The following dances are mostly by me, David Smukler. To see dances by other authors, return to David's Dance Page. If you'd like to come see me in action, check out my calling and music schedule.

As you'll discover if you read my notes on the dances, many of these dances closely resemble other people's dances, but have been tweaked by me in one way or another. I try always to give credit for the dance that inspired my variation. I apologize to all the original authors whose material I so shamelessly pirate for my own use. I offer back all these dances to the folk process, confident that the few that have the most merit may further evolve in the hands of a more imaginative choreographer.

Feel free to experiment with my dances. And please contact me if you have any questions or comments about them.

The Bride's a Bonny Thing
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Balance and swing your neighbor, ending progressed
A2	Long lines forward and back Actives only swing in the center, ending the swing facing the music
B1	Actives up the hall, turn as a couple Return down the hall and do a full cast around with your same neighbor
B2	Down the hall 4-in-line, do not turn Active couple make an arch and back up, second couple pass through the arch

Nearly identical to Dillon Bustin's dance, Anne's a BrideTonight. I changed A2, which originally consisted of stars by the RH and LH, and as a consequence of that change the actives must turn as a couple in B1 instead of turning as individuals. My version has slightly more flowing connections and an opportunity to swing your partner - not a bad thing for a wedding dance.

This dance was created for the "hand-fasting" of Morris dance friends, Susan Galbraith and Dan Clark.

Country Dance Romance
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Looking at your partner, "sideways do-si-do" with your neighbor [see note] Take 2 hands with partner and poussette 3/4 (ladies moving forward 1st), until the gents stand back to back in the center
A2	Hey-for-4 (start by passing partner's right shoulder)
B1	Gypsy partner and swing
B2	Two gents allemande left 1-1/2 Gents scoop up your neighbor around the waist and star promenade ALL the way around back to this spot (no time for a "butterfly whirl")

To do the "sideways do-si-do," walk the same path as a neighbor do-si-do, but maintain your gaze and your attention on your partner across the set. If this action confuses the dancers, it can be replaced with an ordinary neighbor do-si-do with little damage to the figure.

This is my variation on Don Armstrong's dance, Calvin Crest. The gentle and sweet English poussette into the hey is entirely Don's idea, and the heart of this dance. What I call a "sideways do-si-do" is similar to the chase figure in the English country dance, Mad Robin, except that -- as in several contra dances that borrow this figure -- both couples are moving at once.

The title is meant to include an obscure reference to my friends in Rochester, NY, whose dance organization is named CDR, for Country Dancers of Rochester. Have you heard the term TLA, for three-letter acronym? I learned about a silly TLA: TFZ, which stands for TLA-free zone....

A Delicate Balance
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Couple 1 acting as a unit, hey-for-3 across the set (start by passing gent 2 by right shoulders)
A2	Down the hall, 4-in-line (1's in the center), turn alone Return, face your neighbor
B1	Balance and swing neighbor
B2	Long lines forward and back Couple one swing

A Delicate Balance was created May 2, 2004 and first danced one week later.

Driving to Olean
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Couple 1 lead through the couple below, separate and come back to place Do-si-do partner once around, and join hands with couple 2
A2	Circle to the left, four hands round And back to the right
B1	Balance the ring and swing neighbor End the swing facing down the hall
B2	Down the hall 4-in-line, turn alone Return; as the phrase ends couple 2 make an arch and couple 1 dive through

I put this together on March 10, 2007 and tried it out for the first time the same evening with a crowd that included many newcomers. I had been driving to Olean, NY quite regularly for my day job, but on that day I was headed there to a dance. The do-si-do in A1 was originally a two-hand turn. I think the do-si-do times out better. Most dancers don't need eight counts for a two-hand turn. Driving to Olean uses a sequence I really like that I stole shamelessly from the second half of Bob Dalsemer's Jefferson Revisited. I used the same sequence in Forsythia. Since the dance ends with the ones ducking under an arch formed by the twos, the first lead through quickly becomes ducking under a second arch.

Fairfield Connection
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Dos-a-dos neighbor And swing
A2	Circle to the left, four hands round And back to the right, ones let go to form a line-of-4 facing down
B1	Down the hall 4-in-line, turn alone Return; as the phrase ends couple 2 make an arch and couple 1 dive through
B2	With new neighbors, ladies chain up and down the hall And back

Assembled May 18, 2007 by combining Dick Forscher's Fairfield Fancy with a sequence that I borrowed from the second half of Bob Dalsemer's Jefferson Revisited. I used the same sequence in Forsythia and Driving to Olean.

Fall Back
a double progression duple improper contra dance

A1	Down the center 4-in-line (4) turning toward your neighbor as you take the fourth step so that all are facing up, and "fall back" (4) to continue down the hall Come forward (4), turning again on the fourth step to face down, and finally "fall back" (4) to finish returning to place, bending the line on the last 2 counts to form a ring
A2	Circle right 1x (8) "Ladies lead left hands across": Ladies turn by the left hand just halfway (2), gents join in behind their neighbors and all star left 3/4 with a hands across star (6)
B1	Do-si-do the next neighbor and swing
B2	Long lines forward and back Actives only swing in the middle

Fall Back was originally composed in January of 2002. It used to be called, "Never Mind." Eventually, I decided the title was a liability. When I wrote another dance called Spring Forward that used a mirror image of the progression sequence in A2, a better title for this dance became obvious! The dance was revised into its current form on November 29, 2007.

A1 is a modified version of a figure from the English Country dance, Dublin Bay. There are a few other nice contra dances that use it as well. One is by Paul Balliet and another by Sue Rosen.

I believe it was Larry Jennings who used to say, "Happiness is a double progression dance with an odd number of couples."

Forsythia
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left all the way round Allemande right this neighbor 1-1/2
A2	Allemande left the next neighbor, make it twice With original neighbor do-si-do
B1	Balance and swing this neighbor, end facing down
B2	Down the hall 4-in-line, turn alone Return, couple 2 make an arch and couple 1 dive through

Written sometime in 2004. The second half is borrowed from Bob Dalsemer's dance, Jefferson Revisited. The title (which arrived in the spring of 2006) was not chosen to refer to anything in particular. I just love seeing all that cheerful yellow in the spring.

Frog in the Well
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Take hands 4 and balance the ring (4); circle left (8); California twirl to face old neighbor (4)
A2	With this neighbor balance and swing
B1	Two gents allemande left just 1/2-way Swing partner
B2	Balance the ring (4); twirl to the right (as in Petronella) just once! (4) Immediately, dip and dive 2 places (1's start by going under)

A dance about looking back and moving forward. This dance used to be called Rites of Passage. Its current form was created in June of 2000.

Hello Rose
a duple improper contra dance

A1	With neighbor, balance, box the gnat And swing
A2	Circle left 3/4 Do-si-do partner
B1	With partner, balance, box the gnat And swing
B2	Ladies chain across Left-hand star

This dance is really just the same as The Baby Rose by David Kaynor. The only change is the addition of the "box the gnat" figure, which is borrowed in this context from Tony Parkes' dance Ashokan Hello. I made the change because I think of The Baby Rose as an excellent dance for newcomers, except for the fact that many newcomers fatigue easily in a dance with two 12-count swings. My variation makes it feel fancier without adding any real difficulty, meanwhile shortening the swings to 8 counts each.

