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What are you doing at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 8?
The answer is-learning how to contra dance.
On the second Saturday of each month the Marsh Island Band performs at the Orono Community Center on Bennoch Road, next to the post office. Joe Dupere, a computer programmer here at the University of Maine, has been the caller for the Marsh Island Band for three years now. For the first half hour Dupere holds a beginner session, where he teaches newcomers some of the dance movements that he will shout out when the contra dance begins at 8 p.m. He will walk through the steps two or three times until the new dancer feels comfortable doing them.
“Contra dancing is really easy to learn,” Dupere assures. “It’s the only dance form that you can do if you have two left feet! The same eight or 10 steps are repeated throughout the dance. And it only takes about ten minutes to teach the beginner session. It’s not like swing dancing where you have to take lessons for five weeks and you’re still a beginner.”
You must be wondering, what exactly is contra dancing? Contra dances are somewhat similar to square dances, but a lot more energetic and fun for all ages.
“Have you seen the English country dances that are done in Jane Austin movies?” Dupere asks. “Contra dances are similar to country dances in that you have a partner and you move up and down the line repeating the same steps, but the music is much more lively and fast-paced.”
With a partner, the dancers move up and down the “set” (line) in a “progression.”
Phil Locke, a professor of mathematics at UMaine, organized the Marsh Island Band about 22 years ago. During the 1970s, there was a revival of the contra dance tradition in New England that developed along side of the “back to the land” movement. Currently, the Marsh Island Band is comprised of four members: Locke on fiddle, George Flink on banjo and concertina, Lowell Oyster on guitar and Kim Lyons on piano. In past years, a few university students have played with the band.
There are several different types of musical arrangements that are played during the course of the evening including Irish jigs, various waltzes and couples dances, polkas and sometimes the foxtrot. Two traditional songs played at many contra dances are the “Grand March” and “Lady of the Lake.”
The cost of one night of good, clean fun is $6, which covers the rental of the space in the community center. Traditionally, contra dances were held in grange halls, which were by nature smoke-free and chem-free. The same thing goes for this Saturday night; it’s certainly a great alternative for a night of the weekend. You can attend by yourself or bring a dance partner if you choose. Most people wear comfortable clothing such as jeans, skirts, tennis shoes or sandals.
“It’s fairly aerobic,” said Dupere. “I always bring a change of shirts.”
You may, in fact, be surprised how worn out you are by the end of the night.
So, don’t complain about being bored and stuck in the same weekend rut. Bring your two left feet and a group of friends to the Orono Community Center this weekend. Joe Dupere and the Marsh Island Band promise a night of great music and swinging movement.
Bangor Daily News