connection
DESCRIPTION
photobook describing the connection felt by contra dancersTRANSCRIPT
Connection
forewordAs communication technology moves forward, human to human interactions are being left behind.
We’ve traded conversations for text messages and in person meetings for Skype sessions. Not
because we had to but because we could. Contra Dancers, however, still manage to have meaningful
social interactions even in this technological wasteland.
Contra dance is a type of social folk dance that has been popular for hundreds of years, with deep roots
in English and Appalachian tradition. Dances are held regularly in community centers and auditoriums
all over the country, as they have been for decades. Within the framework of the dance, participants
are touching, making eye contact, and connecting. As a social interaction it is still pure and unchanged
by technology and modernization. There is no faking it, or phoning it in, on the dance floor. The images
in this book depict the connections that contra dancers experience in a typical evening. The majority
of these images were collected during one night of dancing in Pinellas Park, Florida.
1
Left: Long Wavy Lines Right: Palm to Palm
2
3
4
Left: Out at the Top Right: Gypsy
5
Left: Left Hand Low Right: Up the Hall
6
7
Left: Pull By Right: Forward, Back
8
9
Left: End of the Line Right: By the Hand
10
11
12
Left: Adults at Play Right: Reaching Out, Stepping Out
13
14
15
16
Previous Pages Left: Hands AcrossRight: Solid Swing
Left: Partner Swing Right: Twirl
17
18
1919
20
Previous Pages Left: Neighbor SwingsRight: Take Hands
Left: Circle Skirt Right: Wrist Star
21
22
Left: Courtesy Turn Right: Down the Hall
23
24
25
Left: Pass Through Right: Face Back In
26
27
Left: Wavy Lines Right: Thank Your Partner
This book was produced by Scarlett Schiraldi as a piece of a Graphic Design capstone project at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg Photography also by Scarlett Schiraldi. Images collected at a Pinellas Park Contra Dance, April 5th, 2013.
A special thanks to members of the dance community photographed.