Kathy's Smile
a double progression duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left As couples, weave the set, zig-zagging first to the left and right past neighbor couple #1, and then to the right and left past neighbor couple #2
A2	Circle left with neighbor couple #3 Same four left-hand star
B1	With neighbor #2, balance and swing
B2	Long lines forward and back Couple 1 swing, end facing down

Kathy's Smile was composed on December 28, 2005 while I was trying to create yet another version of my Voyager dance. When I realized that what I had come up with was so similar to Kathy Anderson's wonderful dance, Weave the Line, I decided to name the result for her.

Meadowbrook Contra
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Balance and swing neighbor
A2	Give-and-take (men drawing women back to their side) and swing partner
B1	Circle left 3/4, pass neighbor by right shoulder Continue to promenade single file along the set, turn alone
B2	Return to the same neighbor Allemande left that neighbor, "make it twice" (end facing original direction)

This dance was named for a little stream near my house. I know there are fractious fractions people who will argue with the "make it twice" in B2. Assuming you meet that neighbor side by side (such that you could take hands in a wavy line-of-4), the allemande turn is actually 1-3/4. The goal of the turn is to launch you toward a new neighbor just in time for the balance. If dancers know whether they are heading up or down to find the next (always the opposite direction from which they enter this allemande), no counting need interfere with their dancing pleasure.

In an effort to create a dance modeled on Tony Parkes' Middlesex March, I ended up with two very different results. This is the first, and more closely resembles the model. The other is Le Voyageur, which I have subsequently varied to create at least two other dances.

More or Less
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Do-si-do neighbor Allemande right the same 1-1/2 to form long wavy lines at the sides (men facing in and women out)
A2	Balance (to the right first), slide or spin to the right as in Rory O'More Balance the new wave (to the left this time), slide or spin to the left
B1	Allemande right once around, gents walk straight across the set Swing partner
B2	Circle left just 3/4 Balance the ring, California twirl to face new neighbors

Alternately, B2 can be a 1/2 right and left and a ladies chain. Each version has its advantages; neither is "more or less" perfect.

There are lots of other dances out there like this one and it would not surprise me to find out it was a dance that someone else came up with first. I was thinking about Lisa Greenleaf's Stripes and Solids, but I wanted Rory O'More spins that visit new neighbors each time (not a "stuck in the shadows" dance - although I realize that Rory O'More, one of my favorite dances, could be characterized that way).

Newfangled Contraption 2
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Right-hand star with your current neighbors Left-hand star with your former neighbors
A2	Right hand to original neighbor and grand right and left along the line Allemande left neighbor 4 to face back the way you came, and reverse grand right and left past neighbor 3 and neighbor 2
B1	Balance and swing your original neighbor
B2	Long lines forward and back Actives only swing in the middle

This is a 2002 revision of one of the first dances I cobbled together in 1980. The earlier version was much more confusing, and I hadn't used it for years. The revision may make it worth looking at again.

Nova Nova Scotian
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Do-si-do neighbor Actives do-si-do
A2	Down the hall 3-in-line, active gent between 2 ladies (6) "RH's high and LH's low" to reverse direction (4); return (6)
B1	All balance and swing partners
B2	Ladies chain across Left-hand star

One of my first dance compositions. I used the 3-in-line idea from the Nova Scotian by Maurice Hennigar, but varied the dance out of all recognition. Avoid starting the RH's high too soon in A2. Otherwise dancers get home early, before the balance in B1.

Here's another variant, the "Supernova Scotian." I sometimes medley these two dances. This version is in print in the ninth edition of Dance a While.

Supernova Scotian
a duple improper contra dance

A1	(same as above)
A2	Down the hall 3-in-line, active lady between 2 gents; "RH's high and LH's low" to reverse direction; return
B1	(same as above)
B2	Right and left through Circle L 3/4, pass through along the set

Pining for You
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Gypsy neighbor and swing
A2	Long lines forward and back Gents allemande left 1-1/2
B1	Balance and swing partners
B2	Circle left 3/4; with neighbors roll away with a 1/2 sashay; cross trail through across the set

This is my adaptation of Pinewoods Crossing, a dance written by a committee of all-stars. I find the sequence at the end of that dance very pleasing. I wanted a dance that preserved that feature, but was a bit simpler in other regards.

Pleasantly Surprised
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Neighbors do-si-do Same 4 left-hand star 1/2-way, right-hand star 1/2-way with next neighbors
A2	These 4 right and left through across the set Actives right and left back with those on the other side of you (original neighbors)
B1	Active couples down the center, turn alone Return and cast off
B2	Actives balance and swing in the center, end facing down

I composed Pleasantly Surprised in honor of the engagement of my sister Freya Kamel to Mike Lamvik, the news of which was an even more pleasant surprise than when they announced they could come to my fiftieth birthday celebratory contra dance! The surprise in the dance comes with the 2nd R&L, which starts from unexpected positions, but ends up just fine with everyone in original positions.

I suspect that the older dance, Elegance and Simplicity, had some sort of acknowledgement toward each neighbor couple before the star, since eight counts is such a generous amount of time to turn a star just 1/2-way. I have taught it as take hands in a star, balance in and out, and turn the star 1/2-way.

The traditional dance may well be "elegant," but it is anything but "simple." Not only is the timing hard to make work on the stars, but the right and left through figures that return the actives to place are quirky. If you use the version given below, the first R&L ends with a same sex turn, and the second one ends with the lady on the left and gent on the right for the turn. The proper version reverses this, but both include that mixed gender turn with the neighbor on the unanticipated side.

My dance does not entirely eliminate that quirk (which is, after all, part of the dance's charm), but the first R&L is one that dancers will find more "normal." Timing for the stars is made tighter and more "modern," and a swing is added for the active couple. Figures are also arranged to attempt to improve the flow from one figure to the next. Changing the dance from a triple minor to a duple minor dance gives the 2nd couples fewer opportunities to doze (just as in other dances that have made that switch, such as Chorus Jig or Careless Sally).

My hope is that this dance for Freya and Mike, despite the many modernizations, retains some of the feel and character of the older dance, but does so in a way that will be more accessible and interesting to 21st century contra dancers.

For comparison's sake, here are the figures for the traditional dance:

Elegance and Simplicity, traditional
a triple minor contra dance, couple one is improper

A1	Right-hand star 1/2-way with couple below Left-hand star 1/2-way with next couple below
A2	1/2 right and left through with couple above 1/2 right and left through with next above
B1	Active couples down the center, turn alone Return and cast off
B2	Ladies 1 and 2, chain over and back

Another version of Elegance and Simplicity is proper, and ends with a right and left four instead of the ladies chain.

Ringtones
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left all the way round And swing neighbor
A2	Ladies chain across, form a ring-of-4 Balance the ring, rollaway with your neighbor across the set and re-form the ring
B1	Balance the ring and swing your partner on the side
B2	Circle left 3/4 Balance the ring, California twirl

This is based on a dance by David Kaynor with no name. I like David's dance a lot, and once asked him what he called it. He said that he had not decided. As this was after I'd heard him call the dance several times, I started calling it (his dance) "Not Ready to Commit." David's dance is a Becket formation contra. The part I liked and stole for Ringtones is the sequence starting with the chain and ending with the partner swing, half the dance! The final version (and title) arrived on December 11, 2007.

Riverbend
a double progression duple improper contra dance

A1	Down the hall, actives in the middle of a line-of-4, turn alone Return and face across
A2	Right and left through across the set 1/2 hey-for-4 (women begin by passing right shoulders)
B1	With next neighbor, balance and swing
B2	Circle left all the way round Actives swing in the middle

Riverbend is a slightly rearranged double progression version of an earlier dance The Price of Gas, that was retired as unusable. It is named for a wonderful band from western New York State. It is much more forgiving than its predecessor, which had beastly end effects. The idea came to me on April 18, 2006, while planning for a dance I was scheduled to call with the band, Riverbend, later in the month.

