By Jae M. Zimmermann and Ellen Hodgkin

If you pass by Kennedy Park in Lewiston any 2nd Friday of the month, you will hear the tell-tale sounds of stomping feet and soaring reels coming from nearby Trinity Commons: it’s the Lewiston Contra Dance. And it’s just getting started.

The Lewiston Contra Dance kicked off their season this past fall with the The Bow & String Band and caller Qwill Duval. Duvall, a dance caller and artist from the midwest, travels the country calling at dances large and small. Their experience and talent was clear as the evening got going.

“At first there were only a few dancers and we were feeling nervous. Then more and more people started trickling in. By 8 o’clock the hall was full and I thought “Oh my God, we have a contra dance!” The energy was amazing,” Tyler Pulk, another organizer, remembers.

The Lewiston Contra Dance has developed a small, devoted following. Zoë Lidstrom, a regular attendee, reflects on some of her favorite parts of LCD: “I love having a local dance, right down town. It’s so accessible and welcoming. It’s encouraging to see new people coming to try [contra dancing] out and to see so many of them come back!” The dance attracts many new people, month-to-month, with a high percentage of dancers under the age of 21 and from all walks of life.

Nevertheless, LCD faces some familiar challenges: low average attendance and a desire to keep rates accessible to all puts a strain on dance finances and makes it harder to bring in the popular talent that experienced dancers will turn out for. Without experienced dancers, the growing population of fresh faces has no one to help them elevate their skills and find the extra fun that skilled dancing makes available.

“Right now, our concern is how to take Lewiston Contra Dance to the next level and really become part of the dance scene here in Maine. We love being a local dance, but we also want our young dancers to feel like part of the whole community of folk dancing in the state and to feel confident enough to travel to other dances and keep growing their skills and friendships,” says Pulk, of the LCD’s goals for next season.

The team behind the LCD has been working hard to put together a program for the season to come that includes state and regional favorites like Aiden Boardman and Cojiro as well as talent from farther afield, like caller Koren Wake from Washington state. For the last dance of the current season, join them for The Clementines (siblings Willy and Moon Clemetson) with caller Hannah Chamberlain.

Follow the dance on Facebook for updates and to see more photos, or check out their website at tinyurl.com/lewistoncontradance. And come on by Trinity Commons in Lewiston any 2nd Friday of the month; join in with the stomping feet and enjoy the soaring reels. It’s the Lewiston Contra Dance, and it’s waiting for you.

Tyler Pulk, tylerpulkphotography.com