Down Under Contra

Contra dancing is popular in Australia with regular dances being run in many cities and at the folk and dance festivals around the country. The music is lively and the bands are enthusiastic, while the dancers keep coming back for more.

There are favourite dances, such as Flirtation Reel and Bucksaw Reel, that you would be familiar with, along with many others from the American repertoire. Now we return the favour and present an Australian view of Contra dances.

These 50+ dances are all written by Australians and are danced here. Most of our dance composers don't write Contras exclusively, but also cross between English, Scottish, Irish, and Australian styles. Some of this is reflected in the dances, with moves borrowed from other genres.

Arthur Kingsland Colin Towns David Gilks Jeanette Mill John Carroll Keith Wood Lawrie Brown Norm Ellis Peter Foster Roger Gifford We've also made use of formations other than the standard duple-minor set, although those are the predominant ones. You'll find dances for four couples, triple-minor groupings, and in circles and diamonds. They all still have a Contra feel to them.

Please enjoy our dances.