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Contra and Waltz
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I went to a contra dance last night, figuring that would be a good way to forget about the Bronco's loss to Pittsburg in the AFC championship game earlier in the afternoon. What is contra dancing? Here is a good definition, from a google search for those terms.
'A dancer and his or her partner dance a series of figures, or moves, with each other and with another couple for a short time. They then repeat the same figures with another couple, and so on. The figures are similar to those of old-time square dancing. The figures are combined in different ways for each different dance.'
(from http://www.sbcds.org/contradance/whatis/#Def0>
Contra is high energy, and at the end of a three hour evening of contra you will be exhausted. You have to stay alert during the dance, paying attention to the caller's instructions, and not mess it up for everybody in your line. Each dance lasts about 15 minutes, and the patterns for every dance are different. The music starts slow, allowing you to get familiar with the groups of steps, then picks til you are blazing by the end. It's not uncommon to get stuck once in a while, as in your mind going blank. (This happens to me right after I have squeezed and swung a pretty woman, and can't think about anything but that for a few seconds). The thing to do when you are stuck is to glance over to the other couples in the line to see what you should be doing, and catch up. Contra dancers are friendly and kind, and will help you if they see you are having some difficulty, especially if you are new to contra.
The thing I love about contra dancing is that it is always done to a live band, with the fiddle is the main instrument. On Friday night I went to a contra that had three fiddles most of the evening. I have always loved roots fiddle music, and the fastest fiddle songs sort of catch in my feet and are expressed in a smile that is hard to contain.
On Sunday my favorite fiddler was playing for the contra. Her name is Sandra Wong and I am in love with her music. She has long black hair, a warm smile, and plays the fiddle with such artistry and passion that I feel a good 20 years younger when dancing to it. She has played the violin since she was seven. Read more about Sandra here. She has a cd for sale here. Information about Colorado contra dancing with a calendar of events is at the website of the Colorado Friends of Old Time Music and Dance, cfootmad.org.
Sandra is such a master that she tends to raise the volume and passion of her playing at transitions in the dancing, like when you swing your partner at the end of a sequence of contra patterns. Right then is my favorite part, and my partners can feel the effect of Sandra's fiddle in my touch and intensity. I am gentle with the ladies that don't like to spin fast, but I have to admit I favor the athletic ladies who's love of music and dance matches my own.
Sandra finished the evening with the loveliest waltz I have ever heard played. My partner said she was new to dancing, but within ten seconds or so was on the beat and following my leads gracefully. It was a fantastic and memorable time, and throughout the dance the haunting melody of Sandra's violin gave me chills.
I drove home without turning on the radio. letting the passion and romance of that waltz linger.
"This---this was what made life: a moment of quiet, the water falling in the fountain, the girl's voice . . . a moment of captured beauty. He who is truly wise will never permit such moments to escape."
--Louise L"Amour
"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness. "
Albert Einstein:
"Music has charms to soothe the savage breast
To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. "
William Congreve (1670 - 1729), The Mourning Bride, Act 1 Scene 1
"When the music changes, so does the dance"
--African Proverb
“Love. Fall in love and stay in love. Write only what you love, and love what you write. The key word is love. You have to get up in the morning and write something you love, something to live for.”
--Ray Bradbury
"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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