If I can add my two cents to the equation - if the worry that recent
developments in contra dancing are potential harbingers to the death of contra
and folk dancing in general, I just don't see it. As a matter of fact, given
the large number of young dancers I see at dances these days, I think that
contra dancing is alive and well for years to come.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the term "folk process" in this
discussion, which means that dancing is evolving and adding new elements to it
all the time. The reason is to keep it fresh and interesting so the dance CAN
remain alive and well.
Yes there are indeed techno contras, medleys, evenings of challenging contra
dances for experienced dancers, and dancing with fancy flourishes. It would be
a problem if these dances had REPLACED all the traditional evenings of dance,
but the good thing is that they haven't.
I dance at Glen Echo (and I understand that place means different things to
different people), so I kind of get a pulse of what dancers want. I understand
that you're not going to please every dancer every time. But I do know that
dancers enjoy driving, high-energy music, interesting contras with new moves,
etc. Would it be kept to slow melodies and a small set of moves, that actually
bores people to the point of people not coming back. Techno contras are also a
popular way to get people introduced to the genre if they think that
old-fashioned fiddle music might be corny. And that's OK - we WANT them to
dance, and if they're dancing and having a good time, that's OK by me.
Given the number of folks I see on social networks like Facebook professing
their love of dance and how they can't get enough of it, I think that folks can
rest assured that contra dancing is alive and well.
Perry
