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Cabin Fever 2010,
Knoxville Dance Weekend
Photos by David Franz (c) 2010


Knoxville
Contra
Dance

Beautiful Maryville College Campus
Photos by Kim Soltero (c) 2010

knoxville country dancers english country dance folk dance

Check out the New KCD Brochure (tri-fold version here)

What is Contra Dance?
Here is a short video to help answer that question
 


Cabin Fever 2013 Saturday Night

Thank you
to everyone who made the
39th annual Knoxville Dance weekend
SPARKLE and SHINE.

The organizers, the volunteers, the musicians, and callers and most of all - the dancers who came out to play with us. We hope you will join us again

February 14-16 2014
when we have
 Giant Robot Dance and


Welcome to Knoxville Contra Dance, click for tips on technique and etiquette.  Join our Facebook Group: Knoxville Contra Dancers.

We dance to live music every Monday night, 8-11 pm, at the Laurel Theater (16th St. and Laurel Ave. [directions]) -  $7 ($3 for students).  If this is your first time, come a few minutes early and join our new dancer workshop, where we teach the basics.

Beginners are welcome, no partner or experience required. It's easy and fun!
New dancers, click here for videos and tips!  Watch the videos at ContraUSA.com.

 

Schedule

Date   Band Caller Sound/Opener
May 6 Wild Goose Ceili Band Doug Singleton Allen
  13 Attic Rattlers Donna Calhoun* and a cavalcade of new callers Allen
  20 Danny Gammon and the Luv Muffins Vicki Herndon* Allen
  27 Boogertown Gap Donna Calhoun Allen

* The caller will hold an introductory session at ~ 7:30 pm.

March-May schedule: Printable PDF

Booking:

For Monday night scheduling and booking inquiries, contact 
Fay Campbell faheetagal @ gmail.com.

All other questions: KnoxContraWebmaster  @  yahoo.com.

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With very rare exceptions we dance every Monday night from 8-11 pm 
at the Laurel Theater at 16th Street and Laurel Avenue [directions].  

Beginners are welcome, 

(it helps to show up early), and no partner is required.  
All dances will be taught.  "If you can walk, you can contra dance."
Admission for all dances is $7 ($3 for students).


You can burn a lot of energy on the dance floor, so we recommend you 
wear loose fitting comfortable clothing with layers that you can remove. 
To save your self some time in the water line, bring a couple of bottles of water with you.


We dance in the historic Laurel Theater, to preserve our dance floor, we request that
you wear or bring clean, non-marking, soft-soled or leather shoes for dancing.

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Video of Cabin Fever 2011
Bartlett Hall contains the Student Center and Isaac's Coffee Shop.  It has several comfortable sitting areas, including quiet study areas for those who have to bring some work along.  :~)

 

Park your car for FREE!

     
The spacious dance hall is in the newly refurbished Alumni Gym.

The stage will be at the end of the dance hall, which has a wonderful, responsive dance floor!

The 120-acre Maryville College Woods harbors diverse habitats with walking and bicycling trails.  Pets are allowed on a leash.

 
     

Photos by Dexter Craig (c) 2010
Thanks Dex!

2013 Cabin Fever Flyer
 

Directions to Maryville College
MC Campus Guide
MC Parking Map
MC Building Map
MC Restaurants Map

What is Contra Dancing?  Contra dancing is a uniquely American community event that has its roots in traditional European and American country dancing.  Each dance consists of a series of figures that are done using a smooth, easy walking step to the rhythm of the music.  The caller teaches each dance by walking the dancers through the moves before the music begins.  He/she continues to remind the dancers what figure is coming next until everyone has picked up the flow of the dance.  The dance music is provided by a live band made up of acoustic musicians, many of whom are also dancers. 

According to noted caller Diane Silver  
"You take the long lines from English country dances, as seen in Pride and Prejudice,
put in the moves you learned in junior high school about square dancing,
set it to the driving beat of River Dance, and drop all this right in the middle of Woodstock!"
 
 

Everyone welcome

All dancers are welcome and you may join in at anytime but if you are the kind of person who wants to do the research before trying it, here are some great resources.

Listen to the NPR story:
Youth Flock to Contra Dancing

Check out our pamphlet:
" Welcome to Knoxville Contra Dance"
for tips on technique and etiquette.

Listen to Contra Music Radio

Or get a crash-course with a 10-minute clip of
"Dancing Contras"

 

Here is a great reference for new dancers,
complete with videos (individually listed below):  
by Chattahoochee Country Dancers (CCD) in Atlanta

    1. Introduction - Watch this one first.
    2. Two Dancers
    3. Four Dancers
    4. A Contra Line
    5. Come Dance With Us
    6. A Called Dance #1
    7. A Called Dance #2
    8. The Basics
    9. Contra Video Credits

"Whirling Dervishes at the Contra Dance"
August 15, 2010, sermon by Unitarian minister
and contra dancer Chris Buice

"Laurel dance night partners newbies, pros"
an article in the News Sentinel July 2009
by Greg "Not Into Dancing" Wood

MetroPulse article
by Val Pendergrast, “Dance , Dance, Dance”,
Metro Pulse (vol. 6, no. 33), August 15–22, 1996

See our own Miss Vicki
featured in the Knoxville News Sentinel's: Picture This!


Also see Bob Bennett's Photo Pages

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Contra Dances in our Sister Cities of Tennessee

Chattanooga:
2nd & 4th Saturdays
http://www.contranooga.org/ 

Jonesborough:
1st & 3rd Saturdays
http://www.historicjonesboroughdancesociety.com/ 

Memphis:
2nd, 4th & 5th Fridays
http://memphiscontra.webs.com/  

Nashville:
every Friday
http://www.nashvillecountrydancers.org/ 

Sewanee:
once a month, check schedule
http://www.mistycontra.zoomshare.com/0.html 

 

~*~

More Dancing Around Knoxville

English Country Dancing at the Laurel Theater

Scandinavian Couple Dancing at the Laurel Theater

Oak Ridge International Folk Dancers

Knoxville Swing Dance Association

and the Swing Facebook Group

Greater East Tennessee Dance


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KCD Mailing Address - our new mailing address is:

Knoxville Country Dancers
P.O. Box 32817 
Knoxville, TN 37930-2817


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Updated Jan 2013 ...  Send comments or corrections to kcdwebmaster  @  gmail.com.