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Swing Your Partner: Democracy and Change in New Hampshire's Contra Dance Scene

For many, the mention of contra dance conjures images of tradition and wholesomeness -- a thoroughly American, and old-fashioned, past time. But in New Hampshire, contra dance has shifted over the decades. From turn-of-the-century stiffness to hippy ease to Millennial intensity, contra accommodates whatever community chooses to adopt it.

In today's episode, we speak to one of the leaders of the contra spread in New Hampshire, and learn how the dance is living on through in the modern era.

  • Swing Your Partner: Democracy and Change in New Hampshire's Contra Dance Scene
  • You Asked, We Answered: What Happened to Concord's National Weather Service Office?

Hannah McCarthy first came to NHPR an intern in 2015, returned as a Fellow the following year and then bounced around as a reporter and producer before landing as co-host of Civics 101. She has reported on everything from the opioid epidemic to State House politics to haunted woods of New Hampshire.
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