~CG~ tops

Julian Bee notes that swapping the promenade for a R+L Thru is Linda Leslie's "Old Time Elixir #2", written in 1998. It's unclear when Dean wrote TTT, so both deserve a cross-reference. https://contradb.com/dances/474

http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern/437-butter-by-gene-hubert-becket

In this case there are 8 places in the circle, so going 4 places is equivalent to half way.

"The motion in B1 does seem magical – while the ladles Petronella over and back across the set, the gentlespoons do consecutive Petronellas along the side, in effect progressing behind his partner’s back."
- Rich Goss

A variation of the dance Old Time Elixir by Mike Boerschig.

Written for Andrea Craft from Chicago when they needed a straightforward dance with box circulates in it. Very similar to “Minimum Fuss, Maximum Fun” by Dean Snipes, which differs slightly in the A1 and A2.

http://chrispagecontra.awardspace.us/dances/index.htm#accretion-reel

[1] What ring? The circle at the end of B2. The first time through the dance, skip this part, and begin straight with the individual scatter promenade. (John Sweeney came up with a cool alternate beginning, with everyone in one big circle, before breaking it up into individual pieces. If so, you definitely also want the big circle for the final time through.)
David Millstone writes about a nice modification of this for ONS groups: "Chris's dance calls for folks to balance in and out, and even though I demonstrated that to a group, their inclination was to go into the center in four counts with a whoop! and their arms rising up. Who am I to fight the natural tendency of the dancers? I suspect that this feels more satisfying, and it still gives them 12 beats to say goodbye to their circle and to walk alone to find a new partner."
[2] When I'm calling for ONS (one-night-stand) groups, I'll use "say goodbye" here. Then when they gyre later on, it's "say hello, and go around them, looking at them."
[3] Those allergic to gyres may wish to substitute a do-si-do, or skip it altogether and go straight to the swing. For an ONS group, substitute the swing with a two-allemande, elbow swing, or "whatever you think a swing should be."
[4] For more advanced groups, the gypsy can be with more than one other person. And the swing can be a basket swing.
[5] Last time through the dance, I like to have everyone promenade in one giant circle. Ditto for the final circles.
[6] Here each couple needs to find a few other couples to circle with. Lone couples could always two-allemande each other. James Hutson came up with a nice term for these variable-sized circles -- blobs.

The dance I consider my best. Usable both for non-dancing crowds, and with regular contra groups.

I wrote it after attending a contra dance with a number of beginners that kept breaking down over and over and over. On the way back, I thought what would have worked (a dance that intentionally broke down each time), and came up with a dance that I kept refining and simplifying down to this. It was partly also inspired by Ted Sannella's "Ted's Solo Mixer" and the scatter mixer "Set a' Crochet."

The dance's name came from ideas of planetary system formation, where larger and larger chunks of matter spiral inwards from gravity, accreting to form planetisemals, and then planets. The analogy goes bad where everybody separates every thirty seconds, but you could just consider that a periodic supernova event.

After having danced this, the A1/A2 feels sort of like the rush of looking for a partner, though here the commitment's only for 20 seconds. Kind of reminiscent of the cabeceo of tango.

Videos: (#1) (#2)

Bradley Smith Notes: Originally, the last figure of this dance was a neighbor do-si-do 1 1/2, but I usually swap it for the ring balance and pass through to make the progression as simple as possible for inexperienced dancers.

Written one night when I left my cards on the kitchen table. Sent a friend
to retrieve them, but in the meantime wrote this as a stopgap. It remained
nameless for a couple of years till Robert Cromartie called it and afterward
Gene Hubert asked "What was the name of that Awesome Double
Progression Dance?"

Connected and flowing

In the pull-by left, keep left hands and take right hands with a new neighbor to reform long waves.
For better entry, consider an allemande left 1/2 rather than a pull-by left, so that all hands are at the correct height for long waves.

Written for Joyce Fortune of the Bay Area, won at the auction of the 2010 Spring Fever dance camp at Monte Toyon, CA. She requested a dance with long lines, some balances, and a swing/circle/swing transition. (A surprisingly tough set of requirements to fulfill.) This sequence was the option she liked best.

Written in 1985 for the 20th anniversary of her parents' wedding, these being their wedding flowers.

Obsoleted by http://contradb.com/dances/504

During the pass through, have the gentlespoons walk ahead of their partner. This improves the transition into the swing.

Paul Balliet notes: The idea to progress in a promenade came from Gene Hubert's dance, "Gang of Four." I first called this at the 1993(?) "Balance and Swim," a favorite dance party thrown by Charlotte and Rich Cobos in West Virginia.

Fairport Harbor lies east of Cleveland along Lake Erie.

Russel Owen Notes:
Teaching tip (especially helpful for less experienced dancers): while dancers are swinging their new neighbor, mention that if you have your partner then you are about to be out. Otherwise such couples may attempt to join the ladles chain.

Calling tip: remind the dancers who are out to join the promenade. It can be difficult to recover if a couple forgets.

This dance is from American Country Dances On Line
http://www.quiteapair.us/calling/acdol/dance/acd_52.html

It helps to tell people not to clap after the second petronella and to use their momentum to spin into the star left.

I call the second half of A2 by saying "Gentlespoons loop, ladles allemande once and a half". Also, it is important to note, that part is 8 counts long, so the gentlespoons should take a long circular walk, similar to the ends of a hey, coming back in to meet their partner when they finish the inner allemande. However, the worst case is that they stand around looking silly for a few counts waiting for their partner instead, so it's not that big a deal. Usually I step in to demonstrate what I mean during the walkthrough.

+(see John Coffman dances for explanation/video)

I don't know where star loops come from originally but I found them while calling some John Coffman dances like Captain Kirk's Halibut and Personality Plus.

Dosido as much as you want, until it’s time to balance - it’s still a free country, for now.

Available at https://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/tony_parkes/flirtation_reel.html

Bradley Smith Notes: The first time through the dance, the ladles allemande Left in A1 is with the couple that you start the dance with. Every time after that, the ladles have to look to the right to find the next ladle to allemande. It's a very simple progression that just requires reminding the ladles to look for the next ladle in line after the forward and back

Transcribed from memory, please test before calling for dancers.

The A1 neighbor swing is a new neighbor each time after the first through the dance.

Inspired by Cheat Lake Twirl by Perry Shafran

Cary Ravitz notes: This dance is an easier version of Through the Looking Glass, or you
might see it as Amy Kahn's Sweet Music with a different progression,
or Steve Zakon-Anderson's Twirling at the Alter with the progression
moved from the hey to the circle, or David Zinkin's Becky's Becket
with a different A2.

http://www.dance.ravitz.us/dance2011.htm#hg

Bob Isaacs notes: Hailing from Urbana, IL, Orace Johnson was a pillar of the Midwest contra community until his passing in 1991 while contra dancing. This simple dance is as pure as it gets. It also inspired one of the best contra books, Midwest Folklore, a collection of the best dances from the Midwest’s best choreographers.

Bradley Smith Notes:
The first time through the dance, the gentlespoons do-si-do in A1 is with the couple that you start the dance with. Every time after that, the gentlespoons have to look to the left to find the next gentlespoon to do-si-do. It's a very simple progression that just requires reminding gentlepoons that they must look to the left every time through the dance after the first to find the next gentlespoon to Do-si-do.

video at: http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern/108-a-nice-combination

One of my favorite dances. A pure groove dance from top to bottom.