This article supplements the main Contra dance article.

Contra dance choreography specifies the dance formation, the figures, and the sequence of those figures in a contra dance. The figures repeat, ideally, in a graceful flowing pattern, aligned with the phrasing of the music. Contra dance figures (with a few exceptions) do not have defined footwork; within the limits of the music and the comfort of their fellow dancers, individuals move to the beat and embellish according to their own taste. Much of the dance is done as a walking movement, one step for each count of the music, while the arms and hands do most of the changing, most of these involving connecting with others' hands.

Most contra dances consist of a sequence of about six to twelve individual figures, prompted by the caller in time to the music as the figures are danced. As the sequence repeats, the caller should be able to cut down his or her prompting, sometimes to a single word for every figure, and eventually stop calling, leaving the dancers to each other and the music.