Contrashock! - Two Days of Dancing and Music - Runs This Weekend

Country Dance*New York (CD*NY) and Brooklyn Contra are presenting Contrashock!, two days of contra dancing and live, high energy music today and Saturday, October 17 and 18, 2014 with two great bands and two great callers: Elixir with caller Nils Fredland, and Maivish with caller Will Mentor. No previous experience is required and it is not necessary to come with a partner. A caller walks everyone through the patterns of each dance making contra dancing a delightful pleasure for all.

The Friday night dance, October 17, is hosted by Brooklyn Contra at Camp Friendship, 339 8th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn with dancing from 8pm to 11pm and a beginner's workshop from 7:30pm to 8pm. Admission is $20.

On Saturday, October 18, Country Dance*New York is hosting two dances at P.S. 199, 270 West 70th Street in Manhattan: an afternoon dance for experienced dancers from 4pm to 6pm, and a dance for all from 8pm to 11pm with a beginner's workshop from 7:30pm to 8pm. Admission to the advanced afternoon dance is $15, and to the evening dance for all, $20.

Admission to all three dances is $50. Further information can be found at www.contrashock.org.

Dynamic and spirited live music will be performed by two extraordinarily popular dance bands, Elixir and Maivish.

Elixir (www.elixirmusic.com) blends driving fiddle and guitar with the rich texture and rhythmic excitement of a full horn section, deftly weaving brassy riffs and daring solos in and out of traditional Irish, French Canadian and New England tunes. Featured band members are: Nils Fredland, calling, trombone, vocals; Anna Patton, clarinet, vocals; Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, fiddle; Jesse Readlynn, trumpet, flugelhorn; and Owen Morrison, guitar, foot percussion.

Maivish (www.maivish.com) draws inspiration from traditional sources, reinterpreting the old and contributing to the new with their hypnotic and scintillating melodies and grooves. Featured players include American fiddler Jaige Trudel, British-born guitarist Adam Broome, and Virginia native Matthew Olwell on flutes and percussion.

Two highly regarded and sought-after callers, Nils Fredland and Will Mentor, will lead the dances. Nils Fredland has been calling dances with skill and infectious energy since 2000. Nils is respected for his expertise as a teacher and caller, sensitive leadership, and generosity, Will Mentor is a greatly admired contra and square dance caller from Northern Vermont known for his clear teaching, upbeat wit, and relaxed stage presence.

Contra dancing is having a renaissance around the country, thanks to a thriving youth scene; lively, uplifting acoustic music; and joyful, fast-paced, aerobic dancing. There are lots of opportunities for flirting and fun. Contra dancing started in New England in the 1700s, but the modern version is a far cry from the Virginia Reel-type dancing done in schools years ago. The current dancing is done in long lines of dancers facing their partners and moving briskly in patterns to live music, sometimes changing partners.