In almost every state in the country, contra dance brings people of all ages together on the dance floor.
Do-si-do, square through, and swing your partner! Every week at church and town halls across the country, these calls are flying out over dancers ages 10 to almost 100. Contra dancing, a North American social dance tradition, developed in the 1600s and experienced a revival in the 1970s. Now, since the pandemic, it is gaining momentum again as new dancers come together to create unique intergenerational communities.
Contra dance looks like a mix between square dancing and swing dancing. Anyone can attend alone, as a couple, or with a group, since everyone switches partners throughout the course of an evening. A dance usually lasts two to three hours.
By definition, contra is danced to live music, usually featuring at least one fiddle. Other common instruments are banjo, piano, accordion, flute, guitar, mandolin, and feet. Contra dance bands usually play Irish, old time, bluegrass, or French-Canadian tunes. Like the music, the mood at a contra dance tends to be upbeat, energetic, and smile-inducing.
Find a Contra Dance Near YouContra dance tends to fly under the pop culture radar, and yet you can find one within an hour or two of just about any town in the U.S. Most groups host a dance at least once a month, and special events draw a regional or national crowd. To find a contra dance near you, try these lookup tools created by dancers.
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Dance Community for Body and Soul
Dance is powerful medicine. Any kind of dance can improve strength, balance, and endurance in older adults, according to a 2015 study. And dance has major mental health benefits, as well. A new study in the British Medical Journal found that dance beat out all other forms of exercise as a treatment for depression.
Intergenerational activities boost health, too. According to Generations United, a network of organizations dedicated to improving lives through intergenerational programming, people of all ages benefit from interacting with each other. Young kids who take part in intergenerational programs show increased patience and compassion, improved reading skills, and decreased sadness. High schoolers report feeling more purpose in life and more empowered to make changes in their community. And older adults demonstrate increased cognitive health and experience fewer falls, as well as reporting an overall boost in well-being.
At a recent regular Wednesday contra dance hosted by the Baltimore Folk Music Society (BFMS), Steve Bilanow, 71, said he thinks it is great that the community includes people of all ages. “I’ve been dancing 35 years,” he said. “I wish I’d started younger, but I was probably in my late thirties.” Bilanow met his wife contra dancing, and these days they both attend the BFMS dances regularly. “We had 250 of our dearest contra dance friends come to our wedding at a camp in West Virginia,” he shared.
Another Baltimore dancer, Amber Mills, 30, started dancing a few months ago. “I’m always impressed with the age range” at the dances, she said, “from college kids to people in their 70s and beyond. I love dancing with everyone.”
What keeps her coming back? “The social interaction, and the exercise, and just spinning in someone’s arms, looking into their eyes,” said Mills. “I think that is just like a really fun, intimate moment.”
“I’ve felt that for a long time,” Bilanow agreed. Part of the attraction of contra dancing is connecting with other people who you might not otherwise even meet. “Like where can you go and swing in people’s arms for a few hours and smile?”
One very long time dancer, Alan Gedance, celebrated his 92nd birthday at the Baltimore contra dance last April. “I have to work hard to maintain my balance,” he admits, but says he still dances because contra has been a community for him. “It has helped me fill my life.”
No Fancy Footwork
Don’t think you can dance? Many avid contra dancers say they started out with that attitude. But even kids can get the knack of the dance with a little practice. Contra has a gentle learning curve for several reasons.
First, unlike other dances like swing or salsa, there’s no footwork to memorize. Second, there are explicit instructions. At every dance, a caller instructs the dancers on the moves, including swing your partner, do-si-do, hay for four, mad robin, and chain across, among others. Plus, newcomers say that one of the great things about learning to dance contra is that each dance, you have about 15 tries to get it right. The pattern of moves covers 64 beats, and then you and your partner move on to another couple and dance those same moves again. As you move up and down the line, you dance the same dance with every other couple.
Other reasons it is easy to learn? Everyone messes up, even the dancers like Gedance who have been at it for 50 years–at a contra dance, having fun is more important than getting it perfect. And there’s no element of performance in contra, which makes it
appealing to people who avoid the spotlight. A contra dance isn’t much to look at; it is all about the experience.
Even though it is great exercise and beginner-friendly, contra isn’t for everybody. The spinning and constant movement of contra dances can prove a challenge for those prone to vertigo. (To help avoid dizziness, dancers suggest looking at the eyes or ear of the person you’re spinning with.) Those who can’t dance but feel drawn to the music might join the band. Some communities have open bands that practice together and play for the contra dances.
Much more than a bygone pastime, contra dance has much to offer people of all ages–not least of all, the chance to get to know, and swing, your neighbors.
