For over 40 years, Shepherdstown has been the home of a wonderful community activity on the first Saturday of the month, at the War Memorial Building. Bringing top dance callers and nationally known musicians to a time-honored form of dance into our local community has been the mission of Shepherdstown Music and Dance, whose contra and square dances combine joyous easy dances to happy, lively fiddle tunes. Then we had a pandemic, and everything came to a crashing halt. Now we are back, with our first dance on Sept. 3, at 8 p.m.

Now that we have vaccines, and some pretty good anti-viral treatments, dances elsewhere are starting up again. Dances which have required vaccinations and enforced masking are having very good safety records, with almost no COVID infections, so we are hoping to resume our dances here in Shepherdstown and hope you will join us.

So, what is contra dancing? Well, it’s a lot like square dancing, but dances are done in lines up and down the room, with a simple set of figures that repeats with the music as you move up and down the line to dance with other couples. Each dance is taught, and then every move is called as the dance begins so that even new dancers can feel comfortable. The dances fit the music, and feel very good to do . . . and you get to see everyone in the room. There’s no fancy footwork, everything is done in an easy walking step, with swings, stars, circles, ladies’ chains and allemandes being common moves in the dances.

Each dance of the evening lasts about 10 minutes and dancers are encouraged to dance with different partners, so that it is not necessary to come as a couple. This gives the new dancers opportunities to dance with experienced partners, allowing them to become more comfortable with the dancing more quickly; but those romantically inclined should not despair, since the evening ends with a waltz.

Our caller for the night is Janine Smith, who travels all over the country calling contra and square dances and is known for her clear teaching, her pleasant voice and her incredible sense of fun. She is renowned for creating magical evenings and making the dances fun for everyone in the room, regardless of their experience level.

Our musicians are also some of the best to be found. Fiddler Joe DeZarn, hails from Winchester, Va. and has been a frequent musician at our dancers in numerous dances over our whole 40 year history. He is best known for his “smooth as silk” Irish fiddling, but also is adept at French Canadian, old time and New England styles, which are common elements of the dances. Paul Oorts is a master of many instruments, and is one of the busiest dance musicians in the country, playing almost 100 dances a year at festivals, weekends and weekly dances in a wide variety of styles. He will be playing mandolin, guitar, bouzouki and melodeon, and providing a driving rhythm to keep the dancers moving.

So come out and join us, Sept. 3 at the War Memorial Building at 8 p.m.! We want to keep everyone safe, so we will be collecting contact information, checking vaccination cards and requiring masking for the dance. We will have a “new dancers workshop” at 7:30 p.m. that day, to orient our new dancers and help those whose skills have gotten a little rusty over the last few years jog their memories. All ages are welcome, admission is $10.

For more information, see our webpage at http://smad.us, email us at upperpotomac@gmail.com or call 304-263-2531.

Joanie Blanton, of Shepherdstown