“Qu’est-ce que c’est?” I hear you say! I’d never heard
of contra dancing before my niece Alison became an addict, actually traveling
to go to contra dance festivals. I’d occasionally see her Facebook posts, and I know I’ve asked her about it, but when she’d start talking about
minor sets and triple formations my eyes would glaze over. We invited her to
spend Thanksgiving with us, since she’s studying for her masters relatively
nearby, and I got an excited text: “Rochester Contra Dance Thanksgiving Weekend
Festival!” So even though I have two left feet, and the last time I did
something remotely similar was when I went clogging as a pre-teen in what
seemed like the remote mountains of North Carolina (where my parents would park
my siblings and me with an array of my dad’s aunts and cousins), I had to go
check this out.
According to Alison, contra dancing has a
very supportive culture and is very well defined. It is welcoming to people of
all ages, including children, and beginners as well as experienced dancers.
There is never any alcohol, and people are encouraged to dance with different
partners each dance.
I was impressed with the number of people who came out
on this rainy Friday night. The caller welcomed everyone to the 32nd
Annual Thanksgiving Contra Dance Weekend (who knew something like this existed in Rochester?), and explained the moves before each
dance, so everyone could practice a full set before the music started. There
were a couple of men in skirts (Alison said they like to feel the twirl of a
skirt, just as women do…), and it wasn’t uncommon to see men partnering with
men. It seemed like a very friendly and nonthreatening environment, and the
only wallflowers were a few people like me, who refused to dance.
Alison had shown me a few steps and they made me
understand the need for eye contact with your partner, because even just a
little twirling made me dizzy. So even though I did get asked to dance a couple
of times, I politely declined. Apparently, in contra dance, the rule is: “Better never than late.” “Never” was fine with me!
Plus, it just seemed like too much touching of strangers’ hands. But it looked
like great fun, great exercise, and, well, wholesome, so I didn’t feel guilty
slipping out and leaving Alison to dance the rest of evening. And I don’t feel
the need to accompany her on Saturday for things like Challenging Contras,
Hambo, and Zias, 4x4s, etc. Seriously, what?
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