These dances welcome partication by all ages, all skill or experience levels, coming as singles, couples or groups. Contra dancing is unique in its ability to draw people of different ages together, for a fun night. Contra dancing is energetic and a good source of exercise, but not hard to do or to learn. Adults and children, as well as a growing number of teens, enjoy contra dancing on a regular basis.
Folks do bring younger children or grandchildren, and the youngest couples on the dance floor were age seven, going up to about seventy. Every decade is present, we think, but teens continue to be the largest group.
It is worth mentioning that Contra Dances have earned a reputation as trouble-free, in the communities that host them. This is due in part to their being all-ages, and alcohol free. We believe it is also due to the very social style of dancing, in which pairs of couples dance together, in two facing lines (the contra line), progressing up or down the line to new neighbors, following each musical figure. So while you and your partner dance together, you also dance with everyone in the room.
At the end of our first dance on October 20, many people stopped to tell us how much fun they had, and asked when the next event would be held. We held more dances in January, February, April, May and June 23, all at Fenner Hall in Newport.
But we need help with the numbers. Our callers and musicians, and the Fenner Avenue Club, have all made very generous arrangements, and we were given a grant for the first one. This dance could not have happened without their help, but we can not count on them taking a loss, for future dances.
Costs for the caller, two or three musicians, and the hall, total five to six hundred dollars. Established dances need to draw over a hundred people, and charge from five to eight dollars, but often with a whole-family price cap. So far, we are bringing in around four to five hundred dollars, and losing money on each dance.
Most established dances draw people from about a fifty mile radius, and many dancers regularly attend their two closest dances. Only about half of the dancers are local to any given dance. But our beautiful Island location (surrounded by water, with access from one side by a toll bridge, and no close-by interstate exit) work against us. For this series to succeed, it will need more than the usual share of local interest, and support, but that is also why we're doing it.
Offsetting some of these costs for a new dance will let us keep the price low, making it easier for more people to come try it, especially families and young people. We know the interest is there, and hope this can become a self-sustaining series, both in number of people and money, but it will need your help to get there.
We'll be dancing at the Aquidneck School in Middletown.
Like many other school districts,
the Middletown Public Schools have
safety rules for school dances that restrict who may attend,
and require chaperones and a Police officer to be present.
However,
based on our events being all-ages,
and a trouble-free first season,
they have agreed to let us use the school
without these conditions.
We thank them for this vote of confidence.
We will pay a fee,
cover expenses for keeping the building open
and will have to provide insurance,
but it will still be a saving,
and that helps.
We could just raise the price, but this is a sure way to kill a new dance. We've seen it done a few times, and see no point in repeating the mistake.
Since so many local teens attend,
and the dances have a long tradition of being alcohol-free,
this seemed a "natural" for Substance Abuse Prevention funds.
Both the Newport and Middletown SAP groups receive local and State funding,
and they invite community input on how to use it.
We have spoken with both groups,
suggesting for one option,
they pick up the two dollar student discounts,
for however many teens show up.
Regrettably,
no one from either group has shown any interest in helping,
or even come once to see a dance.
We do wonder why not,
but after a year of attending their monthly meetings with nothing to show for it,
except this letter,
it's time to move on.