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In order to keep my main page of dances non-intimidating, I've dumped many of my creations onto this secondary page. Let me know if you really like any of these.
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A1 Forward and back Corner seesaw [1] A2 Corner allemande left 1 [2] Grand right and left past four B1 Right-hand balance #5 Swing same B2 Promenade [3]
[1]
A left shoulder do-si-do.
[2]
Face away from corner, give right hand to current partner to start
the grand right and left.
[3]
This is where lost couples can come in, hopefully in a completely
different section of the room where other people can help guide
them.
A forgiving way to teach grand right and left in circle mixer form. I expect someone else has already written this dance.
Petronella MixerA1 Partner right-hand balance [1] Spin to the right as in Petronella [2] Partner right-hand balance Spin to the right as in Petronella A2 Partner right-hand balance Spin to the right as in Petronella Partner right-hand balance Spin to the right as in Petronella B1 Partner balance Partner swing B2 Promenade counterclockwise (14) [3] Women turn back, give right hand to next (2)
[1]
Purists may want to exchange the spins and balances, in which case
it's better to make the B1 Do-si-do and swing partner, to prevent
a super-long swing.
[2]
As in the original dance "Petronella," where only
two people were in the center. It's equivalent to
an allemande left 1/4, but without hands, and you
individually rotate clockwise as you do so.
For an
identical movement, see the A1 of
"Country Doctor's Reel" by Merilee Karr in the book
"Give and Take."
[3]
Or, if you like, lead around counterclockwise. That just
means instead of being in promenade position, the man's
right hand is in the woman's left hand.
The traditional dance "Petronella" is already almost a circle mixer. The only thing that doesn't fit is the right and left through. (And the cast.) Replacing it with a balance and swing also cures the Issue modern dancers have.
This is another mixer that I was surprised no-one had already written.
Waiting in the SwingsA1 Forward and back Circle left (4) Men roll away partner P2 [1] (4) A2 Circle left (4) Men roll away partner P3 (4) Partner P4 swing B1 Promenade B2 Women turn over right shoulder Pass partner P3 by left Partner P2 swing
[1]
The person you swung at the end of the previous B2 is partner P1. Your
corner is P2. Your next corner is P3.
This is the remnants of a four-face-four I tried writing.
A1 With partner, shift left (4) Balance, facing future neighbor across (4) [2] With partner, shift right (4) Circle right 1/2 with original neighbor(4) A2 With partner, shift right (4) Balance, facing same future neighbor across (4) With partner, shift left (4) Circle left 1/2 with original neighbor (4) B1 Left diagonal ladies chain Ladies chain to shadow B2 Partner balance Partner swing
[1]
At the beginning of the dance, your shadow is in your
line, on the other side of your partner.
[2]
A step-swing balance might be better here. (Step on
right foot, swing left foot over right foot; step on
left foot, swing right foot over left foot.) My idea
is you're holding your partner's hand, but
not your neighbor's.
Alternatively, use a forward and back balance. (Two steps
forward towards your neighbor, two steps back. A mini
forward-and-back.)
An updating of an old dance, "California Reel." How old? I found it in an online manuscript from the 1860's.
Expanding the Ever-Expanding CircleA1 Two-hand turn partner clockwise Two-hand turn partner counter-clockwise A2 Circle right in groups of four Circle left B1 Entire set form a giant oval and circle/oval to the left [1] Entire set circle/oval to the right [2] B2 Right diagonal right and left through Women allemande right 1 & 1/2 [3] C1 Neighbor balance Neighbor swing C2 Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 Partner swing
[1]
As in the A2 of "CDS Reel" by Ted Sannella.
[2]
End across from original neighbors.
[3]
Women may need to look on their slight left diagonal for
that new woman, but there should be a new couple across
from them at this point.
A variant of the recent "The Ever Expanding Circle" by Leonard Ellis. The original dance was a very neat concept, yet for once the piece count [4] seemed low, especially given the challenge in needing to know which side you should be on, and your progressed neighbor's identity. It was a good excuse to write a 48-bar sequence, as the only thing rarer than 48-bar dances are 48-bar dances with decent piece counts. Still, the musical limitations make my variant less generally useful than the original.
