All the Way Around

“No Dance” was written on Ithaca, NY’s contra dancing website next to the date we hoped to be there. From the beginning of the trip, Lisa and I had been planning to attend the Ithaca dance as a part of the final stretch. Those two words wiped out all hope of that, and we realized that if we wanted to complete our closing goal of 5 consecutive nights of dancing, we would have to find another dance nearby–and fast!

We looked around for alternatives, but our host in Rochester told us about a great substitute. Waterloo, NY hosts a Civil War reenactment that has been going on for well over a hundred years, earning the town the title of official birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966. This reenactment, our host informed us, would include a contra dance, billed as a “Civil War Ball,” that would include authentic period costumes. Lisa and I had never heard of such a dance, and decided to go almost as soon as she told us about it.

Although we were assured that we wouldn’t need costumes, I still wanted to wear something for the occasion. My body resembled our war-torn country. I wore a blue t-shirt for the North, and gray pants for the South.

We arrived in Waterloo and entered the hall. We were a bit disappointed to see that it was happening on a modern-looking basketball court, but this disappointment was short-lived. In one corner, you could get your picture taken before an 1860s background. The band, City Fiddle, were costumed. The fiddler wore a billowing green and white dress while the two men in the group wore antique vests and shirts. The women around the room were clad in unique and intricate dresses.

Lisa had a conversation with a woman who called Civil War dances frequently for private events. The woman was very knowledgeable about the era and commented on the authenticity of each gown she saw. “That woman across the room has got on a dress that hasn’t been in style since the 1820s,” she said. “The young woman in the corner definitely has the most authentic costume in the room, but she’s not dressing her age. That’s a dress that an older woman would have worn. Those two young girls also have authentic costumes, but the shorter lengths of the dresses and the style of the tops make them more appropriate for girls their age.”

We took the floor for our first dance. The caller, Joyce Rossbach, had informed us that it would be unlike most contra dances, so we prepared ourselves for anything. She started with a mixer that had us promenading around the room. I noticed right away that the Civil War dancers did the figures differently from neighboring contras. Most performed two-hand turns rather than swings, and did promenades with hands in front.

One of the next dances was a formal procession. Dancers processed individually, then with partners, then in groups of 4, then 8, then 16 and then everyone joined hands to snake around the room in one long line that happened to be 32 people long, 33 if you include the caller who led the way.

We did a variety of dances in different formations, but after the break, we moved on to proper and improper contras. It was stunning to see all of those period dresses in a row up and down the single, long set. Many of the dancers had never done contra dance figures before, and had some trouble learning them. Joyce was able to keep the set together, however, and most people figured out the moves by the end of each dance.

During the times that there was no dancing, City Fiddle played and sang songs of the period. One was very pretty, and the words were about bringing our country back together as one. On stage, this was accomplished — a band from the North played with a caller originally from South Carolina.

Toward the end of the evening, Joyce called a circle mixer with swinging and hand claps. The progression confused many of the dancers, and I found myself thrust into the role of the lady for a while. Further along in the circle, I found a lady who had been forced into the role of gent. We laughed as we made the switch back to our original genders.

Though we were sad to miss Ithaca, the Civil War Ball was a completely unique experience with a totally different set of dancers. As we watched the final waltz, Lisa and I admired the different costumes of the dancers that went by. Lisa pointed out a young high-school aged girl who she learned made her dress. We were impressed at how contra fit into Waterloo’s Memorial Day tradition.

-Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 26th, 2007 at 3:27 pm and is filed under 29 New York II. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.