Explaining Traditional Squares and Contras to MWSD folks
This website is an effort by Clark Baker—a MWSD caller who also enjoys traditional contras and squares—to explain those more traditional forms to modern square dancers. Clark's essay begins:
"Modern Western square dancing (MWSD) is organized very differently from Traditional Squares and Contras (Trad). Most of us are so familiar with MWSD and the myriad ways in which it works, that it is hard to imagine other possibilities. Based on my experience as a dancer in both communities, I want to expose you to another way of thinking and organizing, and the dancing it engenders.
"The approach taken is to describe the Trad scene from 3 points of view: that of a newcomer entering a dance for the first time, that of a long-time dancer in the community, and an overall view of how this activity is organized and how it compares to MWSD. Note that any MWSDer who attends a contra dance for the first time will have a similar experience to the newcomer's story, although most of the actual dance figures would be familiar."
Tags: Clark Baker, contra, traditional
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"Modern Western square dancing (MWSD) is organized very differently from Traditional Squares and Contras (Trad). Most of us are so familiar with MWSD and the myriad ways in which it works, that it is hard to imagine other possibilities. Based on my experience as a dancer in both communities, I want to expose you to another way of thinking and organizing, and the dancing it engenders.
"The approach taken is to describe the Trad scene from 3 points of view: that of a newcomer entering a dance for the first time, that of a long-time dancer in the community, and an overall view of how this activity is organized and how it compares to MWSD. Note that any MWSDer who attends a contra dance for the first time will have a similar experience to the newcomer's story, although most of the actual dance figures would be familiar."