Greg said: "The term "contra dance" as an event name seems pretty clear." Hmmm. What is a contra dance? Is it the American pronunciation of the French "contre danse" which was their version of the UK English words "country dance", and therefore encompasses all forms of traditional dance? Or does it mean a dance where you are opposite (contrary to) someone else? Even if you limit it to the latter, then does it have to be a longways set for as many as will, or can it be a three, four, five, or whatever-number couple dance? Can it be a Sicilian Circle where the longways set is bent to avoid end effects, but you are still opposite someone? Historically I believe that you would often find many different formations at an event billed as a "contra dance", varying depending on the decade, the country, the state, the organiser, the caller, etc. I guess most Americans who have only been to a limited number of clubs would expect all (most of?) the dances to be: - longways for as many as will - first couples Improper, or Becket formation - flowing choreography - no-one stationary for more than 16 beats (e.g. First Couple Balance & Swing, finish facing down to make Lines of Four) - containing at least one swing - 95% of the moves to be from a set of well-know moves that they know already Have I left anything out? But I have been to lots of contra dance clubs where other formations have been used, especially in England where we tend to be exposed to a wider variety of formations and styles at a single club. Are you allowed to do Proper dances at a "contra dance"? Or a four-couple dance that has all the other characteristics listed above? Or a Sicilian Circle (space allowing)? There are many types of square dance. I use simple ones like Cumberland Square Eight at One Night Stands, and I wouldn't call a Modern Western Square Dance with hash calls at a contra dance. But there are many great squares which are much closer in style to contras, using the same figures with only a couple of new things to learn. I suspect many of the people at contra dances have never experienced the full richness of the tradition, and would be very positive to some alternate formations if they were introduced carefully, and didn't deviate significantly from their basic expectations. So anyway, what is a contra dance? :-) Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk <http://www.contrafusion.co.uk/> for Dancing in Kent