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In recess till safe to dance again
Under the traffic light system we may be able to dance at the green level subject to vaccination certificates.
So please get vaccinated.

Contra Dance at Addington School Hall
First Saturday of each month     find us on facebook
Next dance when safe to do so

Dance 7:30 to 9:30 pm
Live Music!
Bill Calling!
No Experience Needed!
No Partners Needed!
All Dances Taught!
Easy and Lots of Fun!
An Alcohol Free Community Oriented Event.
Bring your own water bottle.
Bickies available during dance.
Entry $10 for adults who can afford it, $5 others

Here is a flyer.

For more information please contact Bill.
To get email notices sign up here.

Every Thursday - Dances at our house

An outlet for those who have caught the contra bug.
A means to support up and coming musicians.
Details here.

Contra Dances in 2021

4 September cancelled as covid alert level too high. We missed hearing from Bush Telgraph (Claire, Heather, John and Sue). Hopefully back in action for October.

7 August, had quite a few regulars tell me they couldn't make it (bad weather, illness) but still got a good turnout of 30 dancers. Great music by Folkworks (Roger, Heather, Claire, Tessa, Jonathan and Clare). Lots of the young crowd came plus some new faces. Lots of energy. We did 8 dances. Farewell to Pauline and Trevor. All the best Pauline for your new job in Wellington.

3 July, a turnout of 30 dancers. Bush Telgraph (Claire, Heather, John and Sue) gave us a great selection of tunes including a number of Finnish tunes. Bill called. We got thru 9 dances. Next month we will have a short waltz teach during the break.

5 June, nice turnout for a holiday weekend of 30 dancers. Entrada (Jonathan and Tessa) gave us a great selection of tunes. Bill called. With almost everyone experienced, we got thru 10 dances.

1 May, over 40 dancers - Fantastic music as usual by Folkworks (Roger, Heather, Claire, Tessa, Jonathan and Clare). Bill was unwell and could not call. Paul Hussey who called regularly for the dances a few years ago kindly and enthusiastically took over the calling. My son Colin and his wife Laura and daughter Iris looked after opening the hall and MC duties. They gave me a glowing report. Paul called Let's Celebrate the Day, Waves Tossed in Dublin Bay, Easy Progressive Contra, Easy Petronella, Flirtation Reel, Here Comes the Muffin Man and finished with the Circle Waltz. A few sound bites:
Here Comes the Muffin Man to 100 Pipers listen
Ashokan Farewell listen
Final Thank Yous listen
Thank you very much Paul. I'm glad your wife Emily and son Noah were able to come along too. Thank you Colin, Laura and Iris.

10 April, 32 dancers - Music by Entrada (Tessa and Jonathan). Finally we got to start the year again.

Contra Dance in New Zealand

Besides Christchurch, there are regular dances in Dunedin, Wellington, Auckland and Nelson. Contra dancing began in Dunedin in 1996, the dances in the other citys began after meeting Ron and Cathy Arp's touring contra groups from the USA which started in 2002. Bill and Liz traveled with them in February 2008. Six dances in 10 days! Bill learned a lot and was keen to share the new dances with you.

A Short Description of Contra dancing (some videos here)

Check out the Chattahoochee Country Dancers web page for a detailed description and some instructional videos links.

The video The Contra Dance by Doug Plummer shows the joy and excitement you will experience at this type of dance.

The following is extracted from a web article: "What is Contra Dance?" by Gary Shapiro.

A caller, usually working with a group of live musicians, guides new and experienced alike through a variety of dances.

A dancer and his or her partner dance a series of figures, or moves, with each other and with another couple for a short time. They then repeat the same figures with another couple, and so on. The figures are similar to those in a barn dance. The figures are combined in different ways for each different dance.

The caller teaches each dance before it is actually done to the music. This gives everyone an idea of what to expect so the movements can be easily executed. The caller leads the dances while they are being done to music, so dancers are able to perform each movement to the music. Once the dancers appear to have mastered a particular dance, the caller may stop calling, leaving the dancers to enjoy the movement with music alone.