Role Away
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Actives in the center, go down the hall in a line-of-4, turn alone Return and form a ring
A2	Balance the ring, neighbors rollaway with a half sashay Chain the gents across to partner (see note)
B1	Gents do-si-do 1-1/2 Swing your neighbor
B2	Long lines forward and back Actives swing in the center

Composed with helpful advice from my son, Micah during a dance trip on 1/19/02. In A2, either way works, but I prefer having it be the gents that roll. To "chain the gents," do not do a normal gents chain (if there is such a thing...), but chain them as if they were ladies and the ladies were gents. So: two gents give each other right hands, pull by, left to their partners, and she wheels him around with a courtesy turn and sends him back to the center for a do-si-do. Ladies seem to enjoy the gents' shenanigans in this dance.

It was not for at least a year after I first used Role Away that I noticed its marked similarity to Ted Sannella's classic Scout House Reel. The two make a nice medley, the message being that turnabout is fair play. (Thanks to Judy Greenhill for pointing this out.)

Ross's Reel
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left once around Swing your neighbor
A2	As in Hull's Victory, actives allemande right half, give left to (same sex) neighbor to form a wave, and balance the wave Balance again, allemande left once
B1	Actives turn contra corners (the active lady's first contra corner is the gent she swung in A1)
B2	Actives balance and swing

This started as an attempt to write an "alternating" contra corners dance of the sort invented by Jim Kitch. I eventually decided it was better off as an unequal dance, although you are welcome to dance it with 1's and 2's alternately taking the active role if you wish. If you do, every other time the word "actives" in A2, B1 and B2 refers to the 2nd couple instead of the 1st. The dance is named for Ross's Reel #4, one of my favorite tunes, and one which I think fits the dance well.

Sam's March
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Right-hand star Promenade neighbor along own line (the entire set moving in a clockwise oval)
A2	Turn as a couple and promenade back Ladies chain across to partner
B1	Pass through across and swing partner
B2	Gents allemande left 1-1/2 Ladies join in (following partner) for a left-hand star; look for the next

Named for my son Sam and written on his 4th birthday: November 6, 1994. The B-parts were revised in 2007 for Sam's 17th birthday. In the star in A1, the lady is in front of her neighbor; he accelerates slightly (moving a bit to the left) to join her for the promenade.

Skaneateles
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left And back to the right
A2	Balance the ring and swing neighbor
B1	Promenade across the set Half right and left back home
B2	Long lines forward and back Active couple swing, end facing the next

Named after a finger lakes dance community, home of the "Cabin Fever" dance series. Skaneateles was composed in 2003.

Spring Forward
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Balance and swing neighbor
A2	Gents allemande left 1-1/2 Swing partner
B1	Right and left through Balance the ring, spin one place to the right as in Petronella
B2	"Gents lead into right hands across": gents turn halfway by right hand (2), ladies join in behind partner and all star right 3/4 with a hands across star (6) Next neighbors do-si-do (8)

The progression in B2 went through several stages of evolution. Originally it was intended to be an adaptation of Rod Linnell's "star cast off," which some dancers may remember from the 1960s or 70s. The figure was briefly popular with dance authors. Unfortunately, I think it was not so much fun for the dancers, and it never did catch on. I hoped my modification would be a great improvement. However, after pestering patient dance crowds with it several times, a dancer friend offered me some gentle feedback that convinced me to give up on the sequence. And now having further altered the progression to its present state, I realize that it is no longer recognizably related to the original Rod Linnell figure. Be that as it may, you can find the mirror image of the "spring forward" progression in my companion dance, Fall Back.

Spring Forward borrows heavily from the choreography of Tony Parkes, being modeled on great dances like Gene's Genius and Spring Fever. It was originally composed on March 29, 2006, and I chose the title to acknowledge my debt to Spring Fever as well as in anticipation of the time change that was to come on April 2nd of that year. It was revised to its current state on November 29, 2007.

Stopping By Woods
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Balance and swing neighbor, end facing down
A2	Down the hall 4-in-line, turn as couples Return, bend the line
B1	Circle left Ladies chain across
B2	Chain back Left-hand star

This "glossary" dance is really just a slight reorganization of Tony Parkes' Woods Hole Jig. Creating a good, but easy dance is much more challenging than creating a complex one, and Tony's skill is worth emulating. After coming up with this version and giving it a title sometime late in 2002, I promptly forgot about it for several months.

I like this (or Woods Hole Jig) as the first dance of an evening. Like Lady Walpole's Reel, the traditional first dance in some quarters, it has no partner swing. Ralph Page used to jokingly refer to Lady Walpole's as the "Married Man's Favorite," because a gentleman could fulfil his obligation to dance the first dance with his wife and still get to swing all of the other ladies instead. However, there is a sounder reason to begin the evening with a dance that has no partner swing. It prevents newcomers who are dancing together from learning lackluster swing habits from each other.

Syracuse Special
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Long lines forward and back Actives swing
A2	Down the hall, the actives in the center of a line-of-4 Swing your neighbor before you return
B1	Return, the actives still in the center, and bend the line Circle left all the way round
B2	Ladies chain, over and back

A fairly easy dance based on Whynot's Special, by Roger Whynot. Alternatively you could begin on A2 and end with the partner swing. The neighbor swing is a bit unexpected but dancers seem to find it pleasing. Callers, be careful not to go on autopilot and say, "Turn alone and come on back," instead of prompting the neighbor swing. I have both made this mistake myself and seen others do it.

Syracuse Weathervane
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Do-si-do neighbor And swing
A2	Two gents allemande left 1-1/2 Pick up partner, star promenade 1/2 and butterfly whirl, ladies hook right right elbows
B1	Turn this "weathervane" all the way (12) Cast 3/4, a courtesy turn (4)
B2	Ladies chain Left-hand star

My variation on Yucaipa Weathervane by Ed Gilmore.

Theory of Mind
a duple improper contra dance

Begin in a wavy line-of-4 across the hall. Neighbors have right hands joined, and the two ladies have left hands joined.

A1	Balance the wave, slide to the right (as in Rory O'More) Balance again (starting to the left), slide to the left
A2	Balance and swing neighbor
B1	Circle left 3/4 and swing partner
B2	Ladies chain across Left hand star into a wavy line-of-4 with next neighbors (take RH's with neighbor and ladies take LH's)

The rather opaque title refers to research I do when I'm not contradancing. Sometimes it's hard to come up with a title....

It turns out that Theory of Mind is almost identical to a dance called United We Dance that Bob Isaacs wrote as a response to the World Trade Center Bombing in September of 2001. A few months later (May 19, 2002), Gary Shapiro came up with the same sequence as Bob. He called it Amy's Parallel Universe. Sometime after I first posted Theory of Mind, Gary wrote to tell me about his dance:

This is Bill Olson's dance, "Dancing With Amy," but from a parallel universe. I took Bill's dance, changed the starting point to halfway through the dance, changed every occurence of Partner to Neighbor and vice versa, and changed the diagonal chain to straight across. That was it, and to my amazement, it works.

The only difference between my dance and the others is that in Bob (or Gary's) dance A1 begins with long wavy lines, with the current neighbor in your right hand and the former neighbor in your left. I'm pretty sure that all three of us came up with the idea independently and starting from different places. As usual mine came in last, on June 2, 2004.

