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Carol Ormand didn't dream of becoming a dance caller. While attending Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., she joined a folk dance club. Then, after moving to the Twin Cities, a friend asked if she wanted to take it one step further.

"We were sitting around the table [at a restaurant] and the caller for that day's dance turned to me and asked, ‘Have you ever thought about becoming a caller?,' and I said, ‘No,' " recalls Ormand. "He asked if I'd like to, and I said, ‘Sure.' I was fresh out of college and young enough to not really think things through."

Ormand became the first female caller in the Twin Cities, and for the past 20 years, has been calling dances all over the country. She will visit Massachusetts, Kentucky and North Carolina before the calendar turns over to 2011.

"It's a lot of fun to stand at a microphone and tell people what to do and watch them do it," Ormand says with a laugh. "But I love working with the bands. I get to work closely with really fantastic musicians. The thing that keeps me coming back is that no matter how many people are at the dance that day, I get to facilitate them having a great time."

So what exactly is contra? Loosely, the form is characterized by couples arranged in two facing lines rather than the more isolated formations of square dancing. With roots in English, Irish and French traditions, it is an American style as varied as the people who enjoy it. It's easy to pick up, too. Most newcomers can learn the moves in less than an hour.

This weekend, Ormand will bring her passion for contra to Glen Echo Park's Bumper Car Pavilion. A caller needs a band, and that's where the Latter Day Lizards come in. The trio from Greenfield, Mass., consists of Dave Langford on guitar and fiddle, Bill Tomczak on clarinet, saxophone and banjo ukulele, and Peter Barnes on piano, guitar, flute and harmonica.

"We don't get to work together very often," Ormand notes. "A couple of years ago, I asked them, ‘What would you think of putting together a little mini tour?' They went for it. We did that for the first time last year. We had such a great time that we're doing it again this year."

Ormand says that dancers in Massachusetts believe they're at the center of the contra universe. While Tomczak acknowledges its popularity in New England, he notes that contra has boomed on the West Coast. In January, the band will head to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for Contra Carnivale.

"When I first got involved in the early '80s, it was a much smaller, close knit community, especially around the Boston area," Tomczak remembers. "From the mid-'80s on, it felt like there was kind of a sea change."

That evolution included the composition of new music rather than sticking to centuries-old folk tunes. And organizers tossed in new genres. Tomczak cites YouTube videos of young people contra dancing to techno music while black lights illuminate twirling dresses. With such a variety of styles showing up in dancehalls, the Lizards are adapting to the times. They pride themselves in blending swing, jazz and rock. Ormand, says Tomczak, is a great caller to reign in their styles.

"The trick is timing the calls so the dancers know what to do without having a sense of unease," he observes. "And Carol's very clear about what she needs from us."

Although the Lizards grew out of the New England scene, Tomczak now lives in Boulder, Colo. That doesn't stop the band from doing what its members love. It helps that their musical chemistry is so strong.

"When I moved out of the area, a number of people asked, ‘What's going to happen to the band?' " says Tomczak. "We laughed, because in 13 years, this band has rehearsed exactly twice. We just get together, and we play."

jedwards@gazette.net

Carol Ormand calls to the Latter Day Lizards on Friday at Glen Echo Park's Bumper Car Pavilion, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. A dance lesson begins at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Friday Night Dancers dance from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Admission is $9. Ormand and the Lizards return on Sunday for a contra and square dance presented by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington. The lesson starts at 7 p.m. and the dance runs from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Admission is $9 for FSGW members and $12 for non-members. Before the Sunday dance, the Lizards will play at a Waltz Time dance from 3 to 6 p.m. Admission is $8. Call 301-634-2222 or visit www.glenechopark.org.