Jigs and reels, a bit of swing form contra; Lancaster hosts its first.

Byline: Lynne Klaft

LANCASTER - Jill Nowak, Lancaster resident and music teacher, first tried contra dancing 10 years ago. She's been a devotee ever since.

"I was on my way to a family wedding and got lost on the back roads of Maine," said Ms. Nowak.

"I heard music coming out of this church and thought they'd be friendly, and asked for directions. They told me they would give me directions if I danced just one dance. Well, I danced two dances, got my directions, and have been completely hooked since then," she said.

Ms. Nowak organized Lancaster's first contra dance this past weekend and dancers from Worcester, New Hampshire, Greenfield and Shirley came to hear and dance to caller David Kaynor and accompanying musicians Notorious (Eden MacAdam-Somer and ).

Contra dancing is a form of American folk dance done with live traditional music and a caller, who teaches and guides the dance moves. Mr. Kaynor described all the dance moves, with dancers moving through them a few times before the music to each dance set began.

The music, jigs and reels from the Scots-Irish tradition, are sometimes jazzed up a bit with swing or a more southern jambalaya style. Ms. MacAdam-Somer played the fiddle, Mr. Kaynor called the steps and also played fiddle, on the guitar and banjo.

The dancers formed a set of two parallel lines running the length of the hall. Mr. Kaynor called out the sequence of moves, which are similar to square dance, but much more informal.

"One of the great things about contra dancing is that you learn while you go," he said. "So ask your neighbor, `how did you do that?' And he will show you."

Richard Tung of Shirley, who has been dancing for 17 years, said that he didn't feel he was coordinated enough for ballroom dancing, but learned how to contra dance in no time at all.

"It only took me three or four times. It was the easiest thing to learn. I had no time to take lessons, but you learn as you go, right on the dance floor. And you see the most interesting things at these dances. I once saw a blind woman contra dancing and she was good." Mr. Tung goes dancing once or twice a week, depending on the schedules of dances.

There are dances all over New England; Whitney Russell of New Haven, Conn., has a condo in Greenfield, so that he can be there for the weekend dances at the Grange.

"I'll travel anywhere to hear David Kaynor," said Mr. Russell, who said the dances in Peterboro, N.H., are very popular with contra dancers.

"They have a Fall Ball in October and a Snow Ball in January, that run from noon to midnight with four different bands playing," said Mr. Russell.

"Nelson, N.H., has the oldest continuing dance going - over 200 years," said Mr. Tung, describing the first time he danced at the hall.

"The floor was slanted and the dancers all started on one end and ended up on the other. They rebuilt the floor, but left the slant in - tradition, you know!" said Mr. Tung.

Mr. Tung described festivals at Falcon Ridge, N.Y., where more than 10,000 people camp out and participate, and the Dance Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs in February.

"There are all kinds of folk dancing at these festivals, but the majority of the people that come are contra dancers," he said. "You see high school and college kids and people in their 80s dancing; it's so much fun."

Ms. Nowak, originally from Maine, says there are contra dances all over Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, but still a good drive from Lancaster.

"I was on the town advisory buildings on the green committee and one of the things that they talked about was more community activities, so I thought a dance might be a good idea," said Ms. Nowak.

"The music is in the Celtic tradition and the fiddle is the lead instrument. The women wear flouncy skirts or just comfortable clothes and the men wear shorts or long pants. It's all very informal. You can come in a tuxedo or jeans; it really doesn't matter to the folks at the dance.

"It's a community activity that everyone can take part in. There's a hope for, a possibility of another dance. Have people look on www.dancegypsy.com to see if we schedule another one," said Ms. Nowak.

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Contra dancers move across the floor in Lancaster's Town Hall, dancing to the band Notorious with direction from caller David Kaynor.

PHOTOG: LYNNE KLAFT