Bloomington Contra-Dance

 Bloomington Contra-Dance

            Dance has been fully integrated into my life as a part of my Colombian culture. Through a Hispanic perspective I see dance as essential to my cultural formation rather than a fun activity that happens from time to time. Experiencing a new type of dance for the first time was exhilarating and enjoyable. I assumed that Contra dance would be a vapid motionless form of dancing in which I am certainly not accustomed to. My assumption immediately turned me away from this form of dance without even experiencing it for the first time. I am so glad that I was able to free myself of assumptions and let my guard down in order to give contra dance a chance. I was soon proved wrong.

            The form of dance that adolescents worldwide are familiar with compared to contra dance are two completely different styles. Mainstream social dancing allows for people to socialize in a very limited manner in comparison to contra dancing which focuses on social bonding and the formation of relationships. There are many noticeable factors in mainstream social dancing that add to the restriction of social bonding. The fact that a nightclub is always dark and the music is way too loud makes it almost impossible to observe or communicate: the fundamentals of forming relationships. When thinking about why people come to nightclubs it becomes solely measured on entertainment. This form of thinking creates a high-fidelity environment in which the focus for the person is to be entertained and for the club to sell a product. Social dancing in mainstream culture reflects presentational values and in these values we are able to see no social bonding, focus on money, and a hierarchy. Cliques are formed among people like good dancers, attractive people, shy individuals ECT. In a club we are socialized into an environment that surrounds this presentational framework.

            In contrast to social mainstream dancing, Contra dance presented a participatory approach. The environment that we experienced yesterday was designed specifically to create relationships without even us noticing. This form of environment, although rare to see in modern social mainstream dancing, is conducive to real social bonding. The focus was much more on how the dancing made me feel rather then entertainment and selling a product. At first I felt a little uncomfortable partly because I was thrown into a new form of dancing that I had never experienced before yesterday, but also because I was approached by older experienced men who wanted to take control. Personally it is a little frightening and intimidating to have to step outside my comfort zone in order to try new things. After I let my skepticism go I felt happy and more comfortable with the people dancing. I never felt different or held to a lower standard because it was my first time dancing contra dance. There really wasn’t any form of hierarchy because the more experienced dancers were very open and comforting towards the novices. The contra dancing made everything more personal especially in regards to connection. Since we had to dance with everyone in the room at one point I felt as if I was making a small connection to every person. The factors that were once considered a problem like light or noise weren’t at all a problem for contra dance. I was able to observe every person I danced with and we were also able to communicate as a pair. It was a very intimate setting and it really focused on the formation of rapports.

            Since I absolutely love dancing I mean it fully when I say I would certainly attend this event again. I loved having the feeling of being able to connect socially with various people of different ages and ability. I think if I kept attending contra-dancing classes it would make me want to step out of my comfort zone more and I would want to look for other participatory activities to get involved with. In a more general sense dancing really makes me happy. I feel refreshed and excited when I dance and I sleep more soundly. That’s what I learned from contra dancing.

            Overall this form of dancing was quite an experience. My first partner, Donovan, was hilarious and I think he really made me open my eyes to contra dancing. We both had a blast and it was really funny dancing with people that were more experienced. We both caught on halfway through and really enjoyed dancing, and since he likes to joke around it made the experience just ten times as fun. I look forward to showing my parents what contra dancing is and how its participatory aspects make me feel more comfortable and happy. I know they will also enjoy it just as much as I did. I also look forward to trying it again!