New Hampshire Magazine September 2017

other places around the country, including
states as far away as Alaska, Hawaii and California.
Closer to home, young New Yorkers
have been flocking to dances in Brooklyn.
Contra has even made its way abroad and back
to the UK, where it’s distinct from traditional
English country dancing.
Laufman, who is credited with the revival of
contra in the ’70s, says that, if we are seeing another
revival of sorts, it may come at the expense
of many of New England’s traditions. “The dances
are faster and more complicated. Ralph Page
used to do complicated dances, and he could because
people knew the dances. And if they didn’t,
they just got hauled along anyway. It wasn’t a
workshop.” Today it’s a workshop, he says. “They
teach each dance before they do it. That’s not my
cup of tea. The dances are too convoluted.”
Some dances have gotten so fast that, in
cities around the country, organizations host
what they refer to as “hot dances,” which include
dance moves from swing and other faster
genres. To some, that means contra may be
losing some of the romance of decades past.
“Traditionally, people were dancing for social
reasons. Nowadays, some people dance as an
alternative to going to the gym,” says Millstone.
“If you were a farmer or mill worker
in New Hampshire in the ’20s and ’30s, you
didn’t need to go to a dance for exercise.”
Laufman blames technology for the changes.
“There’s no down time. There used to be
inactive and active couples, with inactives not
having anything to do for part of the dance,”
he says. “And the computer lot can’t stand that.”
He prefers the simpler dances that were
accessible to everyone, old and young, urban
and rural, farmers, truck drivers and preps
weekending from Boston. “Whether they
were drunks, preppies or kids, they all got a
chance to dance,” he says.
Others think the old and new can coexist.
“Some people will be concerned with preserving
the dancing from the 1700s, but there can
also be these more updated kinds of dances
that move with different musical trends,”
Faiella, who fell in love with contra after attending
Dudley and Jacqueline Laufman’s
dances as a child, says. “I think it’s great as
long as we also keep that really strong old tradition
alive.” And it’s no secret that contra has
been evolving for hundreds of years.
At 86, Laufman says he rarely dances anymore.
But there’s still one favorite he’ll dance
to. “If they do ‘Money Musk,’ I’ll do it,” he
says. “It was a Scottish dance that the Yankees
sped up a little bit with a wild tune. Back
in the day it used to be the first dance they
did after intervention. But it’s a great dance
— there’s nothing like it.” NH
Step in Time
Some things to know if you want to give contra a spin
Places to Dance
There are dances all over the Granite State (and neighboring states too). The website
contradancelinks.com keeps a handy, updated list, and our official state website maintains
a map and guide to New Hampshire's Traditional Dance Trail with 20 monthly
dances and a downloadable brochure including dates, times and contacts. Along with the
weekly dances at the Nelson Town Hall (and at a number of other regular spots), a few
choice opportunities for September include:
Francestown Labor Day Festival, September 1
Fiddleheads Acoustic Music Camp, Contoocook, September 8-10
Star Island Traditional Dance and Music Weekend, Isles of Shoals, September 15-17
Tips for First-timers
• Bring water.
• Wear comfortable clothes that keep you cool.
• Bring a pair of comfy dancing shoes, so you don’t have to wear your gritty street
shoes out on the dance floor.
• Find an experienced dancer to show you the ropes for your first dance.
• Don’t be afraid to go alone or dive in!
Useful Resources
Contra Dance Links:
contradancelinks.com/schedule_NH.html
Monadnock Folklore Society: monadnockfolk.org
NH Folklife: nh.gov/folklife
Town of Nelson: townofnelson.com
Great Meadow Music: Featuring recordings of many of
the greatest musicians from the classic era of modern
contra and country dancing, Great Meadow is a splendid source for CDs, digital
downloads, books and videos about the subject. greatmeadowmusic.com
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