On October 29, the Spokane (WA) Folklore Society sponsored Techno Contra Deca-dance at the East Spokane Grange. It was a masquerade-themed crossover techno contra event featuring local DJ Gaga (Dennis Gagaoin, former host of Spintronica on radio station KYRS and owner of United Groove Merchants) and caller Ray Polhemus. The Grange was transformed for this Halloween event with fog machines and lighting effects and the event was heavily marketed as “a great chance to bring contra curious friend and show them that contra ain’t square!” per their press release. I caught up with Ray Polhemus after he called for the event to talk with him about Deca-dance and the techno contra trend.
"One of our regular dancers requested that I call our first ‘techno contra.’ Being an adventurous sort, I accepted. I had never done this before…. Since this was our first, and it was a costume event, there was a great deal of enthusiasm.”
“That [enthusiasm] helps me get into it. The biggest surprise for me was how difficult it was to follow the music. Since the music wasn’t phrased like traditional contra music, (A1, A2, B1, B2) it sometimes didn’t fit the dance as well as I expected, and was more difficult to follow.”
That said, “Yes, I would do it again…it was a big success…. I would have worked more with the DJ to assemble tune sets. Gaga and I got together three times before the gig to work out signals and tempos, and do trial dances.”
When asked about how he feels events like Deca-dance find themselves in the Tradition, Ray made an interesting connection between the type of contra dancing that he observed and the music to which it was danced: “I see techno contras as a progression from completely traditional into a new realm where the actual moves are also altered towards a more swingy dance. It’s developing a new tradition…. The videos I’ve seen of this stuff look really cool to me, and I’d like to DANCE some of this, and pick up some new moves.”
“That [enthusiasm] helps me get into it. The biggest surprise for me was how difficult it was to follow the music. Since the music wasn’t phrased like traditional contra music, (A1, A2, B1, B2) it sometimes didn’t fit the dance as well as I expected, and was more difficult to follow.”
That said, “Yes, I would do it again…it was a big success…. I would have worked more with the DJ to assemble tune sets. Gaga and I got together three times before the gig to work out signals and tempos, and do trial dances.”
When asked about how he feels events like Deca-dance find themselves in the Tradition, Ray made an interesting connection between the type of contra dancing that he observed and the music to which it was danced: “I see techno contras as a progression from completely traditional into a new realm where the actual moves are also altered towards a more swingy dance. It’s developing a new tradition…. The videos I’ve seen of this stuff look really cool to me, and I’d like to DANCE some of this, and pick up some new moves.”
Ray Polhemus is based in the Spokane, WA/Coeur d’Alene, ID area. His next several gigs are scheduled in various locales out West, so look for him at a dance near you if you find yourself dancing there! Thanks to him for sharing his experiences with Contra Syncretist!