[4]
For definition of "piece count," check the books
"Zesty Contras" and "Give-and-Take." Stop making excuses and
buy
them already! :)
A1 Down the hall in a line of four (ones in center) Turn alone, return A2 Circle left 1/2 Women roll away neighbor (on side) Circle left 1/2 Women roll away partner (across set) B1 Neighbor swing B2 Right and left through Ones swing, face down
An attempt to extract out the "right-hand-high-left-hand-low" bit from Sue Rosen's "Garden State of Mind." It's not as easy as it looks, and each try did more damage to the dance than it fixed. This variant, however, was worth keeping as the circle/roll-away figure has the women doing the rolling away rather than the men.
The B2 was stolen from the revised version of Dan Pearl's "Brimmer and May Reel."
Heart of Glass for GuysA1 (new) Women allemande right 1 & 1/2 Partner star promenade Butterfly whirl A2 Hey (ML, NR, WL, PR, ML, NR, WL) B1 Partner gypsy Partner swing B2 Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 Neighbor swing
Despite the name, this was a modification of Becky Hill's "Sweet Music for Guys" by patching in a neighbor swing. But this resulted in a number of changes from the original, and it seemed taxonomically closer to the men's version of "Heart of Glass," even if it wasn't the inspiration.
I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already written this exact sequence. All these dances are just fix-ups and tweaks off of the original "Sweet Music." Just like any other good folk process.
A Proper WhooshA1 Neighbor (same-sex) N1 pull by right Neighbor N2 pull by left [1] Neighbor N3 pull by right Neighbor N4 allemande left 1 Neighbor N3 pull by right Neighbor N2 allemande left 1/2 to long waves [2] A2 Balance wave Rotate the wave (second corners cross) [3] Partner swing B1 Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 Neighbor N1 swing B2 Ones half figure eight [4] Next neighbor (same-sex) N2 do-si-do [5]
[1] End effects: Unlike most contra dances
with end effects, you do not wrap around at the ends. Instead, turn
around and stay in your same-sex line. It's like doing a hey with hands
on the side.
[2] Man two and woman one face in. Man one and
woman two face out. You are progressed, and have neighbor N1 in your right hand.
[3] Man two and woman one cross. Man one and
woman two turn around, or loop into their same-sex neighbor's place.
[4] Above around the twos you just danced with.
[5] This identifies the neighbor that begins the
next grand right and left.
I was toying around with proper dances, and which figures felt different with same-sex neighbors. A grand right and left seemed suitable, and the framework of "Whoosh" turned out to be a near-perfect fit.
The end effects are dangerous. When your number changes, so does your direction in the wave, and the people who cross. If dancers keep acting out their original roles, things will go badly, as there's no huge recovery spot. It may be worth emphasizing.
Swinging JennyA1 Ones swing, face down (16) [2] A2 Neighbor swing (8) Ones swing, face down (8) B1 With next neighbors, down the hall in a line of four Turn alone, return [3] B2 Right and left through Right and left through
[1] Or possibly Sammy Spring. Certainty is lost in
the mists of folk process.
[2] An alternate here would be
long lines, ones swing.
[3] A hand cast gives this
more of a chestnutty feeling, but a bend the line can
also work.
"Swing Your Jenny" is an old enough dance that it's been folk-processed into a toolkit of various dance options, rather than just one particular form. It can be proper or improper. If improper, the B2 can be a ladies chain over and back. And the timing on the A's can be fudged.
My modification is making it double progression, giving a higher turnover between the roles of ones and twos. Since the cool part of the ride is reserved for the ones, this not only gives everyone a fighting chance for activity in lengthy lines, but also hastens your rest period. I've also done a "Haymaker's Jig" tweak by mutating the lead down into a down the hall in a line of four.
