CONTRA DANCING | ||||||||||||
To the best of our knowledge there are not currently any contra clubs in Victoria Below is an article which may be of help to you. (If you have any information to the contrary, please let us know) | ||||||||||||
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of VSDA. | ||||||||||||
MODERN SQUARE DANCER CONTRAS Imagine this - dancers all moving in unison with smiles that look like they were permanently painted on, dancing to music that just makes you want to keep going all day. Imagine dancers sharing the thrill of achieving a successful dance with more than just 7 other dancers. Imagine the charged atmosphere of a hall filled with enthusiastic happy people. Imagine the high you get when you realise you were part of it. Such is the power of contras.Last year at the 50th National I had the privilege of sharing the program with a contra prompter from United Kingdom. He was impressed with what we are doing in Australia to make contras more appealing to square dancers. He commented that the Australian way of doing contras is spreading the contra experience to a much wider audience. That is because the rest of the world is still using traditional contras. It is exciting and he would like do the same back in UK and other parts of the world. Contra dancing in Australia has had an interesting and unique evolution which has lead to a dance form similar to, but not completely the same as, contras as danced around the rest of the globe. I love oxymorons so I can’t resist saying that Australian Contras are contrary to the rest of the worlds’ contras. In fact in my view we have created a different genre of contra dance that we call “Modern Square Dance Contras”.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODERN AND TRADITIONAL CONTRAS x
We still do some of the traditional contras. Wilma Flannery has good success with one of my favourite contras “The Quiet Contra” (by Bruce Johnson). There are also some contras published in old copies of “Sets In Order” that work for both traditional and modern audiences. THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE: In recent years there has been a solid following of contra dancers, especially at National Conventions. Most of these have used David Smythe’s contras but others have been used. Wilma Flannery has had good success with “Australian Contra” (by Brian Hotchkies), I have written four new ones. Our Nationals have had a regular menu of prompters with Graham Rigby, David Smythe, Wilma Flannery and Jeff Garbutt. But we need more callers who are willing to master the craft at National level and hopefully take it back to their local areas.
DO YOU HAVE CONTRA PROMPTING EXPERIENCE? We actually have an established “Contra interest group” in Australia that has typically met at Nationals. Over the next few months we will do more than getting together for annual meetings. We have already started talking through phone link ups and swapping ideas via email. And we may soon have our own newsletter, or at the very least publish articles in the South Pacific Review, for sharing ideas. We would like to include more people in our efforts to grow contra dancing in Australia. We also need more prompters who are willing to have a go at future National conventions. I suppose we have traditionally left the role up to callers, but there is no reason why we have to restrict it to callers. Round dance cuers could easily take up the role and with their background of precision timing may even do it better. Even people who may be interested in Contra Prompting only (without being a caller or cuer) could take it up. What we need are prompters who are willing to practice good timing and present contras in a favourable light. So if you are interested, please contact either David Smythe, Wilma Flannery or myself (Jeff Garbutt) for more information. Jeff Garbutt April 2010 Note: Jeff, David or Wilma may be contacted via admin@vsda.org.au
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