contradance

Contra dance (also contradance, contra-dance and other variant spellings) refers to a folk dance, similar to a square dance, except instead of the square formation, it is danced in lines of couples, with every other couple facing up or down the hall. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish, French dance styles in the 17th century, with strong African influence from Appalachia. Sometimes described as New England folk dance or Appalachian folk dance, contra dances can be found around the world and have much popularity in North America and the United Kingdom where weekly or monthly dances and annual dance weekends are common. According to the Contra Dance Links website, contra dancing can be found in all 50 US states (except for South Dakota).