This page is devoted to listing contra dances in the Great Plains region of the United States along with bands, musicians, callers, and organizations that are based in the region. URLs and e-mail addresses are listed when available. New entries, additional information, and changes in information are always welcome. Links to other pages in the www.contradancelinks.com web site are listed at the bottom of the page.

New links are simply new to me, not necessarily new to the World Wide Web. Change in URL means that a link has changed its WWW address or URL.

Regional

• No regional links found or submitted.

Iowa

• Roger Alexander provides information about The Central Iowa Barn Dance Association which holds dances in Ames on the 4th Saturday of each month.
• Contra-indications is a new dance series in Des Moines, generally on 3rd Saturdays. New entry (June 6, 2012)
• The Fairfield Folk Arts and Dance Co-op holds contra dances in Fairfield along with a variety of other events.
• The dances in Highlandville are generally held on the 3rd Saturday of each month.
• There are contra dances on the 4th Saturday of the month at 7:30pm at the Senior Center in Iowa City. (e-mail only or call 319-384-8209) New entry (September 14, 2010)

Kansas

• Kansas Contra Dancing covers that exact topic.
• The Chase County Contra Dance Society hosts monthly dances on the 3rd Saturday (and beginning in January, the 4th Saturday) of each month in Cottonwood Falls.
• CrossCurrents Contra Dance Committee hosts dances in Kansas City on the 2nd Saturday of each month. Change in location (January 3, 2010)
• The Lawrence Barn Dance Association holds dances generally on the 3rd Saturday of the month. They also have advanced dances on 5th Saturdays and family dances on 1st Saturdays. This information is provided by Brad Levy.
• The Lawrence Barn Dance Association holds an annual Pilgrims Progression Dance Weekend in mid-November in Lawrence. Brad Levy maintains the page.
• Uptown Hoedown happens in Lawrence with a mix of hot squares, contras and more, generally, but not always, on 1st Saturdays.
• The Big Feet, Little Feet Family Dance occurs in the late afternoon on 1st Saturdays from October to March in Lawrence. New entry (January 3, 2010)
• The Land Institute, as part of its annual Natural Systems Agriculture Graduate Research Fellows Workshop, holds a contra dance in Matfield Green, Kansas in mid-June.
• There are is Old-Time Community Contra Dance in Newton on (usually) the 3rd Saturday of some months. Updated entry (June 3, 2012)
• The Land Institute holds an annual Prairie Festival in Salina in late September which includes a barn dance.
• The Wichita contra dance series is held on the 1st Saturday of each month.

Nebraska

• The dances in Lincoln occur on the 1st Saturday of each month. Butch Krause supports the page.
• There are dances in Ralston (near Omaha), usually on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 7:30 PM at the Seymour Elementary School with an hour of Scandinavian dances starting at 6:30pm.

North Dakota

• North Country Fiddle and Dance puts on a variety of events on the North Dakota/Minnesota border including in Grand Forks. Check the newspaper, Culture Pulse for listings for upcoming events. Also check the Tickwood Stringband site for information about the dances for which they play in North Dakota.

Oklahoma

• There is a new dance series in Bartlesville on the 3rd Saturday of the month in the Grand Ballroom. New entry (August 7, 2010)
• The Scissortail Traditional Dance Society sponsors dances in Oklahoma City on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month.
• The Tulsa Barn Dance series, happening on 1st Saturdays, now has its own web site, maintained by Wesley Brown.

