Come to the next TCD contra dance in NC's Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro) area!

Dances start at 8:00 PM with a lesson at 7:30 PM, unless otherwise noted.

Date: Friday August 23

Band: Steve Hickman (fiddle and harmonica, link) and Jim Morrison (fiddle and guitar) from Virginia. Together they have clocked a total of one century playing for dances. Steve is a world-class fiddler and a master hambonist. In 2014, Jim got the annual CDSS Lifetime Contributor award, link

Caller: Ruth Pershing

Here's a Look at Contra Dancing in the Triangle!

Check out this video of the TCD New Year's Eve dance. We like to say that if you can walk you can contra dance. There's a free lesson at 7:30 pm, and each dance is taught. Thanks to Dave Pokorney for this terrific video!

Dance fun!

Live music
No partner necessary
Beginners welcome
All dances taught
Free lesson at 7:30 pm
Dance 8-11 pm
Great exercise
And a national magazine just said contra dancing was No. 1 on its list of awesome to do on a date (without alcohol)! Click here to see the article.

What is contra dance?

Help at the Front Door, Get in Free!

If you volunteer to help for an hour or so checking people in at a dance, you get in free for that dance! The first shift runs from 7:15 p.m. to roughly 8:30, then the second shift runs into the break. And if you take both shifts, you’ll get a pass good for free admission to a regular dance in the future. To sign up, go here. And to find out more about volunteering, scroll down to "Get Involved".

When and where can you contra dance?

The regular TCD contra dances are held:

Second Fridays at Carrboro Century Center [link to map]
Fourth and fifth Fridays at Reality Center in Durham [link to map]

Check the TCD schedule for more details.

TCD also sponsors community dances some Saturdays at Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill. To find out more, check the community dance schedule.

Other regular contra dances in the Triangle include:

First Saturdays at Carrboro Century Center -- Sponsored by Footloose/Contrazz
Third Fridays at Carrboro Century Center -- Sponsored by Carolina Song and Dance Association

Contra dances are also scheduled at various times by these groups:

Rushfest! -- Contra dances to recorded pop music at Carrboro Century Center
Contra Dances with Wolves -- The student contra dance group at North Carolina State University
UNC-CH Contra Dance Club -- Monthly contra dances at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus

Or to stay on top the entire Triangle contra dance scene, go to our Google calendar.

We would like your feedback!

Please tell us more about what you liked or didn't like at any TCD contra dances. Your experiences will help us make our dances a better experience for everyone! To send us your opinion (anonymously if you wish) just click here.

TCD is committed to providing a welcoming, fun and safe place for all people. We urge everyone taking part to treat each other with the greatest respect and attention to everyone's comfort and enjoyment. If, however, you have had an experience TCD needs to know about, please click here.

Get involved!

Join the TCD Facebook group. Join the Triangle Contra Yahoo group. Your dance group is a volunteer organization. If you would like to get involved, click here.

Become a member!

You can become a Triangle Country Dancers member and save on dance admission. Members save $2 on each dance! Another benefit of membership is our newsletter "The Hey!" which is published 6 times a year. Read more about membership.

Media

Whoopin' It Up! Students at the Center for Documentary Studies interview Linda Cooper about contra dance

NPR's All Things Considered: Youth Flock To Contra Dancing : link

To see a PBS report on contra dancing in Maine, click here.

Videos

Carrboro Century Center videos.

Reality Center videos.

Pleasant Green videos.

CulBlu's contra dance videos created by Dequan Powell