Perhaps a friend of yours is a contra dancer and has dragged you to your first dance, or maybe you saw the listing in the calendar section of the newspaper or on a flyer in the local library, or maybe you just walked by the dance venue, heard the music, saw a blur of color and stopped in to watch for a few minutes. Somehow you have arrived at the dance.
You've been reassured by your friends or by the fliers that beginners are welcome, that all the steps will be taught, and that no partner is necessary. You've also been advised to wear comfortable clothing, but other than that, there is no dress code.
You pay your admission ($6 to $8 per person), notice something about clean shoes (and ignore it because you don't really know what they are talking about), and stand around the back of the hall wondering what you have gotten yourself into. Everything seems pretty disorganized, except the person who took your money. There are some musicians on the stage, there are groups of dancers standing around talking, someone is trying to show her partner how to waltz, and lots of people are changing their shoes. Although there is a wide range of ages, high school kids to folks in their 70's, most of the dancers seem to be in their 30's or 40's.
At some dances, the caller will hold a "new dancer" workshop for about 15 minutes before the dance. This is often done in a circle in the middle of the room and the following calls and ideas are covered: take one step for each beat of music, the music and the movements are in 8-beat phrases and you should adjust your dancing to match, circling (including how to feel connected), stars, allemandes (including how to feel connected), balance, swing (including how to support yourself, be connected to your partner, and not get dizzy), and ladies chain. Sometimes, the structure of a contra set is described (proper, improper, hands 4, ones cross over), terms used during the dance are defined (partner, neighbor, up the set, down the set, progression), and what to do when you reach the top of bottom of the set.
Let's assume that at this dance either the caller doesn't run a workshop, or you arrived late (say after the first dance) and missed the explanations. At some point, someone may notice that you are new (the door tender or another dancer) and may offer to introduce you to some basic steps. Often dancers who bring beginners explain a few basics while the band is warming up.
The band starts (perhaps just the fiddle), and some people get up and do a couples dance, such as a polka. You don't know what to do so you just hang out in the back of the hall and watch. Four minutes later, the band stops, the caller says line up for a contra, there is lots of milling around and a surge towards the front center of the hall. Some guy asks you to dance, you say that you don't know what you are doing, and he says not to worry and takes your hand and you reluctantly head towards the front and join on at the end of the only contra set that is forming.
The caller says: "Hands four; Ones cross over." No one seems to be paying much attention, but people are forming two long lines down the hall. Your partner leads you to one line, and stands across from you in another. He then introduces himself (by first name) and you do the same. Soon you are in a circle of 4 and the people seem friendly. Whenever you look at them, they seem ready to acknowledge you.
The caller says: "Face Your Neighbor; Balance And Swing". Your neighbor starts to do something with your hand and you say that you are new at this. He quickly says to do this and put that hand there and do something else and soon you do a swing and are facing your partner in the other line. There is more instruction that doesn't make a lot of sense to you and you get moved around. Some stuff is easy like circling left and stars, and some is nonsense like Ladies Chain. However, people guide you along and nothing bad happens.
The caller says to "go back one place to where you learned the dance", people move you back to where you started, there is a slight pause and the band begins to play, the caller starts calling out commands, and your neighbor is doing that balance and swing move with you again. You are off and dancing, it is all very confusing, but nothing bad seems to be happening. It seems that you are doing the stuff you just walked through, except faster and with music. Just when you have done it once, you are facing someone you have never see before and the caller says to balance and swing again. Like an amusement park ride, you are off and going for the next time around. Like an amusement park ride, it seems like it will never end. However, you are getting the hang of it — it after all, it is in a repeating pattern.
Each new neighbor approaches the swing thing differently. Some go slow, some fast, some walk and some do a fancier step. It doesn't matter because you are off in a different direction in a few seconds. Ten minutes later (it felt longer) the music stops, your partner thanks you and tells you you did great. All are applauding, perhaps for the band and perhaps for themselves, and suddenly there is a whoosh of people moving around. As you start walking somewhere, perhaps to sit down and catch your breath, a new person asks you to dance. You explain that this is your first time and you don't know ... but he cuts you off and says that it fine and you should dance again. The whole scenario repeats itself: hi, my name is ..., a walkthru with some things you understand and some you don't: go back home, slight pause, dance it with lively music and this new dance pattern, applause, quick thanks, and whoosh.
Looking back on the evening, you danced 8 dances, sat a few out, sweated a lot, danced a free form waltz at the end when someone asked you to and you admitted that you could waltz, had some lemonade at the long break in the middle, heard and forgot 10 guys names, and met a few nice people. You noticed a table covered with flyers advertising other dances all over the area. You had no idea it was so popular or happening in so many places. Maybe you will come back next week. For sure, you will dress differently: most of the women were wearing flowing skirts and dresses of various lengths and short sleeves. Some were sporting bright, fun outfits while others looked more conservative. Hardly anyone was wearing any makeup, and you did not notice any perfume. The men had on pants and T-shirts or short sleeved shirts. Some men were even wearing shorts.
If you attended a large dance (100+ people), you may have felt a bit overwhelmed at the break, as the event seemed to lack structure. Perhaps someone took you aside and showed you a better way of doing the swing. You could tell you were moving well, but boy, did it make you dizzy! Chances are someone took the time to ask how you were doing and to tell you about other dances in the area. If you attended a smaller dance, the regulars made a point of introducing themselves and encouraging you to keep attending.
If you come back, you will find that the whole experience feels familiar and that some dance moves are becoming easier. Even the swing is fun and no longer makes you dizzy. You will feel more comfortable asking people to dance and socializing.
Anyone can come in off the street, with no partner, with no concerns about dress code. Minimal instruction is needed to get going. Live music is a big draw. There is just a short list of figures to learn, with lots of repetition within each dance. There are lots of people who know what they are doing and who help out newcomers.
Credits: Clark Baker authored the initial text. Lisa Greenleaf contributed the sections on music and choreography. Miriam Baker and Lisa Greenleaf provided valuable comments on initial drafts. Lisa Greenleaf edited the final text. Peter Ostapenko shortened the webpage to focus on the first time dancer.
Source document: Explaining Traditional Squares and Contras to MWSD folks
Revised: $Date: 2007/04/12 Peter Ostapenko$