How to get dancers of other styles into contra?

  • Half night one
    sort of dance, half night contra
  • Tell them you’ll
    go to their dance if they come to yours (trade)
  • someone else underlined “to
    yours” and wrote “loaded!”

  • Demos at breaks
  • Advertise
    (mutual)
  • It’s helpful
    when callers can mix in a square or English dance
  • Hartford
    Community Dance has one night a year (I think) where they have
    contra, swing, Cajun/zydeco, other dances the same night
  • Maybe describe
    contra in terms of other dances? — it’s a little like swing
  • OR JUST BRING
    THEM!
  • Lots of contra
    bands have distinct styles. So invite a dancer who has not gone to a
    contra to a dance that has a style that they would like. For
    instance take a swing dancer to a “swingy” contra
  • Play some contra
    music at the end of the dance. (get them excited about music first –
    most of the time, it’s music that makes you want to dance!)