Contra Dancing Links

Dances
Geoff Hall in Rehoboth, Mass. http://www.contradancelinks.com/rehoboth.html: Dances are held on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of most months with a few dances on the 5th Friday of a month. Beginners of all ages, singles, couples, and families are welcome to attend. Very welcoming, beginner friendly.
Brown University http://www.contradancelinks.com/brown.html: Dances are generally held on the 1st and 3rd Fridays when Brown is in session. Lots of students, but not limited to students.
Hartford Contra Dances (HCCD) http://www.HCDance.org/: American Legion Hall, 275 Main Street, Old Wethersfield, CT
Hartford Community Dance Make your feet happy -- Take them dancing! HCD sponsors contra, Cajun/zydeco, swing, and waltz dances in the Hartford, CT area. All HCD dances are smoke and alcohol free. Beginners are welcome. No partner is needed -- Come alone or bring a friend!
Except as noted: Contra dances are 8-11pm second Saturdays at the wood-floored, air-conditioned American Legion Post, 275 Main Street, Old Wethersfield, CT. There's a free beginners' workshop at 7:30pm. Dance admission is $8 ($7 for HCD members, free for students).
New Haven Country Dancers http://www1.ctcontra.com:81/nhcd/: Branford Community Center, 46 Church Street, Branford, CT
Contra dancing is the oldest form of American traditional social dancing, beginning in colonial times and still going strong after 200 years. Come and find out why! These dances are fun, friendly and easy to learn.
Partners change frequently. It is not necessary to arrive with a partner (unless you want to). Free basics workshop at 7:30 for those wishing a structured introduction. All dances taught in our smoke and alcohol free atmosphere.
See our Contra Dance Links Page
Worcester Contra Dance: Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester, MA

Other Directories
ContraSENE (Gary Wachs) http://members.tripod.com/ContraSENE/contra.html: you'll find "All the Contra Dances in SouthEastern New England" right here! And yes, all means all, at almost 20 different locations.
Start with the Map. It pinpoints every dance location listed, including Eastern Connecticut, all of Rhode Island, South Eastern MA, Cape Cod, even Martha's Vineyard.
Once you've got a handle on the geography, go to the ContraSENE flyer to find out the dates, directions, points of contact, and names of callers and bands who will be appearing (live!) at the Contra dance near you..
Roots Music in Rhode Island http://mmcconeghy.com/RIMUSIC/: Roots Music in Rhode Island, Eastern Connecticut, and Southeastern Massachusetts, USA
Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Celtic and Old Time Music, Links to tunes, tabs, jams, venues and artists.
"Old Time or Old Timey" refers to the music played in rural America from about 1800 until about the 1940s, and continuing up to this moment in revival groups and dances around the country. Much of Old Timey is instrumental music played on guitar, fiddle, banjo and mandolin.
RI Dance www.RIDance.com: Find places to dance, learn, or watch, all kinds of dancing, all around Rhode Island.
The Dance Gypsy www.thedancegypsy.com/: Calendar/newsletter for the New England dance community. Site includes subscription information, a list of dances organized by state and related links.
CONNtra CONNection http://www.conntras.org/: The place for everything related to contra dancing in Connecticut: Complete listing of CONNtra dances Special events, Dance series/Venues/Festivals, CT bands, CT callers, CT musicians, CT tunes, CT choreography, CT CDs.
Resources
Contra Dance Resources, Compositions, Indices, and the like http://www.contradancelinks.com/resources.html: Listing resources about contra dances ranging from dance compositions to e-mail groups, to essays to miscellaneous sites. URLs and e-mail addresses are listed when available. New entries, additional information, and changes in information are always welcome.
http://www.sls.hawaii.edu/contra/dances/tune-sources.html: Links to Collections of tunes
Contradancers of Hawaii Collection of Traditional Contradances http://www.sls.hawaii.edu/contra/dances/dance-index.html: Contradancers of Hawaii maintains a small collection of traditional contradances, especially of those which are traditionally danced to a special tune. MIDI and abc versions of the tunes are available.
