Contra Dance Basics Trivia Quiz

Answer: All over the world

While contra dance is most popular in the Appalachian and New England areas of the US, there are contra dances all over the world, including (last time I checked) New Zealand, Israel, and even Japan.

Answer: No time at all

Some square dances want you to take six months of lessons before you are "ready" to square dance. Many ballroom dancers take years of lessons before they feel they are good. But you can go to a contra dance and start right away. Every dance is taught before starting, and most contra dances have a beginners' lesson at the start of the evening.

Answer: Light, comfortable clothes and flat, comfortable shoes

Contra dancing is a high-energy activity that involves a lot of movement and the tendency to get a person hot quickly. Comfortable clothes are a must. There's no dress code and many people wear t-shirts and sneakers. Many women wear knee-length flowy skirts because they twirl, but it's not a requirement.

Answer: Old-time

Old-time music is derived from bluegrass and Irish fiddle music, and often features fiddle and banjo, but neither instrument is required for contra dance. And while some of the tunes are very old and very popular, musicians continue to write new music in the old-time music style, often for contra dances in particular. Country music does not figure in contra dance, despite the similarity in terminology.

There are contra dances using "modern" style music called techno-contras, but these are more the exception than the rule.

Answer: Anyone

Many square dances require you to have a partner to dance at all, and many women are reluctant to ask men to dance at ballroom dances, but at a contra dance, asking others to dance is acceptable for both sexes. It's a great singles activity, too, because it is an encouraged practice to dance with as many other people as possible during an evening.

Answer: The caller will tell you

Like square dancing, there is a caller who tells you what the next move is. Unlike square dancing, the moves are repetitive during each dance, so once the dancers have "got it," the caller can stop calling and just let the dancers enjoy the music and the dance. You are moving too much and turning too often to watch what anyone else is doing during the dance.

This reduces embarrassment, too, since few people will ever know you screwed up.

Answer: Everyone in your line

Unlike square dancing which has sets of 8 people, and unlike ballroom where you only dance with your partner, contra dance has you interacting with your partner and with everyone else in your contra dance line. For small contra dances with just one line, this may mean you dance with everyone in the room in a single dance!

Answer: You get asked to dance a lot

There is no competitive contra dancing anywhere, and being a group activity, being really good at contra dancing just means you follow directions well and interact with others well, so it's unlikely you'll ever be featured in anything other than the lifestyle section of your local newspaper, no matter how good you get. You will get asked to dance a lot, however, which can be quite gratifying.

Answer: Over 200 years old

Contra dance dates back to colonial America, originating from English, French, Irish, and Scottish country dancing. The dances done now are much more energetic and lively, and usually have everyone moving the whole time instead of standing still like in more traditional country dances, but the basic pattern is still the same as in those colonial dances.

Answer: You can go to contra dance weekends and weeks

Many places around the US host contra dance weekends where you can dance Friday night, all day and night Saturday, and half the day Sunday. A few even host contra dance weeks, where you can go and stay for a week and contra dance every night, or try a variety of other styles of dance, like Irish ceili (pronounced kaylee), English country dance, clogging, etc.

As far as I know, there has never been a cruise featuring contra dancing. And if there was a never-ending contra dance in Barrow, Alaska, I might just decide freezing cold weather year-round isn't all that bad.