This page was created in response to two questions I have gotten often from friends and family (dancers and non-dancers), namely: What is contra dancing? What were your favorite places, bands, callers? Later I'll add one more section: my favorite dance weekends, camps and communities. Videos showing favorite places, bands and/or callers: My local group Triangle Country Dancers dancing in Carrboro and in Durham The last dance at Gypsy Meltdown 2010. This comes close to capturing the energy and joy, even though the sound isn't as good on other videos. Hang in and it gets better. I show up at about 2:50. In Greenfield, MA with Tidal Wave Spanish Ballroom, Glen Echo, MD with Nightingale Notorious and Elixir and Nightingale! This isn't contra but it's great: Larry & Eden of Notorious doing the Romanian Train Song Dutch Crossing at Pinewoods, a marvelous dance camp near Cape Cod, MA Some of my favorite dance bands. (A good place to find contra CDs is CD Baby). Two of my local bands: Contrazz and Footloose All of Stuart Kenney's bands, including: Tidal Wave Latter Day Lizards From VA: The Avant Garderners. Here's George on piano playing Barbar's Waltz. Beautiful, and fun: Notorious All of George Marshall's bands, including: Swallowtail and Wild Asparagus (and if you go back a few years, you get Stuart Kenney in this band too) The Clayfoot Strutters wrote my favorite contra dance tune (Honey Bee) I got to dance to these guys a lot - and loved 'em: Morrison Brothers Hot new groups: House Red Perpetual e-motion Elixir Great Bear Trio Some of my favoriate contra dance callers. From NH: Nils Fredland From MA: Lisa Greenleaf From.. I dunno, but she does a great MinnEsoTOE accent: Carol Ormand From NC, or VT?: Adina Gordon From Asheville, NC: Diane Silver In Atlanta: Seth Tepler