TPFF's Guide to Folk Dancing in the Capital Area

Links to Other Activities: Folk Dancing in the Capital Area

Hit the Boards:
Folk Dancing in the Capital Area

by Pat McNees, reprinted from the 1997 20th Anniversary Souveinir Program Guide

Folk dancing is the easiest, least-threatening way to start dancing. Folk dancing is so big in the Capitol area that you can hit the boards every night of the month and still miss a lot of the action. If you’re looking for an alternative to jogging or aerobics, you’ve got more than 100 regularly scheduled dances, dance groups, and classes to choose from in this area.

Why are all those people folk dancing? Here is what some people have told me: "I like it for the sheer joy of the movement." "Dancing is cheaper than therapy and twice as effective." "This is great, cheap exercise — the best way to get a non-drug high, great for raising endorphin levels," one dancer has told me. And when you dance a lot, you build up stamina.

The music is wonderful (usually a live band), the people are sane and generally well educated (almost none of the sexually predatory atmosphere so common on the singles scene), the price is right (zero to $10 for two or three hours of dancing), it’s casual, it’s physical yet not mindless, and it’s social — many of the dances provide a wonderful group feeling. So give in to temptation or curiosity and try it. But I warn you: it’s addictive.

Dancing to different drummers. If you yearn to dance like the peasants in "Fiddler on the Roof" or "Never on Sunday," international folk dancing — which is mainly European — may be the place to start. Here you can learn line dances, circle dances, and/or couples dances, like the waltz, the tango and Scandinavian turning dances. Or you may prefer to start with something closer to home: American folk dancing. Here the main dances are the familiar square dances and the locally more popular contra dances. Swing dancing (including jive, jitterbug, lindy, the shag ) is also very popular, as are the Cajun and zydeco dances of southwest Louisiana.

How to dress. Dress in layers and be prepared to shed to the skimpiest layer. Folk dancing tends to be very active and many spaces used for folk dancing are not air-conditioned in the summer. Dress is usually casual, with men wearing t-shirts and even shorts during the hot weather. There’s no single "look" for women, although full skirts are common. Generally, flexible shoes with soft leather soles are preferred, because they allow you to move and won’t destroy hardwood floors.

Relax, but not too much! If you’re new at folk dancing, relax a little and let your body do the thinking. Everyone has a different style of learning. The worst that can happen is that you’ll go through an awkward period when you don’t know the steps, but almost everybody goes through that. If you can just abandon the notion that you have to be perfect before you can be seen in public, you’ll be okay.

Where to go? The Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Maryland, is one of the best places. Dances are held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (call 301-492-6282). Many other places and times are listed in the monthly newsletter of the Folklore Society of Greater Washington (call 202-546-2228; web address: http://www.fsgw.org ). And you can buy my dance guide for the full scoop!

[The above is excerpted from "Dancing: A Guide to the Capital Area," an information-packed guide by Pat McNees that lists, describes, and comments on more than 200 regular dances, dance groups, and classes. For information about Pat's dance guide, go to her website:
www.patmcnees.com

Hit the Boards: Folk Dancing in the Capital Area

Hit the Boards:
Folk Dancing in the Capital Area