Contra Dancing is a
modern version of what people used to do at Barn
Dances across America. It comes from English
Country Dancing and similar dances in France,
Scotland and elsewhere, that go back at least to
the 1500s in Europe. It is typically danced
to old-time Appalachian, Irish or New England string
music, and to modern cousins of those
styles. It is an energetic dance, and the tempo is usually a moderate to
fast walking pace.
Each dance is taught by
a caller, who then calls the moves during the
dance. Comfortable shoes with smooth rubber
soles are a good choice for footwear, but others
wear a variety of shoes or just bare feet.
Lightweight and comfortable clothes are
recommended.
An Introduction to Contra Dancing
A description of Dance
Moves in Contra Dance
NPR
News piece on the youth movement in contra
dancing
Videos of the Contra Dance in Tallahassee on December 14, 2011:
1) A
Contra
2) A
Square
3) Another
Contra
An answer to the
question "Can you Contra Dance to almost any kind
of music?"
Contra Dancing
to Swedish techno hiphop, video from the Youth Dance Weekend 2008.
Contra Dances in the Southeast (clickable map)
Florida
Snowball in St. Petersburg, FL, late January
Vernals
near Gainesville, FL, early April
Palmetto
Bug Stomp in Charleston, SC, mid-April
Gamble
Rogers Folk Festival in St. Augustine, FL,
late April-early May
Florida
Folk Festival near Lake City, FL, Memorial Day
weekend in May
with contra and other kinds of dancing every night,
and a smorgasbord of music
Mentone
Dance
Weekend north of Birmingham, AL, third weekend
in August
Florida
State
Fiddlers Convention near Gainesville, FL,
mid-October
with a dance on Saturday night and music the whole
weekend long
Atlanta
Dance
Weekend in Atlanta, GA, mid-November
Old-Time Jam at The Marinated Mushroom - 2nd
Saturday of each month, 7-10pm, 2746 Capital Circle
N.E. Contact Aisha at theaisha@hotmail.com
Old-Time
Jam at Frontier Trading - 3rd Tuesday of each
month
Contact Kay at kayvan@nettally.com or Mary at
maryallgire@yahoo.com
Irish
Music Session at Beef O'Brady's - 1st Saturday
of each month
Irish
Music Session at Fermentation Lounge - 3rd
Sunday of each month, 7-10pm
(scroll down to middle of linked page)
Irish
Music Session at Finnegan's Wake - 4th Sunday
of each month, 7-10pm
(scroll down to bottom of linked page)
Friends of Florida Folk organization of musicians and other folk artists in Florida
Other Dancing
around Tallahassee
Hot Pepper Steppers Appalachian Clogging
Mountain Dew Cloggers Contemporary Clogging
Tallahassee Irish Step Dancers
Last revised 2/03/12