Voyager II
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left all the way round As couples weave the set, zigging left around 1st neighbor couple and right around 2nd neighbor couple
A2	With 3rd neighbor couple circle left once around with determination, and then trade hands with your partner to face 2nd neighbor couple and form a ring with them Balance this ring, 1's are facing up and 2's down: pass through to original neighbors
B1	With original neighbor, balance, box the gnat And swing
B2	Long lines forward and back Actives swing

Variations upon variations. This dance is a variation of Le Voyageur below, although I like a notier tune with it. In the beginning of A2, there really is time in 8 counts to circle once and turn around if you anticipate. The circle left is, after all, jump started by the weaving action that precedes it. If you prefer, B1 can be simply be a balance and swing, but with the right, bouncy tune I like the twirl.

And oh, those end effects! I generally try to avoid dances like this one where the end effects are confusing, but I think this one may be worth it, especially if the line is long and so that the percentage of people dealing with end effects is smaller. Here's the deal. For the most part if you come to the end of the set you should simply turn as a couple to face back into the set with your partner on the expected side (man on L, woman on R), and be ready for whoever comes toward you. The one exception is if you get to the end just at the beginning of A2 when the caller is saying "Circle left." In that situation, turn as individuals to face back into the set with your partner on the unexpected side of you. Good luck!

Le Voyageur
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Circle left all the way round Do-si-do neighbor
A2	Weave along your line and back as follows: pass neighbor 1 by right shoulder and neighbor 2 by left shoulder, gypsy neighbor 3, face the way you came and pass neighbor 2 by left shoulder again
B1	Balance and swing original neighbor
B2	Long lines forward and back Actives swing

The action in A2 is leisurely. Don't arrive too soon!

I was trying to create a dance modeled on Tony Parkes' Middlesex March, and ended up going in two different directions. The first dance, which more closely resembles the model, was the Meadowbrook Contra. This effort bears much less resemblence to Tony's dance. It's named for the tune Ronde de Voyageur.

Yearning for Peace
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Right hand balance your neighbor, box the gnat Right-hand star just halfway, turn single (loop) over your left shoulder and reach across the set to your partner with your left hand
A2	Left hand balance your partner, "swat the flea" Left-hand star just halfway, loop over your right shoulder
B1	Single file promenade (clockwise) within your group of 4, 3/4 of the way round Gents turn back and swing partners
B2	Long lines forward and back Circle left 3/4, pass through up and down the set, and give right hand to next

(Alternate A-parts)

A1	Allemande right your neighbor 1-1/2 All four right-hand star just halfway, loop left and reach across the set to your partner with your left hand
A2	Allemande left your partner 1-1/2 Left-hand star just halfway and loop right

The day I composed this (April 21, 2007) I was deeply discouraged by what seemed like a relentless stream of tragic stories on the daily news. I wanted with all my heart to call a dance that night that somehow suggested the theme of peace. First, I considered Erik Hoffman's wonderful dance, "There is No Way to Peace; Peace is the Way," but Erik's dance needs more space up and down the set than I was likely to have that night. Then I looked at a dance popular with English country dancers called Peace Be With You, written by Fried de Metz Herman. I started tinkering with it to try make it into a sequence that contra dancers would easily understand and enjoy, and this was the result. I did not call it that evening, but did on the next day. My first impulse was to give the dance the title "Sholom Aleichem," which is Yiddish for "Peace Be With You," but eventially settled on this title instead to try to convey a little of the sense of longing I felt as I worked on the dance.

The "swat the flea" figure is just a left handed "box the gnat." It may feel awkward at first, only because we do not frequently do this. One dancer has suggested to me that it may work better if the gent is turned under instead of the lady. Actually, as long as left hands are joined and you change places with your partner, it does not matter how the change is accomplished. You can turn the lady under, the gent under, or simply do a tight but slow little hand turn halfway in four counts. You will still be oriented the same way and when you put your left hands together with your neighbors' the star will form in similar fashion. Since the left hand balance is with your partner, I suggest partners work out between them what feels best. Or, if you wish, simply go with the smoother alternative A-parts above. Peace be unto you.

Zero Sum Game
a duple improper contra dance

A1	Balance and swing neighbor
A2	Gents allemande left 1-1/2 Partner swing
B1	Circle left all the way round Right and left through across the set
B2	Ladies chain back Left-hand star

I often think of the first dance I call during an evening as my "diagnostic" dance: a chance to see how the dancers handle various basic moves so that I can plan on what to call next. Based on Tony Parkes's Spring Fever, Zero Sum Game is a glossary dance that was composed (on July 5, 2006) to be the first dance of a particular dance weekend. Just after I wrote the dance I learned that I would not be calling the first dance of that weekend but starting later. The title refers to a belief I have about how dances and dance styles change, namely that each time we add something we lose something else. This doesn't mean we should avoid change, but it's helpful if we increase our awareness about what our choices mean. As an example of this, here's an alternative for B1: After the circle, replace the right and left with: twos arch and ones dive through (both couples crossing the set), then all California twirl.

Christmas Hornpipe
a duple proper contra dance

A1	Gent 1 down the center and take hands in a 3-person ring with lady 2 and lady 1 from the next group of 4 (a shadow) (4); balance the ring (4) Circle left one time (6) and gent 1 fall back to place (2)
A2	Lady 1 down the center and take hands with gent 2 and the next gent 1 (a shadow, who has just returned to place and remembered to face up) (4); these three balance in a ring (4) Circle left one time (6) and lady 1 fall back to place (2)
B1	Couple 1 down the center; the same way back, and cast off
B2	Right and left through, over and back (two ladies remain connected for the next A1)

This variant on the classic dance, Christmas Hornpipe (also known as Vinton's Hornpipe) occurred to me in April, 2005 while I was working on a "Cracking Chestnuts" column about the "real" Christmas Hornpipe for the CDSS News. There is a British version similar to this one, which I have only called once. It creates a fair amount of confusion, and I guess that's supposed to be part of the fun. Anyway, I tried to clarify the timing and build in a few safeguards against chaos. Even so, dancers should remain alert to make this work.

Green Mountain Petronella
a duple proper contra dance

A1	Actives only, round to the right and balance (as in Petronella) Repeat, leaving actives improper
A2	Allemande left neighbor 1-1/2 1/2 ladies chain
B1	All down center 2-by-2, #2's in the lead; turn as couples Return; 1's cast around 2's, unassisted
B2	Same 4, left-hand star Right-hand star

This dance needs a little extra space at the bottom of the set.

Hurdle Help
a duple proper contra dance

A1	Couple one dance a full figure eight down through the twos (Optional: the twos may participate to make it a full double figure eight)
A2	Couple one swing in the center All swing neighbor
B1	Circle left once around Ladies chain across
B2	Ladies chain back Couple one half figure eight through the couple above

Composed on April 30, 2007.

Thinking About Gene
a duple proper contra dance

A1	Long lines forward and back Actives turn by the left hand 1-1/2
A2	Balance and swing neighbor
B1	Ladies roll back over right shoulder, loop around neighbor and across the set (6); all circle left 3/4 (until ones are above) (6); couple one arch, the twos dive through and separate out to the ends of a line-of-4 (4)
B2	Down the hall, couple one turn as a couple (others turn alone) Return, hand cast

Composed March 13, 2006. Gene Hubert's choreography has been so influential. The week after he died, like many others, I included several of his dances in the program I called. Thinking about the range of his dances, this sequence occurred to me. The timing indicated in B1 is approximate. What is important is to get moving (ladies) and keep moving (all); there is no time to waste.

