dancing the weekend away

We went to two fun contra dances this weekend. The first was at our "home dance" with a good band, but not my favorite sound. (Actually, they're my current least favorite band, but at least this time, they weren't complaining within our earshot about having to play for us.) A few people dressed in costumes. And perhaps I take all that community, fun, and delight for granted. It was a fine dance, not our finest, but I'm glad we went.

On Sunday, we traveled about ten minutes to a little old New England church in a tiny town center. Our "Queen Mum," who started our dances and kept them going for years, who is an excellent caller, who calls all over New England and the rest of the country, had agreed to call a dance in this tiny out of the way place. There's a bit of a connection -- the husband of the minister at this church is the brother of QM's partner.

A few weeks ago, we went to a concert and on the way home stopped by a surprise birthday party for QM's partner. There we met the minister and her husband and they told us about the dance and strongly encouraged us to come. The minister and her husband were throwing a thank you party to the church for their welcome and support. And because we live so close by, we thought it would be fun to go.

QM had engaged two good musicians. In fact, I don't know if the people assembled realized how lucky they were to be in the presence of such talent.

So there we were gathered in the church's former sanctuary, a cozy room with a stage (the former altar), a beautiful wood floor, and those clean lines that I've come to expect of the most beautiful churches in the area.

Oh, and there were somewhere between 40 and 50 people, from ages 1.5 up into their 70s at least. There were a few experienced dancers, but mostly a lot of eager people.

QM was masterful. He started us off with very simple dances, some in circles and some in long lines, and some in random groups of four. No one worried about who was leading or following -- that never entered into the picture. We didn't even do a progressing dance (where one couple dances with just one other couple at a time, then moves on to the next couple in line) until the very last dance.

But the amazing thing is we were dancing, we were somewhat graceful, we were laughing, and I think everyone felt wildly successful. The men didn't back out. The children got it. Everyone was working hard, and everyone had a lot of fun.

Clearly, most of the attendees were from one church community, so they already knew each other, but I suspect that connections were made or strengthened that hadn't existed before. As a total outsider, I felt absolutely welcomed and included.

Bravo to QM. I'm amazed at his ability to teach so quickly and graciously, and to leave everyone assemled feeling good about themselves and the dance. We'll definitely be back if another dance is held.