Vicky's ReelA1 Ones sashay down (as couples, holding hands) Ones sashay up, facing (new) neighbor [1] A2 Neighbor sashay down [2] Neighbor sashay back B1 Neighbor do-si-do Neighbor swing B2 Long lines forward and back Ones swing
[1]
Ones turn individually to face up, then keep turning till they face
their neighbor. Technically it's a cloverleaf turn in place.
The hard part of this dance is to make sure the ones end this
progressed, facing new neighbors each time through the dance.
[2]
Either or both of these sashays could just be lead downs,
depending on your assessment of the dancers' knees and ankles.
A clean-up of the B2 (and the B1 to compensate) of "Good Queen Vic" by Martyn Harvey.
A1 Left diagonal right and left through [1] Ladies chain [2] A2 Women allemande right 1 & 1/2 while men orbit counterclockwise 1/2 Neighbor swing B1 Gents chain [3] Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 while women orbit clockwise 1/2 B2 Partner gypsy Partner swing
[1]
Alternately, promenade across, and in the courtesy turn loop a little
further to the right to face N2. The dance then becomes single progression.
[2]
To flow into the orbit figure, consider an open ladies chain, where
women pull by right, and then neighbor allemande left 1. The transition
also works well with a flourish twirl.
[3]
I strongly recommend an open gents chain, where men pull by left, and
then partner allemande right 1. Not only will this be less confusing than
a regular gent's chain, but the women will have proper momentum into the
orbit.
A1 Slice left [1] Circle left 1 A2 Neighbor clockwise pousette 3/4 [2] Lead clockwise around set [3] Turn alone [4] B1 Lead counterclockwise around set Women allemande left 1 & 1/2 B2 Partner gypsy Partner swing
[1]
Face the new couple on the left diagonal, come forward, and push straight
back. A progressive form of forward and back, as in
"Hey Man" by
Paul Balliet.
[2]
A pousette
is a figure from English Country Dance where you take two hands with
your neighbor, and as a couple orbit around the other couple. You and
your neighbor never rotate with respect to the room. A full pousette
would end where it started. In contra dance, a three-quarters pousette
is about eight beats long.
To see a pousette in action, try a
video of "Joyride" by Erik Weberg.
[3]
Similar to a promenade, but the only hand-hold is man's right hand with woman's left hand. The transition from the pousette is merely letting go of the other hand, and facing the appropriate direction.
[4]
Switch handholds. (Man's left with woman's right hand.) Dancers may start
the turn alone too early.
The title referred to the lines between the various transitions of the dance, but it also could be about the lines between contra and English Country Dance.
Butterflies in the BarnA1 (new) Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 Partner star promenade Butterfly whirl A2 Women gypsy (right) 1 Partner swing B1 Women allemande right 1 & 1/2 Neighbor star promenade Clockwise butterfly whirl B2 Half hey (ML, PR, WL) Neighbor swing
A weaker version of "A Bevy of Butterflies" suitable for a medley.
Carol's ReelA1 Neighbor allemande left some amount (8) Neighbor allemande right some other amount (8) [1] A2 Half hey (left in center, right on sides) Swing neighbor B1 Circle left 3/4 Swing partner B2 Gents chain [2] Star right 1
[1]
The rotation speed of allemanding is up to the individual dancers.
Depending on how the allemandes are negotiated, either
the man or the woman could start the hey.
[2]
Men pull by left, give right to neighbor. Women reach
behind with left hand, and scoop up the men in a clockwise
courtesy turn, men going forward and women going backwards.
This was a rewrite of the idea behind Dan Pearl's "Hey for Who?" In that dance, there was only a single allemande for eight beats, which made it hard to vary the entry. This dance provides more opportunities to change the hey entry, at the cost of half the hey. (There are versions of this dance that have a full hey, but either they lack any neighbor interaction, or have a bad transition for woman one.)
It's named for Carol, a dancer who made a memorable impression on San Diego before she left for the wintry hinterlands of Michigan.