South Dakota

Bands

• Acoustic Mayhem, based in Iowa City, Iowa plays rollicking tunes, dancing tunes, sing along songs, and a repertoire that ranges from country to Cajun to classical this band entertains everyone from 3 to 103. Change of URL (January 3, 2010)
• Arabesque plays Arabic and Irish acoustic music on flute and various string instruments for dances and other events in Oklahoma and elsewhere. MySpace page.
• Bob and Melissa Atchison have played at contra dances and square dances since the early 1980s and live in Kansas. New entry (April 9, 2011)
• Since its inception in 1991, The Barn Owl Band, its mainstay gig has ben playing for dances in Ames, Iowa, but it has brought its new sound of the traditional American string band to other locales and included new compositions that add to the tradition.
• Calliope House is rooted in Celtic, old-time and folk traditions and banded together in 2003 in Oklahoma City.
• Wayne Cantwell of Del City, Oklahoma, occasionally plays at contra dances. MySpace page.
• Euphoria Stringband from Two Foot Falls, Kansas, specializes in Old-Time music.
• Finnegan's Awake is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and plays a fine blend of acoustic music with flavors of Irish, Celtic and a pinch of folk.
• The Flatland String Band plays at contra dances and other events in Kansas.
• Flying Pig Fiddle & Banjo play Old-Time Southern Appalachian String Band Music on fiddles, banjo, washtub, washboard, pitchfork, fiddlesticks, feet, and more in and around Iowa.
• The Gilded Bats are an Iowa City area old-time string band who have been playing together since 2003.
• Based in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, Instant Grits play high energy old-time and bluegrass at contra dances.
• The Plaid Family from Kansas, plays a medley of barn-dance tunes to a turn-of-the-century cakewalk to a new emu-herding song.
• The Porch Stompers play for dances in Iowa and sing some fine country harmonies.
• The Prairie Acre is based in Lawrence, Kansas, started up in 2002 and brings together elements of traditional bluegrass and old-time to create a unique sound and fuel their highly contagious positive energy.
• The Oklahoma group, The Prairie Land String Band plays at an occasional contra dance along with playing the traditional music of post-civil war era, but also Cowboy, Blues, Celtic and American Folk music ranging from songs of the sea to traditional murder ballads.
• Eric Ryan-Johnson plays traditional Irish fiddle in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He can be reached at ericryanjohnson@cox.net or 918.592.4260.
• The band, Scenic Roots, from Kansas, occasionally plays at a contra dance. They mix bluegrass, folk, celtic, folk, and gospel for their unique sound. MySpace page.
• The Scissortail Mega Band is a group of volunteer musicians who fill in from time to time for The Scissortail Traditional Dance contra dances in Oklahoma City.
• The Suspicious Contra Band includes Ian Bittle, Wayne Cantwell and Malia Bennett and features Old-time American traditional music as well as Celtic Tunes. The band is based in Oklahoma. MySpace page.
• Three Bean Salad, from Lawrence, Kansas, plays a blend of New England Dance, Celtic and other traditional and contemporary styles. MySpace page.
• Two Dollar Shoe Revival Story plays bluegrass but also plays contra dances in Kansas.

Callers

• Roger Alexander calls at many of the dances in Ames, Iowa.
• Jill Allen calls at the many of the dances in Lawrence, Kansas. Added URL (April 9, 2011)
• Wesley Brown is a caller from Tulsa, Oklahoma and calls at dances throughout the Great Plains. Change of URL (January 3, 2010)
• Enid Cocke calls on a regular basis at the dances in Kansas. Change of URL (January 3, 2010)
• Susan Downs is a caller and one of the organizers of the dance in Bartlesville. (e-mail only) New entry (September 26, 2010)
• Lisa Harris lives in Lawrence, Kansas, and calls frequently in various cities in her region and beyond. (e-mail only) Updated entry and changed e-mail (September 24, 2012)
• Marcia Minear calls at many of the dances in Ames, Iowa. (e-mail only)
• Lonna Nachtigal calls on a regular basis in Ames, Iowa. (e-mail only)
• Terry Rouse calls in the Lawrence, Kansas area. (e-mail only)
• Jim Williams calls at many dances in Kansas. (e-mail only)

Organizations

• Based in Manhattan, Kansas, the Lloyd Shaw Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to recalling, restoring and teaching the folk dances of the American people. The Foundation engages in a wide array of activities, including the:
  • The Lloyd Shaw Dance Archives, located in Denver, Colorado;
  • A magazine, American Dance Circle;
  • And dance weeks in several locations.

  Marnen Laibow-Koser maintains the LSF web site.

• The Missouri Valley Folklife Society is an all-volunteer not-for-profit Kansas City regional organization committed to bringing high quality folk music and dance performances to the Kansas City area.
• The Kansas Folk Music and Dance Resource Center acts as a source of information about folk music and dance in the state of Kansas.

This page is part of the Contrdancelinks.com web site. For more information about contra dancing, visit these other site pages:

*The Colorado link will bring you to Dancing on the Web. The Maine link will bring you to the Downeast Friends of the Folk Arts. The New Mexico link will bring you to the New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society. The Utah link will bring you to Utah Contradance Information. These fine organizations and individuals already have complete listings for these states and there is no reason for me to duplicate their efforts.

**As far as I know, there are no regular dances or events in Mississippi, South Dakota or Wyoming, but I have created pages if something changes in the future.

http://www.contradancelinks.com/greatplains.html
Produced by Charlie Seelig
Last updated on June 17, 2012