Syracuse Country Dancers
The ORIGINAL Contra Prom
The Prom Returns on
Saturday, May 17th, 2025
7:00-10:30 PM
Costume up! Get out your surfboards, umbrellas, fragrance-free tanning lotion, and tropical shirts! This year’s prom is coming, and you don’t want to miss it!
It goes without saying that there will be outstanding contra dance music and calling. You can also expect outrageous decorations, delicious refreshments, high energy, and hijinks. During intermission, two “Prom Monarchs,” will be selected by general acclaim (i.e., “applausometer”). One of them might be YOU!
Theme: Beach Party
Caller: Adina Gordon
Being told what to do has never been so much fun!
Adina Gordon’s collection of dances is wide-ranging and super fun. Her sense of the moment is trustworthy. She blends the feel of the band and mood of the crowd with her repertoire to produce an exhilarating dance experience. Every program is unique and her joy is infectious. It’s no wonder she’s a favorite contra dance caller throughout the Northeast and across the country!
Music: Oliver Scanlon and Alex Fortier
Happy music by two brilliant musicians! Oliver and Alex are deeply steeped in tradition, and still manage to be wildly innovative. Their music will move your feet and lift your spirits!
Location
The 2023 Contra Prom takes place at our regular hall in Fayetteville. We strongly encourage dancers to arrive on time to participate in a grand march that will open the event. Hope you can be there — It’ll be a night to remember!
History
The Contra Prom started in the spring of 2004 when some of our younger dancers wanted to create a “prom-alternative” and joined forces with the Syracuse Country Dancers to put together the world’s first Contra Prom. One of those young people was Sarah VanNorstrand, now a nationally known dance caller, and a shaker and mover in the upstate NY dance community for years before moving to Vermont.
Unlike a normal high school prom, our Contra Prom has no age limit, although you can expect lots of youth involvement. You are not required to bring a date, there’s awesome live music, and we have cake! We bring out the decorations, and encourage dancers to dress up (goofy, elegant or anywhere in between) and be ready to party it up with fun dances, exciting music, and lots of energetic dancers. We hear tell that there are other Contra Proms here and there — but ours was the first ever. Accept no substitutes!
We like to pull out all the stops when hiring musicians for the Prom. In past years we have featured such bands as Anadama, Perpetual e-Motion, Matching Orange, Nor’easter, Eloise & Company, and Giant Robot Dance.
Contra Prom 2012 with Sarah VanNorstrand and Anadama: Video and Photos
Click on any image below to see a larger version.
