the wood.
• Let’s not avoid the fact that COVID is still a thing. If you’re not feeling well, stay home. We strongly request that you be up-to-date on your shots. If you choose to wear a mask**, we support you!**

What is Contra Dancing?
Contra dancing is social interaction, meeting people, and making new friends, set to music. A caller, usually working with a group of live musicians, guides new and experienced dancers alike through a variety of dances. Contra is danced to Celtic, Quebecois, Old Time, New England, Southern Appalachian, Jazz, Blues, and all sorts of other music played by live bands. In a contra dance, parallel lines of dancers stand opposite -- or "contra to" -- their partners. A dancer and his or her partner form a couple. A dancer and his or her partner dance a series of figures, or moves, with each other and with another couple for a short time. They then repeat the same figures with another couple, and so on. The figures are similar to those of old-time square dancing. The figures are combined in different ways for each different dance.