Click here to find out more about the Blue Ribbon Anti-Censorship Campaign.

English Country and Contra Dancing

I started doing English Country Dance in the spring of 1994. English Country Dance is a traditional form of folk dancing that's been around since the 13th or 14th Century. John Playford wrote many of these dances down in _The English Dancing Master_ in the mid-17th Century, but they'd gained popularity with the upper classes long before then. For example, in _Romeo and Juliet_, Shakespeare has Peter call for "Heartsease" after Juliet is found "dead" on the morning she's to wed Peris. ECD is distantly related to Square Dancing, and has more similarities with contra dance.

Contra dancing is much more popular than English Country and there are a lot more dances around. I'm now an avid contra dancer when I have the time, which has tended to be summer. It's pretty easy to pick up, especially with previous dance experience. There are lots and lots of these dances around; pick a night & there are probably several going on near you.

English Country and Contra Dancing

Dance Schedules

Dance instructions

Dance-related pages