user: Nicholas Rockstroh
Switched mid-dance to Butter
WALTZ
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: long lines, right left through, allemande
formation: improper
Note the hand in which the next neighbor's hand will be held in the long lines
| A1 | 8 | long lines forward & back
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 8 | right left through
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| 8 | ladles allemande right 1½
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| B1 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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| B2 | 8 | gentlespoons allemande left 1½
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| 8 | neighbors swing and take hands with next neighbors in long lines ⁋
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I was taking a course on gender and sexuality at the time I wrote this. The title is a double pun; "Contra is essential" is one meaning, "against cultural/biological essentialism" is another.
by: Larry Jennings
introduces moves: hey, meltdown swing, give & take
formation: sawtooth cw
| A1 | 8 | circle left 3 places
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| 8 | neighbors allemande right 1½
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| A2 | 16 | gentlespoons start a full hey - lefts in center, rights on ends
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| B1 | 16 | neighbors meltdown swing
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| B2 | 4 | gentlespoons give & take partners ⁋
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| 12 | partners swing and face next neighbors
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While this was originally written as a sawtooth dance and I've listed it here as such, it might be better to teach this as a clockwise becket dance with a slide left at the beginning as dancers have become better at moving back to the posts for the partner swing after the give and take.
by: Chris Page
Switched mid-dance to Butter
introduces moves: square through
formation: Becket
| A1 | 6 | circle left 3 places
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| 10 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 8 | right diagonal ladles chain to shadows
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| 8 | star left 4 places with shadows, next neighbors
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| B1 | 16 | square through four - partners balance & pull by right, then next neighbors pull by left, then repeat ⁋
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| B2 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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by: Gene Hubert
introduces moves: slide along set
formation: Becket
| A1 | 2 | slide left along set ⁋
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| 6 | circle left 3 places
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 8 | long lines forward & back
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| 8 | ladles chain
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| B1 | 16 | ladles start a full hey - rights in center, lefts on ends
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| B2 | 16 | partners balance & swing
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WALTZ
by: Erik Hoffman
formation: improper
| A1 | 16 | neighbors balance & swing
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| A2 | 8 | gentlespoons allemande left 1½
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| 8 | partners swing
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| B1 | 8 | right left through
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| 8 | ladles chain
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| B2 | 8 | square through two - partners balance & pull by right, then neighbors pull by left
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| 8 | square through two - partners balance & pull by right, then neighbors pull by left ⁋
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introduces moves: down the hall, custom, up the hall, dolphin hey
formation: Becket cw
| A1 | 2 | slide left along set ⁋
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| 6 | circle left 3 places
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| 8 | neighbors swing, end in a line of four facing down
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| A2 | 8 | down the hall and turn as a couple
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| 0 | Alternate: down the hall and turn alone
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| 8 | up the hall and ones face second ladle
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| B1 | 0 | Alternate: up the hall and twos face first ladle
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| 16 | dolphin hey - start with ones passing second ladle by right shoulders and do one extra pass to home sides
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| B2 | 0 | Alternate: dolphin hey - start with twos passing first ladle by right shoulders and do one extra pass to home sides
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| 16 | partners meltdown swing
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This dance holds a special place in my heart. I wrote it to commemorate my time in Louisville, KY when I realized I would be leaving. This was the last dance I called on a Monday night there before moving to Cincinnati, OH. Named after the famous line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I spent seven years as a native in the Louisville Contra scene and nine in the Louisville folk dance scene in general. It's the place where I found my love of country dance and learned my craft as a caller and choreographer. It is, undoubtedly, one of the best dance scenes in the country, and I look forward to returning as often as possible.
Update: I moved back to Louisville in 2020, so I guess I get to return to dance there every week now.
by: Al Olson
formation: improper
| A1 | 8 | neighbors allemande left once or once and a half
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| 8 | gentlespoons start a half hey - rights in center, lefts on ends (or ladles or mixed), end with someone facing in
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| A2 | 16 | same roles long swing in the center (or whoever is facing in), end near your neighbor
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| B1 | 8 | neighbors allemande left once or once and a half
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| 8 | ladles start a half hey - rights in center, lefts on ends (or gentlespoons or mixed)
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| B2 | 16 | neighbors balance & swing ⁋
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In both allemandes, you and your neighbor decide who's going in for the hey and, ultimately, who's going to be swinging in the center. End the neighbor swing facing a new neighbor.