Fiddler Magazine Online www.fiddle.com/links_events.htm: Resources for fiddlers, accompanists, and appreciative listeners. Fiddler Magazine - Events Listings
NEFFA - The New England Folk Festival Association http://www.neffa.org: See over 3,000 links on the NEFFA LinkFest
http://www.neffa.org/Top/index.shtml
NEFFA Musicians Links http://www.neffa.org/Top/Musicians/Contra/index.shtml: NEFFA offers Musicians links to their Websites.
Country Dance Society, Boston Centre http://www.cds-boston.org/: Since 1915, the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre has been working to preserve and promote the knowledge and practice of the traditional and contemporary dancing and dance music of England and New England. The Boston Centre sponsors and produces classes, parties, workshops, and residential and special events featuring the best performers and practitioners of English and New England country dancing. Events are open to all, and most feature teaching; no experience or partner is required.
The Boston Centre is producing a series of compact discs, "The English Country Dance Collection," featuring Bare Necessities. Eight volumes are now available. CDS-BC is pleased to publish Country Dances from Colonial New York: James Alexander's Notebook, 1730. The book is by Kate Van Winkle Keller and George Fogg. CDS-BC also has republished the old favourite Hudson Barn and Other Dances from the Boston Centre in the form of Hudson Barn II.
The Musical Instrument Makers Forum, Links http://www.mimf.com/link.htm: We link to over 400 pages on acoustic guitar building, electric guitar making, violin making, dulcimer making, mandolin building, and all other types of lutherie; pickup making, winding, and rewinding; flute, recorder, and bagpipe making; brass instrument building and repair; drum making; experimental musical instruments construction and design; as well as pages on woodworking, metalworking, and guitar finishing and refinishing.
Essays
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/contradance: Everything you could ask, and more ...
www.fridaynightdance.org/what_is_contra_dancing.html: Welcome to the Glen Echo Spanish Ballroom.
www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/6_14_97/mathland.htm: Contra Dancing and Matrices -- the emphasis is not so much on the specific footwork needed to get somewhere as on being in the right place at the right time. The physical movements can get quite complicated, and you always need to keep in mind where you started and where you ought to be. And it all happens at a lively, breathtaking, whirling pace. "The secret is the fractions and the patterns," Scanlon says. In effect, "you're dancing like a fool, but it's totally controlled!"
Venues
Common Fence Music http://www.commonfencemusic.org/: Common Fence Music is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization dedicated to presenting concerts of traditional, world and other genres of music that are underplayed and under-promoted by the radio and recording industry.
The concerts are held at the Common Fence Point Community Hall in Portsmouth, RI, a fifties-style dance hall with great live sound. The atmosphere is congenial and the audience attentive and supportive. There is table seating with soft drinks, freshly baked desserts, and homemade soup for sale.
The Blackstone River Theatre http://www.riverfolk.org/: (BRT), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit cultural arts center where the music, dance and folk arts traditions of the Blackstone River Valley come to life, celebrated its fifth anniversary in September, 2005. With an emphasis on the culture of the ethnic groups that settled in the Valley, BRT presents weekly acoustic-based music concerts, monthly folk dances and children's events, as well as special events on a year-round basis.
The Celtic Jammers: The Celtic-inspired jam sessions continue in Rehoboth every Sunday night from 7-9 p.m. at Goff Hall. If you play an instrument, want to learn some dance steps, or just want to listen, you are welcome to attend! All ages and levels of ability are welcome. For information or to check about cancellations, call Bob Elliott at 508-669-5656 or Judith Schrier at 401-751-4554, or you can e-mail Bob at bobolinkelliott@yahoo.com.
The Jammers are also now holding free monthly community dances from 7 to 9 p.m. A potluck at 6:00 p.m. precedes the dance, and all dance steps are taught.