Common CourtesiesA1 (new) Women allemande right 1 & 1/4 Partner swing A2 Long lines forward and back Ladies chain (to neighbor) B1 Women gypsy (right) 1 Neighbor swing B2 Promenade (across) Right and left through
This is a dance without a purpose. Its original goal was to include all three courtesy turns with your neighbor as a teaching exercise. However, there are no 16-beat figures, and the progression is subtle, making it tricky if you have a significant number of beginners. (And if you don't, you probably don't need the drill.) For this purpose I now prefer "Contra Primer" by Melanie Axel-Lute, in her book "One Good Tern."
Which leaves "Common Courtesies" out in the cold. It's still an interesting dance for the women, but it's not one I use often.
The Full Wind-upA1 Left diagonal right and left through Circle left 3/4 A2 Partner clockwise draw pousette 3/4 [1] Partner two-hand turn 1 & 1/2 [2] B1 Hey (WL,NR,ML,PR,WL,NR,ML) B2 Partner gypsy Partner swing
[1]
Draw pousette is an English Country Dance figure
described in
"Wind-up Your Neighbor."
The difference here is that the men back up as the women go
forward. It all flows out of the circle left.
[2]
It doesn't matter how many times around this goes. Just
use the momentum to launch someone into the center of the set,
passing left shoulders in the center.
This is perhaps the most pure version of the three Wind-up dances I came up with. It's unfortunately only done with your partner, so if neither you nor your partner can figure things out, you're in deep trouble. "Wind-up Your Neighbor" lets the main figure be taught through your neighbor.
Hey RollersA1 Neighbor balance Neighbor swing A2 Women roll away neighbor [1] 3/4 hey (WL,PR,ML,NR,WL) B1 Partner gypsy Partner swing [2] B2 Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 Star left 1 [3]
[1]
End the swing as normal, facing across and catching the man's
right hand in the woman's left. Instead of stopping, use that
connection and momentum to enter the roll away. Men may
need to assist, especially if they're 200 lbs heavier yet don't
give weight.
[2]
On the woman's original side.
[3]
A hands-across star. Women join in behind their partners.
A second-generation dance rewrite experimenting with the swing to roll-away transition that I first encountered in Susan Sterne's "After Dinner Roll." One curious thing about this transition is it effectively ends the swing with the man on the right.
Loops and LinesA1 Down the hall in a line of four [1] Circle right 1 [2] A2 Up the hall in a line of four Circle left 1 B1 Neighbor do-si-do Neighbor swing B2 Long lines forward and back Ones swing, face down
[1]
Ones in the center.
[2]
To start the circle, bend the line by twos taking hands with
each other. To end the circle, ones let go of their partner,
and open up to a line facing up, with twos in the center.
Inspired by dances like "Hickman's Hey," and other more obscure ones.
Midwestern RoriesA1 With partner, shift left to new neighbors Circle left 3/4 to wave of four [1] Balance wave Slide right [2] A2 Balance wave Slide left [3] Neighbor swing B1 Circle left 3/4 to wave of four [4] Balance wave Slide right B2 Balance wave Slide left Partner swing
[1]
Right hand to neighbor, women in the center joining left hands,
ones facing down.
[2]
As in the dance
"Rory
o' More," everyone sidesteps to their right, passing
nose to nose with their neighbor. They can spin clockwise
if they choose.
(Counterclockwise when they later slide left.) Now the
men are in the center of the wave of four, with left hands to neighbor.
[3]
Catch right hands with your neighbor, and use that momentum to
pull into a swing.
[4]
Right hand to partner, women joining left hands in the center.
Currently I'm very interested in repetition. (Currently I'm very interested in repetition.) So I wanted to do the "Rory o' More" spins to swing transition for everyone, all the time. The circle to wave trick allowed a quick entry, and the structure for cramming all that in came from Orace Johnson's "Midwest Folklore."
NEWSreelA1 Down the hall in a line of four [1] Turn as couples, return A2 Circle left Neighbor swing B1 Promenade counterclockwise around the set Turn as a couple, promenade back B2 Long lines forward and back Ones swing
[1]
Ones in the center.
