try contra dancing!

by Kathleen Moore

Country dancing is fun, easy to learn, and good exercise! Contra dance will seem familiar to anyone who has ever been to a square dance: it features do-si-do, allemande, swing your partner, circles, stars, ladies chain, and the like. A caller walks you through the pattern of the dance, teaches any steps or figures you might need, and continues to prompt during the dance. Contra dance music is lively, in a variety of styles – celtic, old-time, French Canadian, etc – depending on the band.

English Country dancing is more graceful and courtly (similar to the dancing seen in the recent film “Pride and Prejudice”), and the music has a more classical feel, with a definite baroque or renaissance flavor. But it’s similarly approachable – no partner or experience needed. When you come to a contra or English Country dance (and it’s not necessary to come with a partner), expect total strangers to come up and ask you to dance and help you learn.

Contra and English dancing can be wonderful additions to a healthy lifestyle. Country dancing is sociable, energizing, and good for the psyche -- going dancing infallibly cheers you up. All ages can do it – there are regularly both kids and people in their 60’s and 70’s at Rochester dances. The smoke- and alcohol-free environment and the custom of changing partners frequently is conducive to having fun and meeting people. In fact, a number of marriages have arisen from acquaintances made at local contra dances.

Richard Sauvain, former president of the Country Dancers of Rochester and current caller and organizer for the local English Country Dance series, says that he first got hooked on contra dancing about 30 years ago when a friend dragged him to a late night contra dance after a folk festival. “Until then I thought of myself as a dance klutz, but this was a dance form I could just plunge into and do without instruction. Very quickly I found myself enjoying the patterns, the interactions with a variety of partners, and the cooperative, welcoming atmosphere.”

A few years later, someone taught an English Country dance during one of the contra evenings, and Sauvain says he fell in love with the elegant, smooth style. He started a series of English dances, which has continued for 20 years. “For me, the music, and moving in harmony to the music, is a big part of my enjoyment. We have a tradition of live music at our dances. We are blessed with a large number of local bands, and others come through from out of town.”

Here’s a whimsical definition of contra dancing from www.sbcds.org/contradance/whatis: “Contra dance is a form of dance that thrusts a different person of the opposite sex into your arms every 30 seconds or so. Actually, this is only true sometimes. It might be more prudent, but less whimsical, to say that contra dance is one of the few dance forms where by the end of the evening you are likely to have danced with everyone.”

ROCHESTER RESOURCE See www.rochestercontra.com for specifics on local dances, dates and times, directions, and more.