LEWISTON - Lewiston guitarist John Cote and Farmington fiddler Steve Muise will be featured musicians at an evening of contra dancing Friday, June 8, at the Lewiston Public Library.

The event will run from 8 to 11 p.m. in Callahan Hall. Admission is $2 for students, $5 for others.

Contra dancing is the indigenous traditional social dance of New England, according to caller Chrissy Fowler of Belfast, who will lead the dancing. It involves two lines of dancers facing each other, interacting not only with their partners across from them but also with their neighbors up and down the line. It is not necessary to bring a partner to the dance as the custom is for everyone to mingle freely during the evening.

Contra dancing is one of the easiest styles of dance to learn, said Fowler, making it particularly user-friendly for beginners. There is a prescribed set of relatively simple dance moves which fit squarely to the music and are repeated numerous times during the course of each dance, so that by the end of the dance, the choreography becomes almost second nature for those on the floor.

The band typically throws in one or two couple dances, such as a waltz or polka, during the evening.

Contra dancing has built up quite a following in the community, due largely to the public dances held monthly at Bates College during the academic year.

Since these dances are suspended during the summer while Bates students are on break, the public library decided to fill the void with a dance this month, and, if successful, during July and August as well.

"We've kept the admission price purposely low to make the event accessible to young people in particular," said LPL cultural coordinator Cindy Larock, noting the Bates dances have attracted an increasing number of area teens of late.

The fact that this type of event offers an excellent opportunity for some fun aerobic exercise in a wholesome, chem-free environment is a bonus applauded by Healthy Androscoggin, which is promoting this event through its Youth 2 Youth groups at area middle and high schools.

The music repertoire for the contra dance will be a lively mix of Celtic and French-Canadian fiddle tunes performed by Cote, Muise and guest musicians.

For more information, call the library at 784-0135, extension 200. The public library is at 200 Lisbon St.