The name (a pun I'm surprised no-one else has already used) comes from North-East-West-South, as this dance puts you through just about every non-diagonal direction.
The Second RingA1 Promenade Right and left through A2 Balance ring Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 [1] Neighbor N2 swing B1 Left diagonal ladies chain [2] Ladies chain across B2 Balance ring Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 [1] Partner swing
[1]
Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 means do
a "petronella turn" and then keep turning till you face a
new group of four.
[2]
To your shadow.
Yet another "Fiddleheads" variant. Or a simpler version of "Roadkill" gotten by relaxing the single-progression constraint.
Note the A1 could be dropped completely if you wanted a 24-bar contra to fit a strange piece of music.
A Slip in TimeA1 Partner promenade (6) [1] Circle right 3/4 (6) A2 Neighbor N1 gypsy left 1 (6) Neighbor N2 gypsy right 1 (6) B1 3/4 hey across (ML, PR, WL, NR, ML) (12) B2 Partner swing (12)
[1]
A slip-jig has twelve beats per piece of music.
Written for one of San Diego's bands, Gray Beard, that was interested in playing a slip jig. There aren't many dances that fit -- the only ones I know of are "Any Jig Will Do" by Mike Richardson, "Fan in the Doorway" by Gene Hubert, and "The Joy of Six" by Rick Mohr. And the last two require AABBCC tunes. So I tried experimenting, and came up with the above sequence.
There's a lot of interesting design space in slip jigs, which I hope to revisit over time. The big problems are the lack of balances and the 3/4 hey & swing, which is as overused as the circle left 3/4 & swing transition in regular contras.
Sneaker ReelA1 Left diagonal right and left through [1] Circle left 1 A2 Partner allemande right 1/2 Women cross set while men loop right (box circulate) Neighbor swing B1 Hey (ML,PR,WL,NR,ML,PR,WL,NR) B2 Continue hey (men pass left while women loop) Partner swing
[1]
For better results, replace the courtesy turn with a California Twirl.
So named because it's possible to sneak up behind the person you're swinging. (Women with their neighbors, men with their partners.)
Summer AzureA1 Neighbor balance Neighbor swing A2 Men allemande left 1 & 1/2 Partner star promenade Butterfly whirl B1 Women allemande right 1 Partner swing B2 Long lines forward and back Circle left 3/4 Pass through
Named after a butterfly species.
Three Ways OutA1 Balance ring Petronella turn Partner swing A2 Long lines forward and back Women allemande right 1 & 1/2 B1 Neighbor balance Neighbor swing B2 Balance ring Petronella turn Balance ring Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 [1]
[1]
Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 means do
a "petronella turn" and then keep turning till you face a
new group of four.
Named because you exit the petronella turn in three slightly different ways.
Trip to San DiegoA1 Ones lead down the center Ones turn as a couple Ones return Ones cast around twos [1] A2 Ones cross set, pass by right shoulders Neighbor swing B1 Neighbor gypsy right 1 [2] Promenade single file in group of four clockwise 1 B2 Ones balance Ones swing, face down
[1]
You may want to emphasize that
the cast is around new neighbors, not the neighbors
of the previous time. This is a same-sex cast.
[2]
The inverse of a gypsy meltdown
transition. As folk process dances it, the swing finishes
facing across, and then face your neighbor for a slight
tug into the gypsy right. As originally intended, the
swing slows down to a safe speed, and then you slowly
disengage from your neighbor into a more distant gypsy.
Either way, I put the transition in a clear musical break
between the A and the B. Also, at the end of the gypsy
it doesn't matter who's on the right, and who's on the left.
I include this dance with trepidation, because it's intentionally not a happy dance, and hence in some ways goes against the basic philosophy of contra dance.
