St Louis 250 - Childgrove Country Dancers

Tunes for St Louis 250 Celebration

Pre Music

Under the Anheuser Bush
Meet Me In St. Louis

Dance Discovery Dances

Christchurch Bells
Soldier's Joy
Hangedman's Reel, Marmaduke's Hornpipe
Jockey to the Fair
Zampa Quadrille 1-5
Chorus Jig
Haymakers

Come Let's be Merry
Gathering Peascods
Jefferson and Liberty
Terpsicourante
Astonished Archeologist
Waves of Grain (tune Wheat)

Audience Participation Tunes

Grand March - 1904 World's Fair March and Two-Step
The Ostende
Rustic Reel and Off She Goes

This Sounds Like Fun

What Kind of Dance is This? What Do I Need to Know?

(Start the video, double-click it to make it full screen.)

Contra Dance and English Country Dance are communal style folk dances that are fun and easy to learn. No partner or experience is necessary. A caller leads the dancers though a series of moves, and the pattern repeats. If you can walk, you can dance.

Do I need to bring a partner?

No. Most people come without partners. Since it's a communal dance, most people change partners after each dance.

What if I've never done this before and have no idea what I'm doing?

You're in for a treat. You'll find a style of dance where it's more important to have fun than do it “right”, where people are friendly and welcoming and glad to help you.

A 30-minute workshop is held before the dance to introduce you to the basics. We dance simpler dances at the beginning of the evening, so coming early is the easiest way to learn!

Contra has evolved over the years - click here to see some pretty wild fun contra (dancing and music)