Lenox Contra Dance Celebrates 20 Years of Smiles

The Lenox Contra Dance is excited to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a special dance event on Saturday, October 18th at the Lenox Community Center, 65 Walker Street, Lenox, MA. The featured band will be Kingfisher, a Boston-based contra dance band, known for their innovative instrumentation and driving rhythms (www.kingfisherband.com). All dances will be taught and prompted by local caller, Jon Greene. There will be a half hour beginner’s lesson from 7 to 7:30 followed by the dance itself from 7:30 to 10:30. Admission is Just $10 for adults and students of all ages dance for free! If you do decide to come, dress lightly as contra dancing can be quite aerobic. Also, please wear clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the hall’s beautiful 100-year old dance floor.

The Lenox Contra Dance began a little over 20 years ago when a local contra dancer named Michael Faber had this wonderful idea to start a monthly dance series in the historic Community Center in downtown Lenox. Fortunately for the rest of us, Michael also had that rare combination of organizational ability, unwavering persistence, and boundless energy necessary to make it happen. When Michael left the area in 2006, it took six (now eight) people to replace him. In those early years, a local house band – Bottom of the Bucket from Gould Farm – played nearly all of the dances and a local caller – Kathryn Wedderburn – did most of the calling.

But in time, the Lenox Contra Dance purchased its own sound system and began hiring performers from outside the county. Today, the Lenox Dance is recognized as one of the premier contra dance series in New England, featuring some the region’s most popular bands and callers. On any given evening, the Lenox hall pulses with the synchronous movements of 90 or more joyful dancers.

Contra dancing is a social dance form that originated a few centuries ago in the courts of Europe but now finds its greatest popularity in the US and Canada. The music is always live, the dance figures are not especially difficult to master, and dance communities everywhere are very welcoming to new dancers. All dances are taught beforehand and the figures are prompted throughout the dance. You can come to a dance alone, or with a partner, or with a group. Callers like to tell dancers, “If you can walk, you can contra dance” which is certainly true, but the Lenox organizers like to add, “If you can smile, you can contra dance” which is also true. So, if you’re looking for something special to do this Saturday, please come and help us celebrate 20 years of dancing and smiling in Lenox.