I was moving away from my original dance community in Philadelphia, and wanted to express my feelings about leaving as best as I fumblingly could. Saying goodbye hurts, and this dance was meant to act this out with your neighbors. The kernel of the idea came from the swing-gypsy transition, followed by the rule that you couldn't touch your neighbors after the swing. The rest of the dance just supports those odd requirements.
Use at your own risk, though its uniqueness may warrant the risk. Or inspire other, better dances by you.
A1 Circle left 3/4 Partner allemande right 1 & 1/2 A2 Shadow allemande left 1 & 1/2 Ladies chain B1 Balance ring Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 [3] Partner swing B2 Balance ring Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 [3] Neighbor swing
[1]
Indecent means the ones
are not crossed over, but the twos are. This adds more
fun to the end effects. The dance could be Becket
by starting at the B2 -- the downside is the petronella
turns would be split musically between the A's and B's.
[2]
Shadow finding -- if it this point you took hands in long
lines, your shadow would be on your left diagonal.
[3]
Petronella turn 1 & 1/2 means do
a "petronella turn" and then keep turning till you face a
new group of four.
What makes this dance challenging is the end effects. In some places you come in with the man on the right, and in some places with the woman on the right, and I've yet to find any convenient rules. The best I can do is to tell the dancers that the people at the ends need to adapt to the people inside the dance, as the people inside the dance know better what they're doing.
Written as a " 'Fiddleheads' for everyone, all the time" type of dance.
Just EleganceA1 Circle left 3/4 Neighbor swing A2 Right and left through with N1 [1] Right and left through with N2 [2] B1 Men allemande right 1 & 1/2 Half hey (PL, WR, NL, MR) B2 Partner balance Partner swing
[1]
A normal right and left through. Pull right by your partner,
women put their right hand on their hip, men reach behind with their
right hand to
get into courtesy turn position, and courtesy turn with men
backing up and women going forward.
[2]
Not a normal right and left through. It's done with next neighbors,
and dancers are doing the role of the other gender. Pull right by
your partner, men put their right hand on their hip, women reach behind
with their right hand to get into courtesy turn position, and courtesy
turn with women backing up and men going forward.
I was writing a dance to teach a same-sex right and left through, and decided to have everyone learn from unfamiliar positions. I came up with the above dance and really got excited about the A2 transition, until a week later when I realized "Elegance and Simplicity" had beaten me to the punch by over 200 years. Oh well. So in honor of this I gave my dance the pretentious "Just Elegance," because it's certainly not simple. Then again, neither is the original.
For other modern takes on this same idea, check out "Pleasantly Surprised" by David Smukler or "Needham Reel" by Herbie Gaudreau.
Oscar's OddityA1 Circle left 1 Neighbor swing/two-hand turn until progressed [2] A2 Long lines forward and back Star right 1 B1 Right and left through [3] Right and left through B2 Ones half figure eight above Twos swing, face next
[1]
Odd times through the dance (including the first
time), it's improper, even times through the dance it's
proper. Couples waiting out at the ends should pretend
the dance is improper for re-entry purposes.
[2]
The two-hand turn option is for people allergic to
same-sex swings, or those that would be confused
with having the ones end below the twos in a same-sex
swing. In this case, the two-hand turn once and a half
works fine. This will only happen even times through the dance.
[3]
Half the time it's the traditional but very unfamiliar
same-sex right and left through. You always start by
pulling right by your partner, though.
The courtesy turn for a same-sex right and left through
involves the person on the left walking backwards, and
the person on the right walking forwards, just like a normal
courtesy turn. It's just the genders may be in unexpected
places.
A dance that started from the gimmick. What was interesting is that the ones could not swing each other, because the swing is an information-destroying figure. Regardless of which side/facing you start at, you must end in the same orientation. So any information of that previous arrangement is lost. (Technically, you could specify different variations for odd and even times through the dance, but you'd melt everybody's brain.)
Not recommended for general use, but good to pull out for April 1st, or if the dancers are seeking novelty.
If you're interested in another take on this, look at "Impropriety," an English Country Dance by Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett, that I first encountered a few months after writing "Oscar's Oddity."
