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.
• The organization holding dances in Des Moines is changing from Contra Indications to a new group. Change of URL/organization (December 17, 2016)
• The Fairfield Folk Arts and Dance Co-op holds contra dances in Fairfield along with a variety of other events.
• 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)

Kansas

• Kansas Contra Dancing covers that exact topic.
• The Lawrence Barn Dance Association holds dances generally on the 3rd Saturday of the month. They also have advanced dances on some 5th Saturdays.
• The Lawrence Barn Dance Association holds an annual Pilgrims Progression Dance Weekend in mid-November in Lawrence.
• Uptown Hoedown happens in Lawrence with a mix of hot squares, contras and more, generally, but not always, on 1st Saturdays.
• The Flint Hills Contra Dance holds events in Manhattan on the 2nd Saturday of the month. New entry (March 3, 2018)
• 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.
• 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. Change in URL (February 3, 2019)

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. Change of URL (February 24, 2017)

North Dakota

• For dances in Grand Forks, North Dakota or East Grand Forks, Minnesota (just over the border), get on the mailing list maintained by Tom and Jeanne O'Neil. Updated entry (February 7, 2015)

Oklahoma

• The Scissortail Traditional Dance Society sponsors dances in Oklahoma City on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month and has information about dances in other communities.
• The "A Contra Affair" dances occur in Stillwater generally on the third Friday of each month.
• The Tulsa Barn Dance series, happening on 1st Saturdays.

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 (February 7, 2015)
• Arabesque plays Arabic and Irish acoustic music on flute and various string instruments for dances and other events in Oklahoma and elsewhere. Change of URL (February 7, 2015)
• Bob and Melissa Atchison have played at contra dances and square dances since the early 1980s and live in Kansas.
• 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.
• Wayne Cantwell of Del City, Oklahoma, occasionally plays at contra dances.
• The Dire Ducks include Alice Boyle (fiddle) and Robert Rosenberg (guitar, banjo, bodhran), are based in Manhattan, Kansas, and plays Irish, Quebecois, Contra Dance, and Old Time fiddle music. New entry (January 2, 2016)
• Euphoria Stringband from Two Foot Falls, Kansas, specializes in Old-Time music.
• Finnegans Awake is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and plays a fine blend of acoustic music with flavors of Irish, Celtic and a pinch of folk. Facebook page. Change of URL (February 7, 2015)
• 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 Iowa, Mark and Brandi Janssen play traditional American music inspired by the first generation of rural recording and radio artists. New entry (July 4, 2016)
• Ladies at Play is a high-spirited and musically adventurous contra dance and English country dance band from Oklahoma. Our repertoire includes a wide variety of folk and ballroom-like dance tunes, including jigs, reels, polkas, waltzes, hambos, English, old time, and zweifache. We also play our own spicy and cosmic original tunes, inspired by folk music traditions from around the world. New entry (July 1, 2016)
• 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 band, Scenic Roots, from Kansas, occasionally plays at a contra dance. They mix bluegrass, folk, celtic, folk, and gospel for their unique sound.
• 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.
• Three Bean Salad, from Lawrence, Kansas, plays a blend of New England Dance, Celtic and other traditional and contemporary styles.

Callers

• Roger Alexander calls at many of the dances in Ames, Iowa. Change of URL (February 7, 2015)
• Jill Allen calls at the many of the dances in Lawrence, Kansas.
• Enid Cocke calls on a regular basis at the dances in Kansas.
• Susan Downs is a caller and one of the organizers of the dance in Bartlesville. (e-mail only)
• Lisa Harris lives in Lawrence, Kansas, and calls frequently in various cities in her region and beyond. (e-mail only)
• 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)
• Louise Siddons calls in Oklahoma and elsewhere, both contra and English Country Dance.
• 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; Change of URL (February 7, 2015)
  • A magazine, American Dance Circle;
  • And dance weeks in several locations.

  Marnen Laibow-Koser maintains the LSF web site.

• 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 February 3, 2019