First Fridays

Gypsy eyes, circles to the left, stars to the right, twirls, spins, contras, squares and so much more, all while dancing to the lively, mesmerizing tunes of a Contra dance band. I call it smile therapy and that's what brings so many of us out to the Fairhaven Library for the first Friday and third Saturday dances each month with the Bellingham Country Dance Society!

This video, Dance Flurry 2008 - Synchromesh Contras as found on YouTube, is an excellent example of our dancing at the Fairhaven Library.

Along with so many smiles and friendly people, Contra dancing is pretty high energy and an excellent way to get a fun workout. We have a half-hour workshop before the dance so that beginners can become familiar with the most common, basic steps, and the callers often do a walk-through with us of the basic steps for each new dance before we actually start that dance. There are never any worries if someone starts to do the wrong step, the other dancers always help point the beginners in the right direction with a friendly smile. Here I am, pausing between dances.

Amazing smile therapy, and such fun!