Central Pennsylvania Country Dance Association
State College, PA http://cpcda.org
|
|
CPCDA Central Pennsylvania Country Dance Association State College, PA http://cpcda.org |
Contents
|
Schedule for 2011/2012Dances are the 3rd Friday of each month.
Dances are 7:30 to 10:30 |
|
News When travelling, consult Ted Crane's DanceDB to find an event near your destination. Lewisburg Dances aren't far away and are the second Saturday of each month. Lancaster Dances are on this page. |
The Central Pennsylvania Country Dance Association (CPCDA) is a non-profit community-service organization dedicated to the preservation of New England-style contra dances. This family-oriented entertainment has a long history in the United States and in the State College area. It is tremendously good fun and good exercise too.
The contra dance form typically starts with a long line of couples facing each other. A caller provides instruction and directions. As various figures (many similar to those in square dancing) are completed, a couple progresses down the line to the end, then back up to the top, then down again. Friendly, all-age crowd. No partner or experience needed. It's aerobic, easy and fun, and you dance with everyone.
Better definitions are provided by others. Or better yet, stop by and see for yourself.
Dances are usually the 3rd Friday of each month, from 7:30 to 11:00pm in State College.
We have excellent local and out-of-town callers and wonderful live music provided by local and non-local musicians. Admission is $6.00 for members, and $8.00 for non-members. Children under 12 are admitted free. Memberships are $16.00 per calendar year for individuals, $30 for families.
Dress is casual. A partner is not needed. Just smile and someone will grab you for the next dance. Experience is not needed. The caller instructs everyone prior to each dance. If you can count to 8, you can do this! If you aren't sure you want to dance, come and watch for free (but be careful, someone may drag you onto the floor!)
The State College Friends School is at 1900 University Drive Extension. We have a separate page with directions and a map.
For more information send email to cpcda-info<remove this and replace with at-sign>comcast.net. We maintain a paper and electronic mailing list; details are here.
Other people maintain pages with many links to information about contra dancing. Ted Crane's National Grid is a good way to locate a dance. It can also be asked to show just Pennsylvania.
For more information and schedules, see Contra Corners, which has more pointers than we can keep here.
Another site with many links and resources is http://www.contradancelinks.com/.
Web pages for dance series not too far away include:
| Lewisburg | Lewisburg Area Contra Dances |
| Harrisburg | The Harrisburg Area Contra Dance Association dances at Locust Lane |
| Wilkes-Barre | The Chicory House Contra Dance Series |
| Lancaster | Lancaster Traditional Society Contra Dances |
For information about all kinds of folk dancing, visit the Folk Dance Association.