Contra dance is playful, Sue Burns told me, when she and Russell and I spent a long morning at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge talking about contra dancing for a story in Berkshire Magazine this month.

“You learn it as you go,” she said. “It’s a dance — just laugh. You don’t have to come with someone, and you don’t have to know what you’re doing. Just come.”

A musician with North Bennington roots is visiting in July, who has played dances and Irish music across New England.  Matthew Christian and Max Carmichael are coming up from Brooklyn to perform traditional, Irish and Quebeçois tunes on fiddle, foot percussion and guitar and more.

The North Berkshire dance returns to Williamstown on Saturday, July 13 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., with live music, and Steve Howland is calling. Come with or without a partner — beginners are warmly welcome, and experienced dancers will find us lively.