● Contra dances are a social occasion. The goal is friendly interaction with other nice folks having fun with music and movement, not dance perfection.
● Individuals, couples, and groups are all welcome, including children old enough to follow directions. You may meet dancers from 6 - 92 years old.
● Most contra dances have live music, with either local or traveling bands.
● There is always a caller, who teaches the moves before the music starts. Many of the moves are from square dancing.
● Everyone wears comfortable shoes and lightweight clothing for vigorous movement. In one evening, a dancer may take 6-9 thousand steps and burn 2,700 calories.
● Most evening contra dances include a free half-hour lesson for beginners at 7 o'clock.
● There's usually a break about halfway through the evening. A snack or beverage to share is always welcomed.
● The traditional social dances at the contra dances are mostly set dances. That is, couples are organized in some shape or other, such as four couples in a square or a large number of couples in a circle, or long lines of couples down the length of the dance floor. In that case, one line of dancers face “contra” their partners.
● You and your partner are dancing not only with each other, but with all the neighboring couples in your set, completing a series of figures which are taught before the music starts.
● The figures, such as forward and back, swing your partner, turn your neighbor around with right hands, and promenade your partner; are mostly very simple and as the dance goes on, the dancers learn the pattern and the teacher/caller can provide less prompting.
● You and your partner aren't divided into "lead" and "follow" roles, as they are in ballroom dancing, so you can both relax and enjoy following the caller.
● It is the usual practice to switch partners from one dance to the next. It's easy: "Would you like to do this next dance?" (The response is usually "Sure. Let's dance!") And anyone can ask anyone else to dance. Especially if there are more people of one gender present, you may find same gender people dancing as partners.
● It is common for contra dancers from one city, for example Grand Rapids, to use social media to organize ride sharing to ride together to dances in Kalamazoo, Holland, or Lansing. Search a “city name” and “contra” on Facebook to find them.