Women (and a few bold men) twirled in skirts, moving as one across the floor of the gymnasium. At the time, I couldn’t make sense of it; though there was, no doubt, a pattern to the dance. From the very young to the very old, everyone seemed to be smiling as they moved up and down the dance lines. Every step was planned out, set to the tune of a lively fiddle reel.
My first experience with contra dancing at the Old Farmer’s Ball in Asheville, N.C., was a memorable one, to say the least.
I had never seen a contra dance before. I was used to the monotonous bump and grind of high school proms. I had never danced with a man who knew how to do something on the dance floor other than “The Robot” or move his hips back and forth.
Last year I thought my affair with contra would end with the summer. Naturally, when I heard there was contra dancing in Jonesborough, I had to investigate.
Before contra dancing, David Wiley used to joke that it would take two elephants and a crane to drag him out on the dance floor.
“At first view, I had no idea how wonderful it was going to be once I got the courage up to do it, because I was never a dancer,” Wiley said.
Now, David Wiley is a driving force behind the Historic Jonesborough Dance Society, or HJDS. The dance society was chartered in the fall of 2005 as a non-profit organization to “promote a better understanding and appreciation of American folk dancing, its music, its history and related folklore,” according to the HJDS website.
It is Wiley’s hope to build a stronger dance community in Jonesborough and Johnson City.
“We are transforming people’s lives through music and dance,” he said. “We could take anybody at random, bring them into this dance hall, and have them go through an evening of contra dance and they would be unalterably changed for the rest of their lives because of the experience.
“I can say that because it happened to me,” he said.
Wiley’s passion for contra dancing inspired him to help start a non-credit contra dance class here at ETSU. The class meets in the dance studio on Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. The Historic Jonesborough Dance Society is currently working on having a for-credit class on contra dancing approved for the fall semester.
The next dance will be held on Friday, March 2 in the auditorium of the Historic Jonesborough Visitor’s Center, 117 Boone St.
It costs $4 for students to dance. Dance society members get in for $5, and everyone else can dance for $7. Classes for beginners start at 7:30 p.m. and the dance starts at 8 p.m. Dancers don’t have to bring a partner, and it’s recommended that they wear soft, flexible shoes.
For more information visit www.historicjonesboroughdancesociety.org or contact Wiley at 913-3246.
I’ll save a dance for you.

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