Three Steps Down
a duple proper contra dance

A1	Actives allemande right 1-1/2 Do-si-do neighbor
A2	Right-hand star Left-hand back
B1	Down the hall, 4-in-line (actives in the center) just 3 steps, allemande left neighbor Actives swing
B2	Come up the hall, 4-in-line, hand cast Long lines forward and back

For crowds who can absorb this detail, I like to make the do-si-do in A1 symmetrical with 2's splitting 1's. This is opposite of dances like Symmetrical Force, so I sometimes call it a "down-the-outside do-si-do" for the actives (who are on the move from their allemande turn). Snappy calling (and dancing) is important for the B1 part so that actives meet in time to swing.

Beck and Call
a Becket formation contra dance

A1	Long lines go forward and back Circle left 3/4, pass through along the set
A2	With the new neighbor, do-si-do 1-1/4 to form a wavy line-of-4 Balance that wave, slide or spin to the right and re-form the wave as in Rory O'More
B1	Balance to the left, slide or spin to the left Swing your neighbor
B2	Circle left 3/4 and swing partner

Written originally to fit into a medley of Becket dances that never happened. My goal was to write a Becket dance that used Rory O'More spins, similar to Becky Hill's More of a Becket, but that progressed to the left instead of to the right. As often happens to me when I start tinkering with choreography, more things happened than just my original goal.

Gents Give, Ladies Take
a Becket formation contra dance

At the end of each time through this dance, the new neighboring couple is on the left diagonal instead of directly across.

A1	As couples, "yearn" on left diagonal (go 3 steps forward on the left diagonal, push off other couple to back straight into lines facing that new couple) Those 4, come back together and circle L 3/4 (end on side of set with neighbor)
A2	Allemande right neighbor 1-1/2 Half hey-for-4 (starts gents passing left shoulders)
B1	Gypsy neighbor And swing
B2	Give-and-take (to lady's side): Go forward as couples, ladies draw your partner back to your side of the set and swing him there

This dance is a variation on Larry Jennings's dance Give-and-Take I. Larry invented the "give-and-take" figure. He used it a few dances, and many others have borrowed it as well. My version is close to Larry's original, but tinkers somewhat with the gender roles. To "give-and-take" the dancers go forward in half shoulder waist position, and then partners take one another's free hand move back to place and swing. The figure works best if the gents resist a little (but not too much!). Larry's preferred timing was to go forward for two beats and return in two more, moving directly into a twelve-count swing. It is often reinterpreted to be four counts forward and four to return, with an eight-count swing. This dance was originally composed in the early 1990s, and later revised to use the "yearn" to progress. As far as I know, it is the first dance to "give-and-take" back to the women's side, a variation that Larry once vigorously told me he disapproved of, but later (in the spirit of give-and-take) accepted.

The term "yearn" for the first figure was coined by George Walker, a dancer and dance composer from Seattle, who invented the figure. George's "yearn," however, is double progression; you move forward diagonally left and greet a couple with whom you will not be dancing, and then back off diagonally left to end facing your new new neighbors. I suppose this dance could be done as a double progression dance in that fashion, but my intention is to have you interact with all the other couples, so I prefer it as given above. If you fall way back during the yearn so that it takes a couple of steps to reconnect, the allemande right is less likely to begin early.

I think of this as a smooth and mysterious dance, but you never know what some dancers will do with your ideas. I once found myself laughing out loud from the microphone as I watched two dancers improvise a version of the give-and-take figure in which the lady pulled the gentleman back to her line by his ear.

Maid Marian's Fancy
a Becket formation contra dance

A1	Circle left 3/4 and swing neighbor
A2	Long lines forward and back Two ladies allemande right 3/4 and allemande left 3/4 with the next lady (meanwhile, gents shift to the left)
B1	Hey-for-4 (start by passing partner by the right shoulder)
B2	Balance and swing partner

This was composed for the fortieth birthday of Michael Miller, a morris dancer from Syracuse who always plays the female lead in the mummers play on May Day morning (hence the title). Mike enjoys being playful about eye contact, and originally B2 was a gypsy to a swing. It's fine with me if you want to do it like that, but I've come to prefer a balance and swing for this dance.

A2 is, of course, lifted directly from David Kaynor's wonderful dance, Mary Cay's Reel.

Never Ending Love
a Becket formation contra dance

A1	Swing partner Long lines forward and back
A2	Circle left 3/4, pass through along the set to new neighbors Do-si-do this neighbor
B1	Allemande left the neighbor you left behind and swing the one you do-si-do'd
B2	Same four, balance in a ring and spin to the right one place as in Petronella Balance again, begin a partner swing (continue to swing as the dance starts over)

I've had a version of this dance in my notes since the early 1980s. I believe that this version from May 20, 2004, is much more dance-worthy than the earlier one. The gimmick, of course is the swing that ties the end to the beginning. Ted Sannella used a similar device in a dance called Ted's Whim.

My earlier version was dedicated - as I am - to my partner Laurel, who remains very tolerant of my dance habit. Believing that the dance has only gotten better (much as the relationship has), I dedicate this one to her as well.

The question arises: how to end the dance? I suppose you could improvise some other sort of B2. Or just sort of dribble out. I usually leave out the second balance in the B2 above, leaving an 8-count partner swing to close.

The Showers of May
a Becket formation contra dance

A1	Shift left one place and circle left 3/4 Swing this neighbor
A2	Promenade across the set 1/2 right and left through to get back
B1	Circle left 3/4 and swing partner
B2	Ladies chain Pass through across, turn individually to the right to face in, and circle left 3/4

Leave out the "shift left" in A1 on the first time through.

Originally written with my young son Micah on a showery day in May of 1990 with a figure borrowed from Gene Hubert's Flowers of April. Finally revised to usable status 14 years later on May 4, 2004 while thinking about Micah off in graduate school.

The Barnacle Waltz
a triple minor longways dance

A1	Couples one and two balance in a ring and (as in Petronella) spin one place to the right Repeat
A2	Couples one and three the same: balance and spin twice (Ones are now proper and below couple three; twos and threes are improper)
B1	Ones slow sashay to the top (4 steps) Ones do a wide cast into second place WHILE twos and threes balance forward and back and trade places with partner
B2	Top four (couples one and two) right-hand star Bottom four (couples one and three) circle left

I like using the tune "Barnacle Waltz", but another 32-bar waltz would be fine. In B1, the twos and threes take right hands, balance, and trade places as in a box the gnat figure. The threes should move down the set slightly as they do this to make space for the ones.

This dance was composed for Tom Bannister of Rochester, NY, a fixture on their dance scene for many years, who loves triple minors and loves to waltz. It was first danced on June 18, 2006.

On December 27, 2006, I made a few small changes to Barnacle Waltz to make it into a three couple dance. Although Tom loves those triple minor longways dances, I think David's Triplet #6 is an improvement.

Oyster Sundae
a triple improper contra dance

A1	Actives allemande left the one below 1-1/2 Do-si-do the next (ones and threes)
A2	Come back one and balance and swing (ones and twos with neighbor; threes can balance and swing each other also)
B1	All six circle left 1/2 Top four (couples one and three) right-hand star
B2	All six circle left 1/2 Top four (couples one and two) right-hand star

The B-parts in Oyster Sundae were inspired by the chestnut, Oyster River. Similar sequences are part of two of my favorite triple minor dances: Ted Sannella's Contravention and Chip Hendrickson's The Old Master. Composed March 23, 2006 (yes, there is an 'r' in 'March'), there is a story behind the title; it is a family story about a memorable meal in Texas.

