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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., OCT. 5, 2011 – A traditional dance from the 17th century will live again on Saturday, Oct. 15 when Bollinger Mill State Historic Site near Burfordville hosts a Contra Dance. The event will start at 4 p.m. with demonstrations and explanations of the dance by the Cape Friends of Traditional Music and Dance. The Old Cornlickers will provide the music. The public is invited to attend and encouraged to participate as the dances are generally easy to learn.
Contra dance is a blend of English folk dancing and French court dancing that became popular in the 17th century. Later mixed with square dancing, polkas and waltzes, contra dance consists of two lines of paired couples that perform a set of steps that result in switching partners and places in line. Contra dance was popular into the early 19th century, and revived in the 1950s and 1960s.
Bollinger Mill State Historic Site is the site of a Civil War-era mill where visitors can learn how corn and wheat were ground into meal and flour by water power. Burfordville Covered Bridge, the oldest of the four remaining covered bridges in the state, was built in 1858 and stretches 140 feet across the White River, which provides the water to power the mill.
Bollinger Mill State Historic Site is located at 113 Bollinger Mill Road in Burfordville. To get to the historic site, take Highway 34 to Highway HH in Cape Girardeau County.
For more information, contact the site at 573-243-4591 or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com.
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