Program 2

Written to fulfill some criteria I had for a teaching dance:

• First swing is with partner. Pairing beginners intentionally with experienced dancers for teaching loses some utility if they end up spending the lengthily-practiced first swing with their inevitably inexperienced neighbor.
• Chain and promenade, but no right and left through. Rehearse and reinforce courtesy turns before dancers are even given the option to mistakenly turn alone.
• Clear progression. So we can talk about progression.

I picture the B1 promenade in courtesy turn position, as it was the local custom where I danced at the time, it allows transfer of knowledge from the ladles chain, and it makes for a lovely partner moment as you are reunited for a cozy, leisurely walk across the set. However, don't feel you have to make a special request if your community's customary promenade differs.

The original B2 of this dance was "circle left, balance the ring, pass through" to emphasize the progression and leave some recovery time. In practice, I found that the extra time wasn't needed even for new dancers, and that it consistently caused the ladles to hesitate before starting the A1. The new ending tightens the timing and gives the ladles a nice flow into their allemande. (New dancers running behind can just skip the do-si-do.)

The ladles' allemande was changed from left-hand to right-hand based on a comment made by Lisa Greenleaf. Both work equally well out of the do-si-do, but the ladles benefit from having a left hand free to start the partner swing.

Number: DJP-000
Composed: State College, PA, fall 2012.
Debuted: Harrisburg, PA, 2012-10-12.
Updated: Warrenville, IL, fall 2018; again in summer 2019.

Bob Fab notes: While it does not have waves at the sides, it has them in the middle so you can use it when the hall is too short for everyone to be in the same waves.

It is an excellent dance for incorporating a large group of beginners, because you hardly ever are without someone in your hand, and the storyline is nice.

Dancers will try to rush the mad robin to include the gentlespoons cross in A2. Remind them there is plenty of time to complete the figure. Written for Robin Wilson in 2011

a request was made on the Contra Callers facebook group for any easy dances with balances halfway through both A1 and A2. Yoyo wrote this and commented it on the Facebook thread on October 23, 2019.

Dancers waiting out need to stand the wrong way (ladle on the left) to come back in on the second mad robin). This is the second dance that I wrote at Holiday World on August 6, 2025, while waiting in line for The Voyage. The name comes from the portion of track on The Voyage that is back in the woods and extremely twisted, called "the spaghetti bowl" by coaster enthusiasts.

Intended to make a left-hand chain feel good, to be accessible to new dancers, and to have flow that facilitates positional calling. Tested at Dance, Music and Spice Week (Camp Cavell 2019), where dancer Ruth Scodel said that it reminded her why she fell in love with contra dancing.