1A1 Forward and back
Corner swing [1]
1A2 Promenade same counterclockwise halfway in group of four couples (6) [2]
Women roll back to partner as men go forward two steps (2) [3]
Partner right-hand balance (4)
Box the gnat (4) [4]
1B1 Men single file promenade clockwise around women [5]
Men turn alone
Men single file promenade counterclockwise around women
1B2 Partner balance
Partner swing [6]
2A1 Forward and back [7]
Corner swing
2A2 Promenade same clockwise halfway in group of four couples (6) [8]
Men roll back to partner as women go forward two steps (2) [9]
Partner left-hand balance (4)
Swat the flea (4) [10]
2B1 Women single file promenade counterclockwise around men
Women turn alone
Women single file promenade clockwise around men
2B2 Partner balance
Partner swing
[1]
If you're in the center of your line of four, it's
the person next to you who's traveling in your group of four.
If you're at the ends, it's the neighbor facing across from
you.
[2]
Men are on the inside of this circle as you promenade.
[3]
The outside people (women) turn over their right shoulder
and let go of the person they're promenading. The end position
is in progressed position, right hand to partner, men in the
center of the eightsome with women on the outside. Notice like many four-face-fours, you switch sides as you progress.
[4]
At the end of this, women are in a tight circle in the inside.
[5]
Out of the box-the-gnat, clockwise should be the natural direction.
[6]
Facing new neighbors, the dance begins again, but like "Alternating
Corners" by Jim Kitch, it alternates between two symmetric forms.
[7]
Don't be scared by the number of footnotes.
[8]
Now women are on the inside of the promenade.
[9]
The outside people (men) turn over their left shoulder to face the
person behind them -- their partner -- in their progressed position.
[10]
A left-handed version of the box-the-gnat. (I prefer calling it "twirl to
swap.") Here, the women turning the men under their joined hands may
work better. It ends with the men in a tight circle in the inside, and
the women outside, ready to go around the men.
A rewriting of a very old English Country Dance, "Jenny Pluck Pears," in contra form.
When waiting out at the ends, I'd recommend not switching sides. That way, you'll always be doing one form of the dance when swinging your neighbor, and the other form when swinging your other partner/shadow.
Three-couple set dances created by Ted Sannella. Couples are numbered one, two, and three, and switch places each time through the dance. Traditionally danced nine times through. See "Zesty Contras" for more details.
Right and Left Triplet
A1 Ones and twos right and left through, with power turn [1]
Ones and threes right and left through, with power turn [2]
A2 Twos and threes balance and swing neighbor while
ones balance and swing partner [3]
B1 All six right and left through [4]
All six right and left through
B2 Circle left 1/2 [5]
Partner swing [6]
[1]
A right and left through facing up/down. The couple in the middle (the ones) does an extra half courtesy turn, called a power turn, until they face the
threes.
[2]
The couple in the middle (the threes) does an extra half courtesy turn, until
they face the twos.
[3]
"Balance and swing the one you face."
[4]
End the swing by facing into a circle/triangle for six. Your current corner is on the
man's left, and the woman's right. Your current opposite is straight across from you.
To do a right and left through for six, pull right by your corner, and courtesy
turn with your opposite. Face back into the circle of six.
[5]
Circle until you're across from your partner.
[6]
Ends with top couples (new ones) facing down, others facing up.
Inspired by Colin Hume's discussion on hexagonal squares. I got rid of the three side couples and wrote a triplet.
Stuff that defies easy categorization.
1A1 Ones balance [1]
Ones swing, face new neighbors [2]
1A2 Circle left 1
Swing neighbor
1B1 [3] Twos individually go clockwise around the outside of the set, [4]
meet in the center [5]
1B2 Twos waltz counterclockwise in the central corridor between the ones,
back to place [6]
2A1 Twos balance
Twos swing, face new neighbors
2A2 Circle left 1
Swing neighbor
2B1 Ones individually go clockwise around the outside of the set,
meet in the center [7]
2B2 Ones waltz counterclockwise in the corridor between the ones,
back to place [8]
[1]
Originally ones are facing counterclockwise, twos are facing
clockwise.
