what the heck *is* contra dancing?

it was never really described to me, either. the first time i tried it was college. a bunch of people who lived at pine lake told me there was going to be a contra dance some weekend, and i hitched a ride to see what it was all about. i think i also knew the keyboard player in the band that would be playing that weekend - he was my supervisor at work. anyway i got there and people were milling about. the caller said find a partner and make long lines up and down the hall. the rest is history.

a few things i remember from that dance include gypsying for the first time with this guy named dan, learning where to put my foot to swing properly and in the most fun manner, and the caller saying that some part of contra, or just dancing in general, was to do in a vertical position what you wanted to do in a horizontal position. whoa!

i think most people hear the word "dance" and think "i can't do it" or "i'll look stupid doing it" or "i don't know how and probably couldn't learn". the truth of the matter is that contra dancing is the kind of thing where if you can walk, you can do it. of course it helps if you have *some* rhythm, or some sense of being able to count to 8, but other than that, it is very simple.

moves include holding hands in a circle of 4, walking forward or backward, turning around either alone or with one other person, walking past people, and balancing (which is actually just stepping toward the person and stepping back). skills like knowing your left from your right are handy. higher level skills include twirling, weaving, do-si-dos, and swinging. however these higher level skills can be learned the night of the dance.

the nice thing about contra is that they tell you everything you need to know, and they tell it to you multiple times throughout the dance. and everybody at the dance is, for the most part, doing the exact same moves during the dance, so you're surrounded by people who are all doing virtually the same thing as you, who can guide if you if you start to get lost or confused. even dancers who have been dancing for awhile get confused sometimes - especially after a good swing!

another fine part of this dance is that you can switch partners every dance. this means that if you encounter someone you would like to dance with sometime during one dance, you can ask them to dance the next - and it's perfectly fine for men to ask women and women to ask men, or women to ask women and men to ask men...you get the idea. of course you don't have to switch partners if you don't think you can, but part of the fun of it is learning new moves from other people so you can try them out with your favorite partner...

for me contra dancing has just re-entered my life. i learned how to do it back in college, and then sort of lost track of it until now. i go just about every weekend, and it definitely is good for me all around, including therapudically and emotionally. it is a time when i can forget about things that are bothering me and just smile. the dancing is so fun for me that i spend most of the time smiling so large i can't even contain it. i wonder if people think - "why is that girl smiling so big?" but usually, my smile can crack even the most stoic, focused dancers. and once i get someone smiling, they loosen up and become a lot more fun to dance with. even the women, with whom i have to gypsy or chain or turn by the right or left, usually end their dance with me smiling. it is a great feeling.

not only that but once you get the hang of it, contra dancing is an all out athletic event. sure, you can walk through the moves and get from a to b and back again, but for some of us, it's about getting a workout in. generally a dance lasts for 3 hours, and people i dance with go through anywhere from 2-5 shirts in a given evening. including me!

one of the other facets that makes the dances so fun and interesting is the outfits that people wear to the dance. ususally people try to wear some wild shirt, including hawaiian style shirts or tie dyes, and many people, including men, wear twirly skirts, ranging in length from floor length to mid-thigh. when you're wearing the skirt, you don't realize the effect it's having on the other dancers in the room, but from my own personal experience, people really take notice of the dancers with the showiest outfits.

so stop wimping out and saying "i'm too tired" or "i don't know how." get off your couches and get out there! you don't even need to bring a partner! the people at contra dances are very helpful and very kind to the newest or the most experienced dancers. it's a community that most people don't even know about, but i've found they're some of the nicest and most fun people i've ever met!

here's a listing of dances in your area: www.thedancegypsy.com