Kyle,
Flicka's suggestion is a fun one. I used to contra dance back in college and a number of years afterwards. That was back when we had to have a lookout posted in case a pteradactyl swooped down and grabbed a few dancers by their furs and made off with them.
It was a hoot. If you have ever done a Virginia Reel you have done a contra dance. We used to do those in grade school gym class sometimes back in New England. I think you are about my age so you may have experienced that too. (oops...shouldnt have mentioned pteradactyls and then compared your age to mine should I...sigh.)
If you have never done one....think square dance, but done in pairs of lines, and much less formal than a square dance, and usually with an older style type of music. Lots of jigs and reels and hornpipes and waltzes and whatnot. Fun stuff. And usually far more accepting of newbies than a square dance, where you are often asked to take lessons before you join a "real dance." I have never been to a contra dance where they didnt walk everyone through the dance 1st, and then if you get lost people will pick you up and take you through it with lots of laughter involved. These are laid back and fun and also pretty high energy. And you arent expected to wear country outfits either!!! Tshirts and a pair of jeans are dandy!
The dances we went to in college had folks of all ages. Women generally wore slacks or gingham dresses and guys wore jeans or decent slacks. It was winter most of the time, and in Maine so it was cold and snowy out. The halls where the dances were held were usually old grange halls that resembled wooden grade school gymnasiums/auditoriums with a basketball hoop at each end and an elevated stage at one end? They were heated by wood furnaces in the basements that were never fired up till the dance started so the buildings were colder than witches..... "fingernails." Till things warmed up the gals all kept their coats on. They would wear long underwear under their dresses, and work boots and high wool socks. Quite the stylin combo! The guys, like most guys everywhere, had no brains and would wear low quarter dress shoes. 30 below and snowing and we wore low quarter dress shoes. Yeah boy! No brains. Anyway....there is a move in a contra dance called a balance and swing where a couple comes together, does 2 stomping kicks, and then links arms and goes into a fast swing. The guys, wearing low quarters but having a fair amount of weight behind it, would make a pretty big boom with each stomp on the wooden floors. The gals though....with those heavy "sh*t kickers" on would shake the rafters! No comparison!!
And no....despite what Iplod may tell us...contra dancing played no identifiable role in Reagan's imbraglio, the Iran Contra Affair. Nor did it involve marital infidelity on the part of Iranian Square dancers! <grin>
If you enjoy that style of music it can be a kick! Great idea Flicka!!
Dave
