The sounds of live fiddle and banjo music instantly transported me back in time as I strolled into South Pasadena War Memorial Hall on a Friday night. I was there to experience my first contra dance, an American folk dance derived from English country dancing that has been popular since Colonial times.
As a dance begins, long lines of women wearing flowing skirts stand shoulder to shoulder across from parallel lines of men in jeans, khakis and tie-dyed shirts. Ranging in age from 8 to 83, the dancers move in time with the band at the direction of a caller: "Swing your partner round and round, ladies do-si-do."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday January 05, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 22 words Type of Material: Correction
Contra dancing -- A Dec. 20 Health section article about contra dancing misidentified dance caller and composer Jeff Spero as Jim Spero.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday January 10, 2005 Home Edition Health Part F Page 5 Features Desk 0 inches; 22 words Type of Material: Correction
Contra dancing -- A Dec. 20 Health section article about contra dancing misidentified dance caller and composer Jeff Spero as Jim Spero.
The dance makes for vigorous exercise and initially looks complicated, but the basic moves -- allemandes, sashays, ladies' chains -- will be familiar to anyone who has ever tried square dancing. Contra dancing is also easier than it appears because dancers repeat the same sequences of moves many times while progressing from partner to partner up and down the line.
Unlike square dancing, this means you don't need to bring your own partner, and just about anyone can jump in right away without taking lessons. That's exactly what I did. Within a few minutes of my arrival, a gentleman asked me to dance. I told him I was a novice and had no idea what I was doing, but he assured me I shouldn't worry.
Sure enough, the caller walked us through the steps of each dance before the music began. During this mini-lesson, we swung with our partners, keeping one foot steady on the hardwood floor and moving the other around in a circle. When the band Swamp Mamas began playing, we sped it up, stomping, clapping and swinging to old-time music, weaving an intricate pattern across the room.
Contra dancing involves quite a bit of twirling your partner and circling in groups of four, holding one another's hands, wrists or arms. I got dizzy almost immediately, which made it tough to remember where I was in the dance. "Look in my eyes," my partner told me when I started feeling woozy. That didn't really help, but I was having such a blast it didn't matter.
Even though I got lost a few times, the contra dance community is extremely forgiving. The unwritten rule is that you switch partners every dance, so you meet a lot of great people, and veterans can help the newcomers along. By the third or fourth dance, I stopped worrying about the moves and just got into the spirit of it.
