traditional dances-can be a fitness work-out

[azfiddle]

Irish step dancing is very demanding for short spurts. A sprint, rather than a marathon- a really great championship dancer can't go full force for more than 1 1/2 or 2 minutes!!! Group (ceili or set dances) are a little less energetic and go longer.

Also, an evening of contra dancing, while not so energetic, will burn up a few calories, but probably not do so much

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Also, an evening of contra dancing, while not so energetic, will burn up a few calories, but probably not do so much

Yikes, I'd have to respectfully disagree!
I started contra dancing 2 years ago, and it's a huge all-over workout. In fact, a 3 hour dance wipes me out far more than a 50 mile bike ride with rolling hills. When I first started contra dancing, I was biking and fitness walking a lot and I thought I was in pretty good shape. Contra dancing made me aware of all the other parts of my body from head to toe that had not been getting a workout. I love all the twisting, stomping, twirling, sliding, dodging and balancing that is done when the music is really in high gear. Woo-HOOOO! http://youtu.be/j9L0dz3qmsc

[shootingstar]

So how different is contra dancing from square dancing?

(I did some (mandatory) square dancing in the early 1970's when I was a kid in phys. ed. class. Those were the times, when girls and boys touched each other in a sanctioned way for first time ...pubescent years.

I probably sound positively luddite here..I went to co-ed public school the whole way through.)

[azfiddle]

A lot of the moves in contra dancing are the same as square dancing- swing your partner, do si do, circles, etc. In contra dances, two lines of couples dance together, 2 couples at a time. The entire sequence repeats every 32 bars and then you move on to a new couple to dance with. In a square dance, you have 4 couples in a square and often there are alternating sequences of moves with a kind of "chorus" in between (at least in traditional squares- modern squares are just an entirely different kettle of fish).

There are New England squares and southern squares, but I don't really know that much about the difference.

Bleeker St. Girl- I haven't danced as much as I've played, and not as much lately. In any case- there are people who say that contra dancing is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

[carolp]

I do Balkan and Scandanavian dancing and they can definitely be a good workout when I want them to be.