Three Wheel Drive
a triple progression, triple improper contra dance

A1	Actives balance and swing neighbor below
A2	All six circle left halfway round Actives right-hand star with couple above (threes)
B1	All six circle right halfway round Actives left-hand star with the couple above (twos)
B2	Ones facing down and others facing up: pass one neigbhor by right and the next by left With the third neighbor, do-si-do (you will balance and swing the same)

Three Wheel Drive was composed as a triple minor dance with triple progression, so that couples two and three would not have to wait very long to become active. The old version started with a neighbor balance and swing, and had the triple progression, but was different in every other regard. Although it had features I liked, it seemed to create more confusion than it was worth. This revision (created 12/19/07) is very similar to Oyster Sundae above, but includes a triple progression, to provide the "drive." Revisions 'R' Us.

In B2, the ones pass right shoulders with their threes, then left shoulder with the twos from the next minor set. As in other triple minor dances, the ones remain ones until they reach the bottom, but the twos and threes swap roles with each other each time through the dance (so the number three dancer doing the do-si-do in B2 becomes a number two dancer who gets a balance and swing in A1). The triple progression makes for a fast trip.

Three Wheel Drive is named for my family band, "the tricycle of contra dance bands."

Balance the Star
a square dance figure

A1	4 gents balance a left-hand star, then turn it 3/4 WHILE ladies move left 1 place All allemande right the same partner, and gents go back to the center to form another left-hand star
A2	Gents balance the star again and turn 3/4 WHILE ladies move left 1 more place All allemande right your partner just 3/4, allemande left your corner
B1	Grand right and left, 5 changes (pull past your partner at home)
B2	Promenade the next to the lady's home

Repeat three more times.

Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home
a singing square

This was my first attempt at creating a singing square. I used a dance I'd made up earlier (Dave's Quadrille after Tony Parkes' Knave's Quadrille) and added an intro, break and ending made up of a series of gents and ladies chains. My idea for all the parts of the dance was to have the gents leave home, but return eventually ("Bill Bailey won't you please come home!"). To chain the gents: 2 gents give left hands, pull by to opposite lady, link up with arms around waists, and finish with the gent walking forward and the lady backing up (like a #2 lady casting off an active gent in a contra).

The figure is as follows:
Head couples go forward, take two hands with opposite(4)
The lady backs up to her home drawing the gent with her (4)
Heads swing opposite at lady's home (8)
Sides do all that (16)
4 gents LH star 3/4 to find a new partner (8)
Swing that new partner (8)
And promenade once around to the lady's home (16)

Here are the words more or less as I sing them:

Intro:
Head gents you chain across, right across the set
Side gents you chain across, go right across the set
Head ladies chain across, right across the set
Side 2 ladies chain across, and no you're not done yet, because
The head 2 ladies chain back home, don't you take too long
Side 2 ladies chain back home, right where you belong
Head 2 gents you chain back home and the side gents you chain back home
Bill Bailey won't you please come home!

Figure [do twice]:
Head 2 couples forward go; lady bring the gent back home
You swing him all night long
Side couples forward now, to the lady's home and swing somehow
Don't ever do him wrong [or "Don't let him do you wrong"]
Four gents star left 3/4, to a new partner there
You swing and swing and swing and then you promenade the square
Walk around that ring, and everybody sing
Bill Bailey won't you please come home!

Break:
Head 2 gents you chain across, go right across the square
Head ladies chain across, and you meet this partner there
Side 2 gents you chain across, go right across the square
And the side 2 ladies chain across, and meet this partner there
Then the head 2 ladies chain back home, don't you take too long
Head 2 gents chain back home, right where you belong
Side 2 ladies chain you know, when they get there the side gents go
Bill Bailey won't you please come home!

[Repeat figure twice starting with sides]

Ending:
Head 2 gents you chain across and the side 2 gents you chain across
And the head 2 ladies chain across and the side 2 ladies chain across
Then the head 2 ladies chain back home and the side ladies chain back home
Head 2 gents you chain back home and the side gents you chain back home
Now allemande left on the corner, go back to your partner there
You swing and swing and swing and then you promenade the square
Walk around that ring, and everybody sing
Bill Bailey won't you please come home!

Easy Quadrille Variation
a square dance figure

A1	All go forward and back Ladies grand chain
A2	Head couples promenade 1/2 way round the outside Side couples right and left through
B1	All circle left 1/2 Swing your corner
B2	Promenade to gent's home place

A variation of Bob Dalsemer's Easy Quadrille. I have rearranged Bob's figures slightly to achieve a phrasing I like. Repeat the figure once more for the head couples, and then twice for the sides.

Lady Be Good
a singing square dedicated to Susan Kevra, who helped inspire me to include singing squares in my repertoire

Notes for interpreting the text:

• Every line equals four beats of music
• If the first beat is not on the first word, its word is underlined
• Words in parentheses are spoken, not sung

Intro:
Bow to your partner
Bow to your corner too
4 ladies to the middle with a right hand star
And you turn it around, but not too far
Come back by the left till you get home
Allemande right there with your own
Then allemande left on the corner
Go back to your partner, gypsy

Oh just walk all around me, have some
pity (and swing me! swing me!)
Up and down in the great big
city (then promenade)
Oh sweet and lovely
Lady be good, oh
Lady be good
To me. (Face the middle, and go)

Figure:
In with your partner, out with your corner
Face that corner, do-si-do
Once and a half around
To your next old corner where you allemande left
Go back to your new partner, say "hi!"
Weave the ring right then
It's a right shoulder, left shoulder till you meet
again (then a figure 8 gypsy)

Pass your partner by the right
And your corner by the left
And your partner by the right
And if you want to swing, well don't fight it!
Swing with your partner
And promenade so free, oh
Lady be good
To me.

[Repeat figure]

Break:
4 ladies to the middle and back
4 gents to the middle and back
4 ladies to the middle with a right hand star
[and continue as in intro. Finish by singing, "I'm like an orphan lost in the wood; oh, lady be good to me."]

[Repeat figure twice more]

Ending [the gents start]:
4 gents to the middle and back
4 ladies to the middle and back
4 gents to the middle with a right hand star
[and continue as in intro. Finish by singing, "I am so often misunderstood; oh, lady be good to me."]

Often, if folks are enjoying themselves, I add one more verse as follows:
All eight to the middle and back
Now face your partner -- and do-si-do
Just one time around
Then face your corner and you allemande left
Go back to that same partner, say "hi!"
And weave the ring right then
[and continue as in figure]

Perfectly Simple
a square dance figure

A1	All see-saw (left shoulder do-si-do) corner Allemande left your corner (either 1x or 2x), hold on and give right hand to partner in an "Alamo circle"
A2	Balance, allemande right 1/2-way and give left hands to the next Balance, allemande left 3/4
B1	Gents make a right-hand star Swing the one you left (original right hand lady)
B2	Promenade to lady's home

Repeat three more times.

This is a variation of Ted Sannella's Perfect Match.

Sheehan's Too
a square dance figure

A1	Four ladies into the center and back Four gents into the center and back
A2	Ladies go behind your partner's back and (cw) round the outside (1-16) Gents left-hand star (9-16)
B1	Pass your own and do-si-do the next Swing same
B2	Promenade to lady's home

Repeat once as is, then you may swap gents' and ladies' roles in the A-parts as follows:
A1- 4 gents in; 4 ladies in
A2- Gents go behind ptr's back & (ccw) round the outside (1-16); ladies right-hand star (9-16)
The B-parts are the same and you still promenade to the lady's home. Repeat the figure one more time with the gents in the lead to get own partner back.

