Frequency Asked Question Answers in Dance
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36. Why the name contra dance?
Answer:
English country dancing gained a certain legitimacy in the 17th century. What might have happened next is described by James Hutson in his article "A Capsule Chronicle of Contradancing, Part One," from the Fall 1994 issue of Contra Corners, the newsletter of the California Dance Cooperative.The French, who thought that they invented country dancing, and who were miffed at the notion that the English should receive credit for anything, converted the name country dance to French contredans which conveniently translates as opposites dance , then turned around and claimed that the English term was a corruption of the French!