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Contra dance is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th century. Sometimes described as New England folk dance or Appalachian folk dance, contra dances can be found around the world, but are most common in the United States, Canada, and other Anglophone countries.
A country dance is any of a very large number of social dances of a type that originated in England in the British Isles; it is the repeated execution of a predefined sequence of figures, carefully designed to fit a fixed length of music, performed by a group of people, usually in couples, in one or more sets. The figures involve interaction with your partner and/or with other dancers, usually with a progression so that you dance with everyone in your set. It is common in modern times to have a "caller" who teaches the dance and then calls the figures as you dance. Country dances are done in many different styles.
Joan Chandos Baez is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more than 30 albums.
A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances are part of a broad spectrum of dances known by various names: country dances, traditional dances, folk dances, barn dances, ceilidh dances, contra dances, Playford dances, etc. These dances appear in over 100 different formations, of which the Square and the Longways Set are by far the most popular formations.
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The folk music of England is a tradition-based music which has existed since the later medieval period. It is often contrasted with courtly, classical and later commercial music. Folk music traditionally was preserved and passed on orally within communities, but print and subsequently audio recordings have since become the primary means of transmission. The term is used to refer both to English traditional music and music composed or delivered in a traditional style.
A cèilidh or céilí is a traditional Scottish and Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music, either at a home or a larger concert at a social hall or other community gathering place.
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, contra dance, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked string instruments, most often the banjo, guitar, and mandolin. Together, they form an ensemble called the string band, which along with the simple banjo-fiddle duet have historically been the most common configurations to play old-time music. The genre is considered a precursor to modern country music.
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Kate Anna Rusby is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the best known contemporary English folk singers. In 2001 The Guardian described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies". She is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
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Bob Dalsemer is a square and contra dance writer and caller. He has called dances for more than 50 years and in more than 33 states, plus internationally in Canada, the Czech Republic, Britain, Belgium, Denmark and Russia. He began writing dances in the mid-1970s. He wrote the book West Virginia Square Dances and Folk Dance Fun for Schools and Families. He has also compiled the cassette/book compilations Smoke On the Water: Square Dance Classics and When The Work's All Done: A Square Dance Party For Beginners and Old Hands.
The Country Dance and Song Society is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote participatory dance, music, and song with English and North American roots.
Ralph George Page was an American contra dance caller. He was influential in spreading it from New Hampshire to the rest of the United States and other countries, and was recognized as an authority on American folk dance overall.
Janet Evelyn Tobitt, also known as Toby, was a British-American author, editor, publisher, music director, collector of folk songs and dances, playwright, teacher, Girl Guide and Girl Scout leader and shepherd's pipe player.
Evelyn Kendrick Wells was an American folklorist and educator, on the faculty of Wellesley College from 1936 to 1956.
Tony Parkes was an American professional square dance, contra dance and folk dance caller and choreographer who was active in the region surrounding Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. He wrote the book Contra Dance Calling – A Basic Text in 1992 and updated it in 2010.
References
- 1 2 3 Cook, Joan (1979-01-30). "May Gadd, 88, Expert On English, American Country‐Style Dance". The New York Times . p. D19. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ↑ "May Gadd Visitor". Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ↑ "May Gadd 1890-1979" (PDF). Country Dance & Song Society News (#26): 1.
- 1 2 3 4 "May Gadd". SocialFolkDance.org. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ↑ "History". Country Dance and Song Society. 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ↑ "The Country Dancer. Ed. May Gadd". Cambridge University Press. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ↑ "A Brief Organizational History of CCDS". Christmas Country Dance School. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- ↑ Keely, Harrison (2024-09-23). "Bob Dalsemer – contra and square dance writer and caller". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-09-24.