More Contra

Last night, I had the good fortune to hit up a contra dance in the local small college town. I've referenced contra before, but the dancing never gets old for me. Last night was fun again. Matt and I went, and we also brought two friends from town who had been a few times. We stayed for the first half of the dance and then went out for a nightcap before heading back home.

This morning, on one of the blogs I read, I notice that the author went contradancing yesterday too. I wonder if she went to the same dance as me? I link here because I love her description of the dance:

When you go to a contra dance, you become swept up (quite literally) in world gone by. You feel like you're at the Dance at Grandpa's from the Little House books. The band plays all the traditional folk tunes, and a caller tells you what to do. It doesn't matter what you look like or how old you are. Nobody cares because when the caller tells you to switch partners, you do it. You find yourself dancing with a 4 year old and then a 70 year old, a teenager, and then your husband. You find yourself dancing with your own father for the first time since your wedding day.

This is exactly how I feel when I contra. There is a little of whirling and twirling in many of the dances, and I feel like my whole evening spins. I could definitely sing the dancing song from My Fair Lady. I love the mixing, mingling, social nature of contra.

I encourage all of you to check out a contra dance if you ever hear of one near you. It is a rollicking good time and worth attending. I wish more communities would have social dances in general; I always feel sad when I read books from the 1920s and 30s and hear about all the dancing folks did then. Of course, we do still dance nowadays, but dancing seems to be a thing for kids that is generally left behind in adulthood except for drunken dancing at weddings. I'd like to see a day when adults come out to dance socially again.

Comments

[Jerry]

I grew up dancing. My grampa (Mort Thrasher) was a "caller." We would go as a family to the Alderwood Manor Grange. Square dancing, Schottisch (sp?) Polka, fox trot, waltz--all of them. Have a big potluck dinner with the entire family. People would bring out their intruments. Eventually the little ones would fall asleep in the kitchen. The really "old ones" would play cards and the rest of us would dance and "chat." Later my husband and I were "jitterbugs"--danced to the big band sound. Now I just dance around my room--but I still enjoy it. So glad to hear you and Matt are "doing it."

[Leah]

That sounds like the best evening ever, Jerry. Wish I could have that here . . . I hope some day to be in a community where we can organize something like that.