[2]
The "new neighbors" clause is only needed for later times through
the dance. First time through they face original neighbors.
[3]
This part is done in waltz tempo. The B1 is eight measures, or
24 steps long. So is the B2.
[4]
As per the A1 of "Chorus Jig," the twos are going outside the set.
Woman two is on the outside track, man two on the inside.
[5]
The "center" here has the same meaning as the middle of the set
for a contra line.
[6]
Twos continue to where they started the B1, stopping just
as they see the neighbors they swung.
[7]
Note that ones and twos both travel in the same clockwise direction.
There's some broken symmetry here, as it's not perfectly alternating.
This time, man one is on the
outside track, woman one on the inside.
[8]
Ones need to waltz past the neighbors they just swung to return
to place.
A very unusual dance. The A-parts are done contra-tempo, while the B-parts are waltz-tempo. Meaning the band needs a special tune, or to take half of two existing tunes and solder them together.
This dance has two obscure inspirations. One is a Dudley Laufman dance from the early 1970's, "My Home." In that dance the same music is played at jig tempo for the A1&A2, and as a waltz for the B1&B2. The second is "The Spanish Waltz," a mid-19th century waltz contra.
When writing this dance, it didn't work as a contra. With a short set, most of the action would happen beyond the last set of twos. With a long set, the twos would never be active. And in either case you'd need an excessive amount of room at the bottom of the set. So it became an alternating Sicilian circle. The broken symmetry between the ones and the twos was done so that both couples would waltz in the standard counterclockwise line-of-direction.
Sevenpins
A1 Lines of three promenade past two couples, facing new sevenpin in original
direction. [3]
A2 Six people star right [4] while sevenpin orbits counterclockwise [5]
Six people star left while sevenpin orbits clockwise [6]
B1 Sevenpin chooses someone, and balances and swings that new sevenpin
Others return to original lines [7]
B2 Old sevenpin joins line of two, lines do basket swings for three while
new sevenpin stays in middle. [8]
[1]
The set-up is a "standard" three-face-three, sort of like an improper
dance, but with partnerships of three people rather than two. There are
no gender roles in this dance. Between each hands-six is a lone seventh person, called the "sevenpin."
[2]
During the course of the dance, the sevenpin will switch with one of the other
six people, joining that new threesome and creating a new sevenpin. The
threesomes progress onwards, while the position of the sevenpin stays put.
[3]
Like a standard promenade, the left-hand person passes left shoulders with
the groups promenading the other way. They also pass left shoulders with the
sevenpins, who stay put. Unlike a standard promenade, it's done with groups of three, so choose whatever handholds you like.
The progression is till the threesomes are facing a new sevenpin. If they reach the end, they need to immediately turn around.
For compact sets, there might be time for a forward and back.
[4]
At this point, the sevenpin needs to sidestep out of the way, as they're currently standing in the star's ground zero.
[5]
Actually it doesn't matter which direction the sevenpin goes around the star. They just need to be ready to choose someone to swing.
[6]
An alternate A2 would involve six people circling left and right, around the sevenpin in the middle.
[7]
At this point there will be a line of three and a line of two, facing original
direction. At the end of the swing, the old sevenpin joins the line of two as
a new partner. The person he/she swung is the new sevenpin.
[8]
The basket swing finishes facing the same people.
You probably don't want to call this one. While it is danceable, it's too far outside of the standard contra repertoire. I include this more to get people to think more about alternate formations, and different ways the contra tradition could have evolved.
This dance started as an attempt to include the figure "Birdie in a Cage" into a contra dance. (But it's already been done.) But it kept diverging and mutating till I realized I had something closer to the traditional square dance "Ninepins."
My first attempt at the dance had the other five dancers circling around the swingers in the B1, but it turned out to be too complex for people to sort themselves out in time for the B2.