This is my variation on Roger Whynot's Sheehan's Reel.

Trick Auto Square
a square dance figure

A1	Head two ladies chain 3/4 (see note) Forward 6 and back (head lady with side couples)
A2	Right hands up and left hands under: head ladies send sides to the head head positions, then over own right shoulder and allemande left partner who is waiting behind Same ladies chain 3/4 again (now the lines-of-3 are at the heads)
B1	Forward 6 and back Right hands up and left hands under, head ladies turn and allemande left (all are now opposite original home place)
B2	Four ladies grand chain, over and back
C1	Promenade single file (lady in the lead), gents turn around Swing the one you meet (your corner)
C2	Promenade to the gent's home place

For the "ladies chain 3/4," in this dance, the gent goes without hesitation one place to the right behind the next couple and courtesy turns his own partner, who has passed between that couple to meet him there. After the courtesy turn she steps up between the standing couple for the forward 6 and back. Her partner waits patiently in the background while she disposes of the other two people and turns over her right shoulder so she can allemande left with him. If the intro, break and ending finish up with a promenade, the gent's momentum should send him in the right direction for the first 3/4 chain. But the active gents must move!

Repeat the figure once more for the head couples, and then twice for the sides.

I worked out this dance while waiting for my car to be ready at my favorite mechanic's. I really like it, but find it a challenge to call well. The phrasing given above is important to me, although it's fine to use an AABB tune, so that the first time through is AABBAA and the next BBAABB. The dance is not suitable for a crowded hall.

What the Heck
a square dance figure

A1	Circle left, 8 hands round Back to the right, single file
A2	Head couples left-hand star Right-hand back
B1	All allemande left corner (4) Grand right and left (12)
B2	Promenade home Go into the center and back

Repeat with the side couples leading in A2, then four ladies, and finally four gents.

This is a combination of a dance by Roger Whynot (whose last name suggested the title) with Bob Dalsemer's First Night Quadrille.

Yes, We Have No Bananas
a singing square

Head (s/h/s) couples circle 1/2; you back out and roll away
Forward again, star through and face the sides (h/s/h) across the floor
Then you balance and swing; it's so much fun to swing
And you end in a line-of-4
Go forward up 8 and 8 fall back and roll away again
Face your partner, do-si-do; you promenade and then, sing
"Yes we have no bananas
We have no bananas today!"

Couple 1 (2/3/4) to the center and the sides (h/s/h) move in
And circle to the left once around
Then all balance and swing, and face the beginning
And peel that banana down
As you meet, grand right and left around the ring
And if you make it home, I bet you're gonna swing, singing
"Yes we have no bananas
We have no bananas today!"

The "peel the banana" figure for this singing square is modeled on Ron Buchanan's Teakettle. You do not progress in this dance, but keep the same partner and corner throughout. The two sequences repeat alternately until all four couples have a turn to lead.

Sequence 1
Head couples circle half. As they back out into each other's place, they roll away with a half sashay to trade places with one another. Then go forward again, take hands with your opposite (gent's RH and lady's LH) and star through, (a little twirl: lift arms, trade places and end facing the nearest side couple). The side person you are now facing is your corner. Balance and swing that corner, ending in two lines-of-4 at the sides. Those lines go forward and back. As you back out, again roll away with a half sashay to trade places with the corner you swung. This should leave everyone close to home. Face your partner, do-si-do, and promenade once around to place. When you repeat, alternate heads and sides as active couples. When the sides lead, the lines-of-4 end up at the head and foot.

Sequence 2
Couple 1 goes forward to the center, and then the 2 side couples form a circle of 4 hands around couple one, and circle L exactly once. On the call "all balance and swing," couples 1 and 3 will balance and swing their partners, while couples 2 and 4 (who were just circling) balance and swing their opposite. End the swing facing the "beginning" or the home place of couple 1. You now have a four couple proper contra set facing the music. Notice that even though you face couple 1's place, they are not the couple at the top. To "peel the banana," the dancers who are at the top (gent 2 and lady 4) separate from each other and lead around the outside to the bottom. The others follow, all the gents turning L at the top and all the ladies turning R. As the two lines meet at the bottom, gent 2 and lady 4 give RH's to start a grand R&L. Others take whatever hand they are offered until everyone is in. You should meet your partner near home at approximately the right time. Swing your partner as you sing, and then square your set. Note that when couple 2 leads, the heads form the circle. Then sides will swing their partners and heads will swing their opposites. The "beginning" is now couple 2's home place, so the 4 couple sets form across the hall facing the caller's RH wall. Each time through, the orientation will change according to which couple leads.

David's Triplet #1
a triplet (3-couple contra, couple 1 is improper for this dance)

A1	Couple 1 down the center, turn as a couple Return, cast off with couple 2
A2	Actives turn contra corners
B1	Active balance and swing, end facing up and take hands with couple 2 in a ring
B2	Balance the ring, drop hands, pass through across the set and turn individually over right shoulder into... A circle left for all six, halfway round

Ends in 3-1-2 order with the new top couple improper.

David's Triplet #1 was based in part on Ted Sannella's wonderful Ted's Triplet #7. It was composed during a period of time when I was calling lots of contra corner dances. I wanted a triplet to create an easy context to teach the figure in. I liked the result, but didn't find it easy enough for my purposes.

So I created another even easier one and called it "David's Triplet #1.5." (Consequently, my next triplet became "David's Triplet #3;" there was never a #2.) Later I discovered that Linda Leslie wrote the same dance much earlier than I did:

Corner Triplet by Linda Leslie (David's Triplet #1.5)
a triplet (3-couple contra, all proper)

A1	Couple 1 down the center, turn alone Return, cast off with couple 2
A2	Actives turn contra corners
B1	Active balance and swing, end facing up
B2	Actives up the center to the top, separate and go down to the bottom Forward six and back

Ends in 2-3-1 order.

David's Triplet #3
a triplet (3-couple contra, all proper)

A1	Couple 1 cast down the outside one place (as the 2's move up), trade places passing right shoulders and face couple 3 Those two couples right and left through up and down the set, then take right hands with this neighbor (and 2's at the top give right hands to one another)
A2	Balance, pull by the right hand and pull by the next, left hands Balance the third, box the gnat to face back the other way
B1	Pull by two people (right hand and left hand) And swing the one you meet (the first person you balanced), end facing in
B2	All six circle left 1/2-way Top two couples swing your partner, end facing up

Ends in 3-1-2 order.

On the weekend of March 2-3, 2002, three groups of callers met to dance through all 41 of Ted Sannella's triplets. This dance was written on February 17, 2002 to honor Ted and that occasion. Ted often based his triplets on other pleasing dances. In that tradition, this one is based on Steve Zakon-Anderson's Three Thirty-Three, whose distinctive figure appears in the A2 and B1 parts.

David's Triplet #4
a triplet (3-couple contra, couple one improper)

A1	Actives down the center to the bottom, separate, and go up the outside to the middle place All forward and back
A2	All allemande right partner once around and fall back to line All allemande left partner 1-1/2
B1	Promenade single file, 1/2-way round Face partner and do-si-do
B2	Balance and swing partner

Ends in 3-1-2 order.

