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What could bring the enthusiastic sounds of spring, a jaunty fiddle, a peppy piano, and folks brigading around in the dead of winter as though it was the middle of May?
No, it isn’t French for country dance although it sure seems like it could be. Evolving out of traditional English country dances that were adapted in France and Canada, Contra Dance began to dominate the dance lexicon of New England in the mid-1970s. An official monthly Contra Dance event popped up in the New River Valley roughly 20 years ago.
It isn’t line dancing, it isn’t square dancing, and it isn’t square dancing in a line — it is more like if a fiddle, a piano and a barn dance had a baby – and that baby had a LOT of caffeine!
“Contra Dance has a lot of energy, and many new bands really amp up the energy and respond to the dancers, who respond to the callers,” Ed Tuchler explains.
Ed Tuchler is the owner of Shelter Alternatives and long-time lover of community dance. Though he was a reluctant dancer at first, his roommate introduced him to the Hoorah Cloggers in his college days at Virginia Tech. “We performed at several different places, including the White House lawn at one point!” he recalls.
According to Tuchler, at first there was some resistance to bringing Contra Dance into the community. “People were afraid that it would dilute the square dance, but I’m happy to say that both kinds of dance are thriving. We have a monthly contra dance, and there’s a monthly square dance as well.”
Part Celtic session, part Appalachian barn stomp, and part musical reminder that you probably didn’t stretch enough before starting, Contra Dance is driven by reels and jigs that never quite stop. There’s usually a flute or whistle weaving in — light and nimble, like it’s tiptoeing across the top of the melody, trying not to get trampled by the fiddle’s enthusiasm. And the whole thing has that joyful, unstoppable momentum.
Everyone Can Dance
The best part is that it’s accessible. Whether you’re eight or 80, in a couple or going stag, everyone is welcome on the dance floor. Men can dance together, women can dance together, children and seniors alike. Numbers don’t matter. And before things kick off, the caller always teaches everyone the steps (which aren’t steps so much as they are moves), so that beginners have a chance to learn the basics first.
Contra Dance is not about footwork, it’s about body movement. Circling, swinging, allemande – “And a lot of times the advanced dancers are so inventive with their moves that you can hardly tell them apart from the beginners!” Tuchler laughs.
After experiencing the local Contra Dance events, many dancers find themselves drawn to dance weekends and even week-long dancing events. “What’s nice is at these other events, which draw some of the more experienced dancers, they also draw some high caliber bands.” The New River Valley has no shortage of great bands, and the live music is something that really sets Contra Dance apart.
There is a monthly Blacksburg Community Contra Dance at the YMCA Thrift Store dance floor on the third Saturday of the month, and a Floyd Community Contra Dance at the Floyd Center for the Arts on the second Saturday of the month. Though there are callers, Tuchler explains: “The music often helps you feel where you need to be.”
Dancing isn’t just good fun — it’s good for you. “You get beaming, bright, cheery faces, and you share that joy as you work down the line,” says Tuchler. The positive psychological boost is not just great for community, but also great for immunity.
Wayland Moore, a two-time cancer survivor from Palmyra, attributes a lot of his recovery to the elixir that is Contra Dancing. “The pandemic killed the Contra Dance, and I lost many factors that helped me in building my immune system,” says Moore. But thanks to folks like Ed Tuchler, who realized that if Contra was ever going to return to Blacksburg after covid, it was going to be up to him, Contra found its way back to our communities, and people like Wayland Moore found their health improving again.
“Between garnering publicity and lining up the dances, the callers and so on, it really takes a team to put it all together,” Tuchler shares. And it’s a team he’s very thankful for. Check out the calendar for upcoming events near you, just be sure to stretch first!
Written by Emily Kathleen Alberts, who can’t wait to try whirling through a crowd of new faces on the dance floor.
blacksburgcontradance.com
