user: Nicholas Rockstroh
Bev's Becket A by Cary Ravitz
BREAK
by: Larry Jennings
introduces moves: swing, circle, promenade, chain, star
formation: improper
| A1 | 16 | neighbors balance & swing
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| A2 | 6 | circle left 3 places
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| 10 | partners swing
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| B1 | 8 | partners promenade
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| 8 | ladles chain
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| B2 | 8 | neighbors promenade
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| 8 | star left 4 places to next neighbors
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One of the great glossary dances. Simple figures and gentle timing, but not so comprehensive that it leaves you with no options to make the second dance feel distinctive. Definitely a favorite of mine.
introduces moves: allemande, petronella
formation: Becket
| A1 | 8 | gentlespoons allemande left 1½
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 8 | balance & petronella
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| 8 | balance & petronella to a left hand star
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| B1 | 8 | star right 4 places and look for next neighbors ⁋
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| 8 | ladles allemande left 1½ with next ladle
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| B2 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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Based on petronella Stomp by Tom Lehmann. Changed the star from a left hand to a right hand making the ladles allemande a left hand instead of a right hand.
by: Tom Calwell
introduces moves: long lines, roll away, hey
formation: improper
| A1 | 4 | long lines forward ⁋
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| 4 | gentlespoons roll away neighbors with a half sashay as lines back up *
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| 8 | ladles chain
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| A2 | 16 | ladles start a full hey - rights in center, lefts on ends
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| B1 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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| B2 | 8 | circle left 3 places
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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* This is how the dance was originally written, but some find that ladles rolling away gentlespoons flows better into the ladles chain. I think that variation also goes by the name "Rollin' to the Grey Eagle", written by Hank Morris.
by: Sarah Kaiser
introduces moves: mad robin
formation: improper
| A1 | 8 | long lines forward & back
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 8 | mad robin, gentlespoons in front
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| 8 | circle left 3 places
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| B1 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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| B2 | 8 | mad robin, ladles in front
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| 8 | ladles chain and take hands with next neighbors in long lines ⁋
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Bev's Becket A by Cary Ravitz
BREAK
introduces moves: pass through
formation: Becket
Identify next neighbors on left diagonal and identify shadow on other side of partner
| A1 | 8 | partners promenade looping CCW to next neighbors ⁋
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| 8 | ladles allemande right 1½
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| A2 | 16 | neighbors balance & swing
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| B1 | 6 | circle left 3 places
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| 2 | pass through to shadows
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| 8 | shadows start a half hey - rights on ends, lefts in center - and look for partners (like a half gyre to begin)
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| B2 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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Make sure to emphasize that the partner swing ends across from the neighbors you swung. When walking the hey, make sure the dancers are solidly aware of whom they're dancing the hey with and where they need to end up.
An easier setting for the half hey with shadow to a partner swing sequence that I used in The Birds are the Words. Written around the same time, but finally named on the day after I moved to Cincinnati, OH. Revised slightly as of 2019-10-29, changed the shadow allemande to a direct entry into the hey. Treat the first pass as a half right gyre with your shadow followed by the two gentlespoons passing left in the center.
introduces moves: down the hall, up the hall
formation: improper
| A1 | 4 | long lines forward
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| 4 | ladles roll away neighbors with a half sashay
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| 4 | long lines forward
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| 4 | gentlespoons roll away neighbors with a half sashay
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| A2 | 8 | balance & petronella
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| 8 | partners swing, end in a line of four facing down
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| B1 | 8 | down the hall and turn alone
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| 8 | up the hall and bend into a ring
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| B2 | 8 | balance & petronella
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| 8 | neighbors swing and take hands with next neighbors in long lines ⁋
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Written at 3 AM at Summer CDH 2019. Sometimes the sequences just come to me, and when they do it can feel like remembering something I've never done. Named after a song from Celldweller's album Wish Upon a Blackstar.
introduces moves: balance the ring, California twirl, custom
formation: Becket ccw
Couples wait out with gentlespoons on the right and ladles on the left
| A1 | 8 | gentlespoons allemande left 1½
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 4 | balance the ring
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| 4 | partners California twirl, take hands with next neighbors ⁋
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| 8 | balance & petronella
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| B1 | 8 | balance & petronella
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| 4 | balance the ring
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| 4 | neighbors California twirl, keep hands and reach back to partners to form a cloverleaf
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| B2 | 6 | cloverleaf left 3 places
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| 10 | partners swing
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Notice that the two twirls to swap are done with different hands. This is intentional. The California twirl and reach back to a cloverleaf is inspired, primarily, by several Rick Mohr dances which do the same thing.
The name is a result of a remarkable confluence of events. A friend of mine from Wisconsin, Ceara Herndon, was visiting her sister in Vermont. She sent me a picture of a firepit captioned with the title, which seemed like a good name for a dance. As it turns out, the state flower of Vermont is the Red Clover, which I only learned AFTER writing the dance. On top of all this, there's an old, hitherto unpublished dance of mine called "Fire Flower," which also contains a California twirl and reach back to a cloverleaf.
introduces moves: box the gnat, contra corners
formation: improper
| A1 | 4 | balance the ring
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| 4 | gentlespoons roll away neighbors with a half sashay
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| 8 | mad robin, gentlespoons in front, look for next neighbors ⁋
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| A2 | 8 | mad robin, gentlespoons in front with next neighbors
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| 8 | ones right hand balance & box the gnat
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| B1 | 16 | ones contra corners
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| B2 | 16 | ones balance & swing
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The first Contra Corners dance that I ever wrote. Written for Rosie Wildman from Columbus, OH in honor of her highschool graduation; she said the Mad Ladle and Contra Corners were her favorite figures, and I was happy to rise to the challenge. This is technically a variation I used at Dance Trance 2016, but I greatly prefer it to the original. Alternate active couples for a more equal experience.
introduces moves: star promenade, butterfly whirl, gyre
formation: Becket ccw
Identify next neighbors on right diagonal
| A1 | 4 | long lines forward
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| 4 | gentlespoons roll away partners with a half sashay
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| 8 | circle right 3 places
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| A2 | 16 | neighbors balance & swing
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| B1 | 8 | gentlespoons allemande left 1½, pick up partners
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| 4 | star promenade left ½
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| 4 | butterfly whirl moving right to next neighbors ⁋
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| B2 | 8 | ladles gyre once
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| 8 | partners swing
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Named for a Steak and Shake in Louisville where I enjoyed many after dance meals with friends.