meanfreepath

I went to Yardley, PA for the Lambertville Country Dancers English dance tonight. I had a lovely time even though this was my first real try at English (other than tripping through a bunch of things at the English-Scottish Ball).

I've liked contra since freshman year, when Sikandra (

crystalpyramid's roommate) dragged me along to one. I was somehow convinced (probably by

crystalpyramid) to show up to the E-S Ball this spring, and thus got exposed to English.

The band tonight, with Swat Russian prof Kim Fedchak (is she Kira?) playing piano and recorder, was excellent. Joanna Reiner called a series of really hard dances, including one called Companion, but taught pretty well. I found most of English to be similar to contra but did have some trouble with the triple minor dances.

English versus contra... English definitely has a stately, Jane Austen kind of feel. It's on the whole a lot more sedate than contra. On the other hand, contra is a much better workout; you can quickly work up a nice hard sweat. There's nothing quite like the pleasant slight dizziness of a good hard swing in the arms of an experienced person. Having done both, I think I do prefer contra, as English feels a bit too much like walking around and around.

Dare I suggest, also, that somehow contra is more sexual than English? Perhaps it has to do with the closer and more vigorous physical contact, the mutual sweatiness, and the dizziness all together...