The last dance

I am at the climactic event of my dance gypsy tour of New England. It is the Peterborough Snow Ball, 12 hours of contra dancing to four of the hottest bands in the scene. I’m taking a break in the proceedings, one, because I’m not 30 anymore, and two, it is so packed on the dance floor—nine lines across a hall that comfortably holds six—that it’s more satisfying right now to listen to the music, which is eminently listenable, being that it’s Rodney Miller and Airdance. They represent the current state of the art in New England contra music, smooth, virtuosic technique, and a fusion of the musical styles of traditional New England style with swing and jazz.

I have photographed in this hall before, a sunny day like today, with beams of light cutting through the dance-propelled dust in the great ballroom. Last time I shot with color negative film, and in scanning the film I am able to extract highlight detail that, in digital, I’m afraid is forever blasted off the histogram. It’s not like I can multiple expose my way to an HDR merge when the highlights are on bodies in motion. I spent quite some time trying to find a compromise exposure, but this is a situation that may be better served to shoot on film.

I did a similar dance tour to some of the same venues in 2004. A difference I note, three years on, is how many more young people are dancing now. At this dance, compared to Concord, the "puppy" contingent is more integrated, and I’ve even had some of them as partners on occasion. It is a lovely indication of the health of the culture.

It has been a sublime trip, with many blissful moments on the dance floor. Robin claims I do bliss better than anyone she knows. I wouldn’t know how to compare, but the chase of those moments of bliss and connection has been a constant throughout my life. Contra is a dance form where you dance with everyone in the room. You do so in sequence, up and down the lines, but also in unison. There is something energetically charged about sharing a peak dance moment with 300 people simultaneously. I can only describe it as an ecstatic, nearly spiritual connection.

Tomorrow I head for Maine and a week-long workshop with John Paul Caponigro on black and white digital printmaking. Expect the tone of the blog to veer over to the geek side for the duration.
 

Comments

[Ana]

Hello!
I'm a young contra nut, started dancing when I was about 20 and I've been going about 10 years now. I've always been fairly tolerant of new dancers who don't know how to handle themselves, if they can take some instruction. But you're more tolerant of the neo-square movement than I am. I live down in Portland and the situation is the same, people just galloping around wrenching your arm off. And if you can't get a good swing rhythm going, what the heck is the point?

OK, enough ranting. Thanks for the photos, they're wonderful.

[anonymous]

I find the term "puppy" rather irritating. I really hope you don't popularize it.

[Doug Plummer]

There's another segment that hopes that my term, "Geezer dance" doesn't gain traction either.