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Most events are held at the Century Center in Carrboro. Click here for directions and details.
You can always join our mailing list for the latest updates on the contra
dances. Click here!
To learn more about contra dancing and CSDA choose your
topic from below:
What is contra dancing?
Contra dancing comes from community gatherings in New
England and began as traditional dancing brought to America mainly from
the British Isles. Dances were held in public places like grange or town
halls as well as in private homes. Within an evening of contra dancing
there are several individual dances, each with a different sequence of
figures virtually always done to live music. Many of the figures in contra
dancing (partner and neighbor swings, do-si-do's, allemandes, ladies'
chains, etc.) are shared with square dancing. The principal difference
is that square dancing is done in sets of four couples arranged as squares
and contra dances are most often done in lines of variable length where
pairs of couples interact with each other through the dance's sequence
of figures and then pass up or down the line to interact with the next
couple. Around the 1980's, the popularity of contra dancing spread well
beyond New England and it can now be found somewhere in virtually every
state. Since the 1980's a great many new individual contra dances have
been choreographed and contra dancing continues to evolve.
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If you'd like
to try contra dancing...
Newcomers are always welcome both as couples and as individuals
at CSDA (and most) contra dances. At any given dance as many as a fourth
of those in attendance may be there for the first time. Within an evenings
dancing, each dance is "walked through" before being danced.
Additionally, first timers are encouraged to attend the newcomers instruction
session which starts at 7:30. Dancers usually dance with a variety of
partners in the course of an evening, and experienced dancers are encouraged
to help newcomers by asking them to dance especially the first two or
three dances in an evening which are usually selected with the less experienced
dancers in mind.
Contra dancing is an exuberant activity and attire for contra dances
is usually casual with some consideration given, even in the dead of winter,
to wearing a layer of clothes light enough to minimize overheating. Ladies
most often wear skirts and for men, attire may be as informal as a pair
of shorts and a T-shirt.
Minimizing wear and tear to the dance floor is an eternal challenge for
dance organizers. It is considered thoughtful when dancers carry a pair
of clean, smooth, softsoled shoes to change into after arriving inside
the dance hall which minimizes the dirt and grit tracked into the hall
and ground into the dance floor. Heels which focus much of one's weight
on a fairly small area of the floor are detrimental to dance hall floor
preservation.
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Music used for contra dancing
The music for contra dancing is derived from a repertoire and instrumentation
which has its origins in the traditional music of the Celtic Isles, Ireland,
England and Scotland including the Shetland Islands and has been augmented
by tunes originating in New England and both English and French-speaking
Canada and, more recently, the southern US. The repertoire for contra
dancing is made up primarily of tunes associated with fiddling and a contra
dance band might include a piano, accordian, concertina, one or more fiddles,
other stringed instruments, various wind instruments and percussion. As
with the dances, the music continues to evolve and incorporates influences
of different regions and periods. The music played at a modern contra
dance may be derived from Celtic, Northeastern, Appalachian, other or
multiple sources and range from tunes that date a century or more to modern
compositions. The dance tunes played at CSDA dances are of Celtic, northeastern
and (depending on the band) southern origin and tend towards the fairly
traditional although the interpretations range from fairly authentic to
a fusion of more modern styles. At most dances, the music is provided
by bands such as In-A-Contra-Da-Vida, The Carolina Cut-Ups, the Jivetones,
The Carolina Caterwaulers and at the March (St. Patrick's Day observance)
dance, The Fabulous Shamrocks.
To hire live musicians or for further information on the bands which
play at CSDA dances, visit BijouProductions.com.
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A brief history of CSDA
Buz Lloyd founded CSDA as a non-profit (although not IRS-designated 501(c)
(3)) organization in 1982 and with the assistance of numerous volunteers,
has produced dances, workshops and concerts in the Chapel Hill area and
Durham for over 25 years. In the early 1980's, CSDA (originally the Carolina
Square Dance Association) organized square dances in the Carrboro Elementary
School auditorium and at Sudi's Restaurant in Durham. Around the mid 80's,
the square dances were moved to the Presbyterian Student Center Fellowship
Hall on Henderson St. in downtown Chapel Hill. In 1982 the Triangle
Country Dancers began holding first one, then two contra dances a month
at the Presbyterian Student Center. CSDA became the the Carolina Song
& Dance Association and began holding regular contra dances at the
PSC. Around 1990, CSDA's dances moved to the Watts St. Elementary School
in Durham and then to the Carolina Friends School where the TCD dances
had also relocated. Since then, CSDA dances have been held at the Estes
Hills and Glenwood Elementary Schools in Chapel Hill before moving to
their present site at the Carrboro Century Center where they are presented
on the third Friday of each month.
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