Contra dance series becomes victim of COVID-19 concerns

The contra dance series at Christ Episcopal Church has been cancelled until the end of 2020, organizer John Coffman said, one of the latest victims of COVID-19.

Judy Bradley brought the contra style of dancing to Cape Girardeau in the early 1980s, when she said she moved back home after living in Maine. She said she was first introduced to the dance style while there, and missed the contra dance community after returning to Cape Girardeau.

Contra dancing is a type of folk dancing similar to square dancing that involves two lines of dancers, Coffman said. Dancers switch partners many times, Coffman said, and by the end of the night a person would have the opportunity to dance with everyone in the room. A live band performs at the twice monthly dance.

John Boyd has been attending the dance series for the past 30 years and said that the social element of the dance keeps him coming back. He can't remember exactly how he started -- he said he thinks a friend first brought him -- but he keeps going back.

"It's the best thing I do," he said. "It's exercise, and it's something I can do with a whole bunch of other people."

He said dancers range in age from infants with their mothers to 90-year-olds. Over the years, he's made dozens of friends over the years at the dances, he said.

"If you go looking for the contra dance, wherever you go you'll automatically make a bunch of friends," Boyd said. Sometimes he brings other people to the contra dance series in Cape Girardeau, but other times he'll go alone. Either way, he said he still will end up dancing with every person in the room.

Jenny Rodgers said she was first introduced to contra dancing through this series in Cape Girardeau and has attended for the past several years. She lives an hour away and began organizing her own contra dances for individuals in her area. She said she enjoys the opportunity to gather with friends and meet new people as well.

"Everybody there is laughing and smiling, even those who sit out on a dance," she said. "You never sit out for long."

She said she has already cancelled two dances this year due to COVID-19, and may need to cancel their August event as well.

Coffman said all dances in the series will be cancelled until a vaccine is developed for COVID-19. As group dances involve a lot of close contact, Coffman said it's difficult to enforce any social distancing. He said he hopes to resume the contra dance series in 2021 when the risk is lowered. Boyd agreed that this style of dancing involves many people dancing and interacting in a small area, making it difficult to maintain distance.

"[The contra dance] is what I miss most with this virus going around," Boyd said.