The dangers of Contra

For the last few years I have been involved in a seemingly innocent and fun activity called Contra dancing. I invite you to watch this video to get an idea of what Contra is all about, then come back and read the rest of the blog posting.

So, in no particular order, here are the dangers of Contra dancing:

• It is addictive — oh, sure, at first you can go once a month to the local dance and be happy with just that. But then horrible things begin to happen. By Wednesday morning you begin to have withdrawal symptoms. When there is no local dance scheduled for that weekend, you start looking for dances in nearby communities. Soon you find yourself driving one, then two, then three hours to a dance. In my case, I started with Lake Murray Contra (thanks to my friend Robin), and then to Columbia Contra events. Soon we were going to Charleston, SC, and Charlotte, NC, for some dances. Now, I routinely go to dances in all those places plus Greenville, River Falls and Spartanburg (website coming). The addiction is so bad that I find myself missing the Contra dance on Monday instead of Wednesday. See how bad it is? And now I am thinking maybe I can drive to Atlanta or Florida for a dance when there are none in my areas. Bad, isn't it? And don't even get me started on Contra weekends! I attended my first weekend-long event this April (The Palmetto Bug Stomp in Charleston, SC) and now I keep looking forward to more weekend-long events!
• It disallows any sense of inactivity and boredom. If you are a coach potato, being exposed to Contra dancing is a bad idea. You will quickly find yourself wanting more activity. It will start with one dance per month, then two per month … soon you will want to start running and lifting weights. And you might as well cancel your cable subscription and sell your TV(s). You will not have time or desire for those things.
• It makes you new friends even when you don't expect them. Picture this: you show up at a Contra dance having 20-30 friends. After just two or three hours you leave the dance with 50 more friends. Oh, but it does not stop there.  Wait until you attend a weekend event -- then your circle of friends grows exponentially. It can be exhausting having these many friends! And some even bring you into their homes and make you part of their family just because you are a Contra dancer.
• As if all the above was not enough, your sense of community gets inflated almost as much as a politician's ego at a political rally. Soon you find yourself volunteering to be a Board member for one … two … three or more groups. You volunteer to do events. And someone gets you started as a Caller. It is all very dangerous, I am telling you!
• You will be forced to learn new skills — not on the dance floor, as Contra dancing is nothing more than fun walking to fantastic music, but in many other areas. For example, if you start calling, your memory will improve, you will learn to modulate your voice, improve your listening skills, and work on having great timing and rhythm.
• You will be forced to give up on perfection and focus on having fun. Dancers, callers, organizers, musicians — they have all abandoned the concept of perfection and embraced the joy of having fun, laughing at all the goofy stuff that happens, and moving on quickly so that the moment can take over and fill your heart with joy. Contra teaches you to be in the here and now; what happened a moment ago is gone and what may happen tomorrow has no room in your mind and heart. The only thing that matters are the people you are with and the fabulous music you are dancing to. You focus on the here and now or the group will bring you there very quickly. Beware: Contra dancing is pure mindfulness in motion.
• You will develop smile muscles you never knew you had.

I am sure there are many other potential dangers of Contra dancing that I may have missed. If so, please feel free to comment and let me know what perils you have encountered in your Contra dancing journey.