The energetic twirling and swaying that occurs on Friday and Sunday nights in the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo, is currently known as “contra dancing”. Contra dancing is a very old form of traditional dance done by unschooled dancers of all ages and abilities joining to share community spirit and joy. The music has roots as old or older than the dance form itself and is often of Celtic or Appalachian origins. The tunes are most often jigs and reels.
Contra dancing has evolved from the French and English Country Dancing of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, according to dance historian Bob Dalsemer. Contra dancing uses figures common not only to those two genres but also to Irish Country Set Dancing and American Square Dancing. The Irish sets developed from the dances of Brittany. The term “contra” is descended from a French corruption of the English term “Country” Dance.
Originally tunes and dances were paired together, but often the music's matching steps were lost. New dances have been written to dance tunes possibly dating as far back as a genre known as “Early Music,” the first uniquely western music. Throughout a long evolution both the music and the dance figures have adapted to the culture and values of the time and locale in which they were performed. A similar dance form is found in Martinique, home to descendants of Irish immigrants, where a typical Caribbean style of movement has been added to a grouping of facing couples. In the United States a band of young musicians incorporates jazz elements with traditional tunes.
Today, contra dancers in groups of two pairs begin the dance in two long lines of facing partners. Each group of two couples steps through the dance one time before progressing either up or down the line to dance with a new couple. The eight to ten figures in a dance are then repeated. Participants dance with everyone in the line. New dance figures have been developed by choreographers, yet some of the oldest dances are still popular. Dancers practice the dance in a “walk through” instructed by a caller who will continue to cue the dance once the music starts until it is well learned. Dancers today add their own flourishes and especially enjoy the opportunity for flirting that the dance provides. Children often pick up dancing more readily than adults. Newcomers often dance an entire evening when they discover how easy it is to learn the figures and how much help is available from others. Lately more and more teen-agers and young adults are filling the ranks along with the babyboomers and grandparents.
Contra dancing came to Glen Echo in 1977 when the historic Spanish Ballroom was reopened by the National Park Service and a Saturday night dance included several types of folk dancing. The Ballroom had closed when the Amusement Park came to an end in 1968. In 1983, a group of dancers led by callers Lou Shapiro and Bruce Strand moved their dance to the Spanish Ballroom on Friday nights. Then Park staff suffered cutbacks and looked to community groups to manage their own programs. As the dance grew, it was reorganized and the Dance Committee became a park cooperator in 1985. In the same year, the Folklore Society of Greater Washington moved its Sunday night contra dance to the Ballroom. By 1993, the Committee became the Friday Night Dancers. By the mid-eighties the Spanish Ballroom had become a dance mecca for the entire Eastern Seaboard. Average attendance was 250 to 300. Dancers traveled to experience the highly regarded music and calling. Bands found that two performances a week at Glen Echo helped finance an entire East Coast performance tour. Many dancers were inspired to become callers or learn to play the dance music.
Today, the hundreds of Washington area dancers whose lives revolve around their experiences at Glen Echo carry on a cultural and community tradition that is unique in our fast paced, ever-changing, technical, often impersonal world. New faces, new music and new dances are always welcome.