contradance
- noun
- /ˈkɒntrəˌdæns/
- US
:
contradanza
- Every month, the local club hosts a contradance that attracts dancers of all ages to enjoy traditional folk music.
Examples
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She learned how to participate in a contradance during her summer camp, where everyone danced in pairs in front of each other.
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Church, Grange, contradance:
Blog text (9) -
We do, of course, need organizations that can do the kinds of things the Grange did in its early years, but civil society theory suggests that a lot of the infrastructure for doing that is created and maintained not just through direct political and financial organizations but also through contradances, sports leagues, book groups, local newspapers, and historic preservation campaigns.
Blog text (9) -
At the community center, we gathered for a lively contradance where couples moved in sync and followed the caller's instructions.
Synonyms
1
3.3
A traditional group dance where couples face each other in lines and do the same steps to folk music
A traditional dance where couples form two facing lines and follow a set of steps
A traditional folk dance where couples stand in sets or lines and do the same steps to music
A country dance with couples in two long lines facing each other
Surface Forms
Morphology
contradance = dance (semi-transparent) = contra + dance
The parts 'contra' (against/opposite) and 'dance' are recognizable, but the specific social format and conventions of the contradance are culturally specific and not fully inferable from the components.
Etymology
Contradance comes from the old phrase 'country dance' and the French form contredanse, and the part contra- means 'opposite' or 'facing'. So a contradance is a folk dance where couples line up facing each other and move together.