About Contra Dance
Contra dancing is a type of American folk dancing with roots in English. Scottish, and Irish traditions. It is done in long lines of couples with women and men facing each other across the set. A caller teaches each dance and then prompts the dancers the first several times through the dance.
No lessons are required, as each individual dance is taught before it begins. For those who would like a little more instruction, we offer a newcomers' session at 7:30 on the evenings of our regular dances.
The environment is smoke-free, alcohol-free, safe, and family-friendly. This is a community dance, similar to the barn dances of bygone days.
Take a moment to read two wonderful personal stories that will give you a better sense of contra dancing than any dry, objective description:
- Sharon Kennedy's description and story with photos
- Greg Rohde's wonderful personal story and description
Here's a video clip from Bayou Bedlam 2003 for those who would like a motion picture of what contra dance is like (Lisa Greenleaf is calling to Hotpoint):
There should be a video player here, if you have the Flash player and Javascript is enabled.
More questions? See our Contra FAQ page.
There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.
~ Vicki Baum