Dancing for joy—and community

Surry Contra Dance offers dancers of all ages and abilities the chance to connect, have fun

A ‘caller’ leads dancers—arranged in long, facing lines—through a series of steps throughout the evening. Photo courtesy of Surry Contra Dance.

July 28, 2026

By Annie Means

SURRY—Twice a month, the gymnasium at Surry School trades one crowd for another. The school’s gymnasium, normally populated by the squeaking shoes of student athletes, instead fills with the shuffles and stamps of Surry’s newest contra dance community.

Contra dancing, though similar to square dancing, is considered a quintessentially American folk dance. The key difference lies in the “caller,” who calls out the dance patterns as a group of dancers, arranged in long, facing lines, moves through them together: exchanging partners, joining hands, spinning, and weaving down the line until the dance resolves.

Alice Slater, founder of the Surry Contra Dance, is quick to point out that you don’t need a partner or a friend to join in. It’s a social dance, by design, she said, and everyone dances with everyone.

“At least a dozen totally new people show up every dance,” Slater said. “If you can walk, you can contra dance.”

‘There aren’t many places in our community where such a diverse group of people can all come together and do the exact same thing and have a really good time,’ Slater said. Photos courtesy of Surry Contra Dance.

Alice Slater, a Surry resident of twelve years, first came to contra dancing through a chance encounter at the Maine Common Ground Country Fair. Typical dance halls had never appealed to her, but the structured routines and easy steps of contra dancing drew her in quickly.

“It opened a door for me,” she said.

Slater danced more frequently after her first contra dance, but it wasn’t until well after COVID that contra dancing became a greater passion for her.

“When the lockdown happened, we realized how important it is to connect with people in a social and physical sense.”

The grange already hosted a local community dance, but Slater hoped for something larger. After asking if she could take over the dances herself, things started to pick up.

Soon Slater was booking musicians and callers. In April 2023, she hosted her first contra dance, drawing in 140 dancers.

“I guess people were ready,” she said.

The dances now regularly draw crowds of similar size, populated by a diverse range of attendees. Most, Slater said, fall somewhere between their 20s and 40s, though as she puts it, “There will be teenagers and 80-year-olds and everyone in between.”

These dances offer an alternative to the typical social atmosphere of a pub or restaurant and bring different groups in the Blue Hill community together. Photo courtesy of Blue Hill Contra Dance.

“There aren’t many places in our community where such a diverse group of people can all come together and do the exact same thing and have a really good time,” Slater said. The dance floor offers a neutral ground, a space where everyone can connect, and where gender, politics, and age fade into the background.

For those who might be intimidated by jumping in, Slater holds a beginner’s dance in Surry/Blue Hill, where she is eager to greet and teach new dancers.

“I love seeing the joy on people’s faces when they realize it’s their new favorite thing,” she says.

The next dance is on August 8th. Weather permitting, it will be held outside. Dances are held three times a month, on every second Saturday, and one big community dance. To learn more, visit  https://surrycontra.org/.