Last week my father's friend Jackie called and invited me to come to a dance being held as the Whitefish Senior Citizen's center. A couple had put together a dancing event there for all ages with live music and this was the second year they did so. Jackie said there was a woman who would teach me to dance and Jackie encouraged me to attend. Jackie remembered how well my dad danced.
Even though I woke up that morning stiff and sore from the previous day's tree trimming, my cross country skiing that day had loosened me up so I decided to attend. A bit reluctantly as I know I can't dance. But I had told Jackie that I would attend.
I arrived some time after they started. About two to three dozen people were there with kids and grand kids. I quickly found Jackie who had just finished a dance. After we greeted one another Jackie went to check on something and the next I knew a woman asked me to dance. I thought this was the woman Jackie had told me about so I couldn't say my normal "no thanks", though I did initially try to get out of it by telling her I can't dance.
"It's easy. It's a waltz and just three steps. You can do it."
Three steps, eh? The next I knew she grabbed my hands and we started. I won't say "started to dance" as my brain (as usual!) got in the way of my feet and nothing worked well. You'd think three steps would be easy. Not for me! I couldn't get it. I felt totally uncoordinated. But this woman, Karen, was patient and encouraging and told me not to get frustrated - which I quickly was becoming.
Over and over I tried. Eventually I closed my eyes as no matter how much I looked at my feet they would not do the right thing. Then I decided this was useless and I couldn't do any worse so I shut my brain off and stopped thinking.
"Now you're starting to get it."
"Huh? Really?"
I had no clue how I was doing. It sure would be nice to know what I was doing right.
Then just as I was starting to get it the song ended.
I was looking around for Jackie when Karen asked me to join the group for the next dance.
"Ummm... Umm..."
"Come on. I know the steps and I will help you."
So... I joined the group. It was a contra dance whose name I don't know. I was overwhelmed with learning the steps much less remembering the dance's name.
If you click on the contra dance link above you can get the details on how the dancing is done so I won't go into all the details. But generally, this is what happened:
A leader, known as a caller, will teach each individual dance just before the music for that dance begins. During this introductory "walk-through" period, participants learn the dance by walking through the steps and formations, following the caller's instructions. The caller gives the instructions orally, and sometimes augments them with demonstrations of steps by experienced dancers in the group. The walk-through usually proceeds in the order of the moves as they will be done with the music; in some dances, the caller may vary the order of moves during the dance, a fact that is usually explained as part of the caller's instructions.Contra dancing seems to be easier than couple dancing. Since one is dancing with four people (a set) within the line the dancing sometimes is more moving around than 'dancing'. With four people I was more trying to be in the right spot and remember which spot to move to next. If you didn't know you can look at the others or take various clues from what they are doing.
After the walk-through, the music begins and the dancers repeat that sequence some number of times before that dance ends, often 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the length of the contra lines. At the end of each dance, the dancers thank their partners.
This is not to say that it can't be complicated. A later contra dance had me and my partner (and many others) confused for over half the dance. The dance started out similar to an earlier dance but it was a combination of the caller not accurately and explicitly calling out the moves during the walk through, along with a few more complicated steps, that had a number of us confused. I was dancing with Fran at that time and we started out as an active couple and in our confusion we ended up waiting out a rotation twice as our attempt to re-enter a set and the line got us back out when we made a wrong move.
The line ranged from eight to well over a dozen couples. Some times it seemed as if over a third of the people were young kids. That made it a little tricky when you had to duck under the raised arms of the other couple in your set when you move on to join another couple to make a new set. Do the limbo anyone?
The music was a half dozen people playing live on fiddles, piano, guitar, accordion and whatever. The ages ranged from adults to kids. Jackie knew the woman playing piano. The band had a few false starts so I don't know how regularly they played as a band, but you know I was so concentrating on the steps I wasn't conscious of the music half the time.
The contra dance tradition in North America is to change partners for every dance, while in the United Kingdom typically people dance with the same partner the entire evening. One who attends an evening of contra dances in North America does not need to bring his or her own partner. In the short break between individual dances, women and men invite each other to dance.I didn't know the above while I was at the dance. Initially I danced the first couple of dances with Karen as she was encouraging and supportive and attractive. Then during a contra dance she introduced her husband and granddaughter as we progressed to dancing another couple in a new set.
I thought... What?! Did I miss seeing a wedding ring? I don't think I saw one.... Whatever.
It was a shame as she was about my age and attractive and nice. She also skis (both downhill and cross country) and hikes and backpacks. She and her husband had been up on Big Mountain earlier that day downhill skiing.
Oh well. That's life.
After the dance I spoke with her husband. We talked briefly about his travels in Tibet in 2000 to visit Buddhist monasteries. I got the impression he may be Buddhist but never got the chance to ask him directly.
It turns out - to my surprise - I knew several other women at the dance. One woman I knew from when I served as an election judge as she worked as a judge in another precinct in the same building. I don't think she recognized me. I didn't recognize her until halfway through the dance.
The other woman I knew recognized me first. Fran hiked with Leah's group one time (Avalanche Lake) when I was with Leah's group. Once Fran spoke I recognized her New England accent. So I danced most of the rest of the dances with Fran.
I also danced a Serbian dance that the group did. In this dance everyone held hands and danced in a circle. So you really didn't have a partner. I spent most of my time watching the lead dancer teaching us the dance for clues on how to move. Dance a few steps to the right forward, turn quickly dance a few steps in reverse, the circle moves in and you stomp your feet, moves back out, moves in and you clap your hands once and shout "Miya! Miya! Miya!" then repeat the steps. Apparently it was one of the little girl's birthday that day and her name was Miya.
By the end of the evening I stopped thinking and loosened up and was having a good time. I still won't admit that what I was doing was actually dancing.
The last dance of the night was a waltz and Jackie then had the woman who was organizing the event show me how to dance. At first she tried to teach me how to dance while holding a young grandchild in one arm but I was having trouble with the "one, two, threes" so she handed the child to Jackie to hold while she concentrated on helping me. She had to take the lead in the beginning to show me how it was done. Once I started getting the hang of it (stop thinking!) I took over and led. Then she wanted me to vary the locations where I stepped - back, forward, sideways a bit. My brain was getting overloaded which probably helped my 'dancing'. She claimed I was dancing and doing well but again I didn't know what I was doing. Then the song was over.
The night went by quickly and the dancing was over before I knew it. I was just getting started.
Fran, Karen, and a few other women encouraged me to come attend their regular contra dance nights at the Salvation Army Church. But nobody was sure which day it was in April though they sure made an effort to find out for me.
Also there is a regular folk dance night at the Salvation Army Church. The next one was the next (Saturday) night but I already had plans to attend a lecture on a climb last year of K2.
It seems as if there is a shortage of men who dance so the women sure encourage guys to come and dance. They were all flattering me on how tall and handsome I was, and 'aren't I having fun?' and 'see, you can dance well'. It was all good for my ego. I did have fun and I play to attend more dances. Too bad this wasn't around when I lived in Minnesota. I had several girlfriends who loved to dance, and I didn't dance. Looking on the Internet, even now the closest contra dancing events to Rochester are up in the Twin Cities.
After the dancing was over Jackie and I went out to have a bite to eat at the Red Caboose downtown Whitefish. They had a wonderful coconut meringue pie. I love coconut!
I didn't get home until well after 11 pm. Skiing and dancing...it was a long day and I went right to bed. I suppose it is good I don't currently have a girlfriend as, well, with my good mood my busy day would have been somewhat longer.
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