Are you ready to do-si-do?

Then grab a partner and head over to the Athens Folk Music and Dance Society for the contra dances that are held once a month.

“When people hear contra dancing and they have no idea of what that is, I tell them it’s kind of like square dancing done in long lines,” said Susan Staley, coordinator and host of AFMDS. “You are dancing with all these people . everyone is learning and laughing. It’s hard to describe — the energy level is up and everyone has a big smile on their face.”

One dance is about 10 minutes long, with the caller repeating the steps out loud for the room.

“By the time you get to the end, you know exactly what to do – you catch on,” Staley said.

If you still have any doubts as to your ability to contra, a preliminary lesson is taught at 7:30 p.m., and the official dance begins at 8 p.m. Saturday in the pink administrative building at Memorial Park.

“Most of the moves you do by just walking to the beat of the music. If you can walk, you can contra dance,” Staley said.

And now that you know how to, get ready to get down.

CONTRA DANCE STEPS

CONTRA: French for “opposite.” Dances usually begin with two lines, men on one side and women on the other.

HANDS FOUR: After lining up, the first two couples grab each others’ hands, and so on down the line.

OPPOSITE or NEIGHBOR: Opposite sex person in your circle of four (who is not your partner).

HEY: A weaving figure in which you walk across the set, passing people by alternating shoulders until you run out of people.

CALIFORNIA TWIRL: Man raises joined inside hands; the woman walks under to changes sides and direction.

ALLEMANDE: Join designated hands and rotate once around each other.

GYPSY: Same as an allemande, but without touching hands. Maintain eye contact. Flirt if you wish.

DO-SI-DO: Pass right shoulders till you are back-to-back, then return passing left shoulders.