You don't need to memorize any steps, because each dance is called - you are walked through each dance before it is done, and even after the dance starts the caller will often prompt you for each step. You will meet a variety of dancers, some quite experienced and some less so. We especially invite beginners to try it out. We'll help you, and you don't need a partner . It is traditional, accepted and encouraged that you dance with a different partner on each dance, so you get experience with different styles.
Every dance is done to live music .
Contra dancing isn't country dancing as in two-step. A fiddle is pretty much guaranteed, often with guitar, bass, occasional piano. This gives us different musical styles, and different types of dances. Types of dances We do primarily contra dances but there are almost always a few square dances and circle dances as well, and a waltz and hambo are often thrown in there at some point. You can always sit a dance out, or jump in.