contredance

Kontradans or the French-Haitian Contredanse, is creolized dance music formed in the 18th century in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) that evolved from the English contra dance, or (country dance), which eventually spread throughout the Caribbean, Louisiana, Europe and the rest of the New World from the ...

Almost all contra dances are danced to live music. The music played includes, but is not limited to, Irish, Scottish, old-time, bluegrass and French-Canadian folk tunes.

One-minute History of Contra Dance American Colonials loved to dance, but they didn't want to be seen doing anything "English" so they adopted the French name, "Contre Danse" (meaning "line facing line" but probably a corruption of "Country Dance"). The name lived on as "Contra Dance".

Contra dance (also contradance, contra-dance, and other variant spellings) is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th century.

No experience is necessary and all dances are completely explained and “walked through” by the caller before the music starts. Since your feet are never asked to do more than walk to the beat of the music, many people find contra dance easier to learn than other forms of social dancing.

noun,plural con·tre·dans·es [kon-truh-dan-siz, -dahn-; French kawn-truhdahns]. a variation of the quadrille in which the dancers face each other.

The music is usually live with and includes a fiddle and other stringed instruments such as guitar, mandolin, banjo or bass. A keyboard, drums and brass instruments may also be a part of the mix. The lively, infectious rhythms draw you in & even people who say that can't dance find themselves moving to the contra flow.

Contra dance is a folk dance made up of long lines of couples usually ascribed to New England or the Appalachian region. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish, and French dance styles in the 17th century, and also possesses strong African influence from Appalachia.

All right let's go all the way around swing your neighbor. Short swing long lines forward and back. And ladies chain across pull by across the set balance. And swing your partner.

A typical evening of contra dance is three hours long, with a snack break after the first half.

Footwork in Contra dancing is very simple. Generally it's just a walking step to the music. There are a couple of moves where starting on the right or left may be important, but generally Contra dancing is more about body-position in relationship to the other dancers, than it is about what order you put your feet down.

Contra Dance was created by the union of English Country Dance and evolving musical styles and instruments.