Contra dance is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th century. Sometimes
Musicians play for a contra dance at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, 2023
Caller and musician Dudley Laufman, a significant figure in the contra dance revival of the mid-20th century
Contra dancers swing at a Friday night dance at Glen Echo Park in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.
William Dudley Laufman was an American contra and barn dance caller and musician widely credited with having helped spur the revival of contra dance in the 20th century.
Contra dance
…maintained the New England tradition throughout the 1930s and 1940s until it was revitalized in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly by Ted Sannella and Dudley Laufman. The New England contra dance tradition was also maintained in Vermont by the Ed Larkin Old Time Contra Dancers, formed by Edwin Loyal Larkin in 1934…
Laufman's house, "Wind in the Timothy"