Contra dance is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples.
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17 Facts About Contra dance
2.
Contra dance event is a social dance that one can attend without a partner.
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3.
The Contra dance is led by a caller who teaches the sequence of figures in the Contra dance before the music starts.
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4.
Each time through the Contra dance takes 64 beats, after which the pattern is repeated.
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5.
The essence of the dance is in following the pattern with your set and your line; since there is no required footwork, many people find contra dance easier to learn than other forms of social dancing.
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6.
Music in a Contra dance can consist of a single tune or a medley of tunes, and key changes during the course of a Contra dance are common.
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7.
Contra dance dancing is a popular form of recreation enjoyed by people of all ages in over 200 cities and towns across the United States, yet it has a long history that includes European origins, and over 100 years of cultural influences from many different sources.
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8.
Lovett and Ford initiated a dance program in Dearborn, Michigan that included several folk dances, including contras.
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9.
The Peterborough Contra dance influenced Bob McQuillen, who became a notable musician in New England.
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10.
Contra dance events are open to all, regardless of experience unless explicitly labeled otherwise.
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11.
The dance progression is built into the contra dance pattern as continuous motion with the music, and does not interrupt the dancing.
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12.
Contra dance choreography specifies the dance formation, the figures, and the sequence of those figures in a dance.
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13.
Contra dance figures do not have defined footwork; within the limits of the music and the comfort of their fellow dancers, individuals move according to their own taste.
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14.
Tunes used for a contra dance are nearly always "square" 64-beat tunes, in which one time through the tune is each of two 16-beat parts played twice .
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15.
Contra dance tunes are played at a narrow range of tempos, between 108 and 132 bpm.
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16.
Since then, contra dance musicians have typically played tunes in sets of two or three related tunes, though single-tune dances are again becoming popular with some northeastern bands.
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17.
Techno has become especially prevalent in Asheville, North Carolina, but regular techno contra dance series are spreading up the East Coast to locales such as Charlottesville, Virginia; Washington, D C ; Amherst, Massachusetts; Greenfield, Massachusetts; and various North Carolina dance communities, with one-time or annual events cropping up in locations farther west, including California, Portland, Oregon, and Washington state.
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