As the Helena band The Parlour Pickers fills the room with old-time music, 30 or so people make their way to the dance floor to kick up their heels and swing their partners.

They’ve come on a Saturday night — ranging in age from early elementary students to retired teachers — to Allegro School of Dance for Helena’s monthly contra dance.

Anyone who has ever been to a square dance or learned the dance in phys ed class will recognize the terminology and the moves of this dance that has been around since the late 17th century.

There are plenty of swing your partners, allemande left and rights, do-si-dos and ladies chains.

But devotees will tell you there is a world of difference between square dance and contra dance.

One of the big differences is that instead of breaking into groups of four, most dances have the dancers standing in two long lines, with the partners facing each other.

Though technically everyone keeps the same partner throughout a dance, in reality, everyone will have danced with just about everybody else in the room before each song is finished.

Some participants say the friendly atmosphere and the diversity of the dancers are part of what makes them so fun.

“I think a lot of young people wouldn’t do square dancing,” said Gay Eyman, who along with her husband Bill has been contra dancing for about 25 years. “I just think people look at square dancing as dumb.

“You don’t have to do this long to realize this is fun,” she continued. “It’s more like a community. So many times, ages determine what you do in life.”

The turnout is a little small this Saturday night, says Amie Butler, who organizes the dances, held once a month at Allegro School of Dance. The gatherings sometimes attract as many as 60-65 people. Maybe, Butler says, tonight’s light turnout is because there are so many things going on in Helena this time of year with the school seasons in full swing.

But though they are small in number, they don’t lack enthusiasm.

Morna Leonard, tonight’s caller who came in from Hamilton, gets the crowd of 30 or so dancers warmed up with a few simple instructions before the first dance.

“Every gent has his or her partner at his right,” Leonard says. “To start, you take four little steps to the center and then back out.”

There are some beginners in the crowd who clearly need this basic instruction. Many others have danced for decades and could just as easily be giving lessons as receiving them.

The music

Many of the people who come say the live music is one of the biggest draws. The band changes ever month

Mike Williams, fiddle player and leader of the Parlour Pickers, said he’s been playing contra dances since about 1973. He plays about six or seven dances a year.

The songs are all jigs and reels, Williams says. There isn’t a whole lot of difference between the music for contra dancing and square dancing, except that in contra dancing the songs all must have 32 measures, with no half measures thrown in, so they come out even in the end.

The band plays songs with colorful names such as “Nail That Catfish to a Tree” and “Shove That Pig’s Foot Further into the Fire.”

Barb Piccolo, who is on accordion tonight, says the Parlour Pickers are basically a glorified jam band with a lineup that changes every time out. Joining Piccolo and Williams tonight are Bill Ringler on guitar and 15-year-old Michelle Doud on banjo.

Band members say they have just as good a time as the dancers.

Williams said the dances are a chance to use the tunes he spends so much time practicing. And when you’re playing for dancers, you tend to play at a faster tempo — the way the music is meant to be played, he said.

They also get a kick out of watching the dancers — novices and experts alike — move around the dance floor.

“It’s fun to watch the dancers collide,” he said. “It’s good to watch them when they get it all together too.”

Friendly crowd

Being a wallflower is not much of an option at these dances — even if you came intending just to observe.

“I don’t have a partner, and you’re not dancing, so come dance with me,” Carla Wambach, a retired teacher, with a sweet smile on her face, says to me.

How could I refuse?

After that rollicking circle dance — complete with plenty of foot stomps and hoots and hollers from the dancers — is over, Jessie Roe, a Helena High student comes with her own request for a dance.

She charitably tells me I am doing well for my first time dancing. But after two dances, I find that it’s getting easier.

Jessie Roe is one of the younger members of the crowd. She’s also one of the better dancers on the floor.

The Helena High School student says she’s been coming to contra dances with her parents, Nancy and Jeff, when she was 2 years old, and it’s just become part of her normal life

“It’s fun,” Roe said. “It’s just a really good time.”

Roe has brought two of her friends tonight, Andrew Loux and Sara Cooley.

It’s Loux’s first time at a contra dance, but Cooley started coming with Roe about two years ago and has become a regular.

“I like the music. All the people are really nice.”

Features Editor Joe Menden: 447-4087 or joe.menden@helenair.com