At the end of A2 the allemande left leaves one line facing down and the other facing up, so a counterclockwise single file promenade will flow very naturally from that.

This was written at Pinewoods in the summer of 2002 and revised a bit on March 10, 2007. My goal was to make a triplet that was very easy to dance. I started with Ted's Triplet #28, which is one of his easiest, and tried to make it easier still by eliminating a right and left through.

Some of Ted's Triplets end with one or more couples improper, but all are danceable beginning with everyone proper. That is true of this dance as well, but I prefer to start by crossing over the top couple, which is how it should begin every other time. The timing in the first eight counts of A1 is tight, and the new top couple each time must begin promptly, so ending B2 with them facing down (lady on right) is helpful. In A2 the hand turns can go any distance. No matter who ends on which side the allemande left will feed into a counterclockwise single file, and the balance and swing will be in the same place. (It also makes no real difference which side any couple ends on at the end of B2.) Nevertheless, I suggest turning once by the right and once and a half by the left for a few reasons, not the least of which is that the same thing happens in one of my favorite traditional dances, Queen Victoria.

David's Triplet #5
a triplet (3-couple contra, all proper)

A1	Couple one down the outside to the bottom and step into the center Up the center and cast off with couple two
A2	All do-si-do partner 1-1/4 into a wavy line-of-6 (right hands with partner) Balance, allemande right partner just halfway into a new wave
B1	Balance, pull past partner's right shoulder to start a hey-for-6 (just half a hey)
B2	When you meet your partner, gypsy and swing

Ends in 3-1-2 order. This was composed on a Mother's Day: May 14, 2006.

David's Triplet #6
a waltz time triplet (3-couple contra, all proper)

A1	Couples one and two balance in a ring and (as in Petronella) spin one place to the right Repeat
A2	Couples one and three the same: balance and spin twice (Ones are now proper and below couple three; twos and threes are improper)
B1	Ones slow sashay to the top (4 steps) Ones cast down the outside to the bottom place WHILE twos and threes balance forward and back and trade places with partner
B2	Bottom four right-hand star Top four circle left

Ends in 2-3-1 order. This is a modification of my triple minor dance, Barnacle Waltz. It may be danced to the tune of the same name or any other 32-bar waltz.

David's Triplet #7
a triplet (3-couple contra, all proper)

A1	(Couple one around couple two) Lady round two and the gent cut through Circle four hands to the left, once around
A2	Balance the ring and swing your neighbor
B1	(Couple one around couple three) Gent around two and the lady cut through Circle six hands to the left, halfway around
B2	All dos-a-dos partner All swing partner

Ends in 3-1-2 order. This was composed on April 14, 2007.

Banjo's Mistress
a circle mixer in 3/4 time

A	All forward (2 measures) and back (2 measures) Circle left (4 measures) All forward and back again (4 measures) Half sashay to trade places with partner (lady sliding to left in front and gent sliding to right behind) (2 measures), say farewell and then courtesy turn the next 3/4 (2 measures)
B	Promenade this new partner (4 measures, end facing partner) Back away from partner, men moving toward the center of the circle and women backing out away from the center (2 measures), balance right and left (2 measures) Coming forward, partners go back to back (4 measures) Waltz with partner (4 measures), end by opening up to face the center of the circle

The half sashay at the end of the A-part is not intended to include a roll away; both people slide. The courtesy turn can be a wide looping movement; it should flow into the promenade.

This dance was originally composed May 3, 2004. It was slightly altered and retitled on December 19, 2007, to fit with a tune by Bob McQuillen (Joyce R's Waltz) that was composed for my friend and colleague, Joyce Rossbach. Although Bob's original composition repeats the A and B parts, for purposes of this dance, Joyce R's Waltz should be played without repeats.

Banjo's Mistress is suitable for inclusion in an evening of English country dances. The Banjo of the title is an enthusiastic canine.

Cortland Fancy
a four-face-four dance

A1	Forward eight and back Four ladies grand chain
A2	Along your line-of-four (i.e., across the hall), ladies chain Ladies chain back to your partner (i.e., up and down the hall)
B1	Same four, left-hand star Come back with a right-hand star
B2	All eight circle left halfway All swing partner, and face the next line-of-four (original direction up or down the hall)

The directions are written assuming that the dancers are in a double (duple improper) contra formation: four face four up and down the hall. Instead of a normal duple improper contra set, which is comprised of couples facing neighbor couples, two couples in a line-of-four face a similar line-of-four, and this repeats for as many foursomes as will. The dance could also be done as a double Sicilian Circle. It is still four facing four, but the groups of eight dancers emanate from the center of the hall like spokes of a wheel.

The original four-face-four dance was the traditional dance Portland Fancy. Several versions exist, and it seems to me that it was the formation that made a dance a "Portland Fancy," and not the particular figures. Ted Sannella wrote a four-face-four dance, based on the most common version of the traditional dance, which added a partner swing and incorporated elements of a traditional square, The Route. He called it Ted's Portland Fancy. Sometime later, Jacob Bloom came up with a four-face-four that swapped the position of couples in their lines-of-four back and forth. Now many dances exist in this formation that swap the couples like this.

Cortland Fancy simply inserts some of the interesting pieces of Ted's Portland Fancy into Fred Breunig's lovely four-face-four dance, Etna Star. I've always loved the way that the stars move into the large circle in Fred's dance (reminiscent of another old dance, British Sorrow). Since I work in Cortland, NY (home of those wonderful apples), Cortland Fancy seemed like an obvious title. The dance is so entirely derivative of other dances that I hesitate to say that I "composed" it, but perhaps I could say that it was "assembled" on December 29, 2009. It was first called the same evening.

Four Dances in Tempest Formation:

• Tempus Fugit
• Another Part of the Island
• Going Dutch
• Toronto Tempest

"Tempest" formation, is named for a wonderful chestnut, The Tempest, and is an old form of double contra. The "minor set" (the people you dance with before progressing) is composed of four couples rather than two, as in a duple minor contra, or three, as in a triple minor contra. It is similar in this regard to a 4-face-4, or double contra (a formation that is also based on a chestnut, Portland Fancy). As in a 4-face-4, the ones are in a line-of-4 facing down, both couples standing side by side. However, what distinguishes Tempest formation from a Portland Fancy is that the twos are not in another line-of-4 facing up. Rather, they are out at the sides, facing in, as if in a very widely spaced Becket formation dance (wide enough that the line-of-4 fits between).

Progression in a Tempest formation dance is easy. The ones typically start by going down the center and back. Upon returning they face the nearest side (or number 2) couple. Each subsequent time through the dance, the twos must slide sideways up the hall as the ones are going down. This provides new neighbors for the ones to return to each time through. The twos should move up quite a bit each time, more than they might expect (think 2 places instead of 1). When the twos reach the top, they wait out once, moving into the center of the set. The next time through they are ones: a line-of-4 going down the center. When ones reach the bottom and have no new couples to dance with, they separate out to the sides and become twos.

Here are three good methods callers have used to get dancers into Tempest formation:

1. The "contra" method. Start by placing the dancers in Becket formation. Then have them take hands eight. In each group of eight, two couples are closer to the top of the hall. Those two couples (the ones) turn to face down. They are standing side by side in a line-of-four. The other two couples (the twos) stay where they are, one at each end of the line-of-four, but move out to create space for the ones.
2. The "square" method. To set up the Tempest from squares, align the squares up and down the hall. Then have each couple three come up and stand next to their couple one.
3. The "four-face-four" method. Begin with a double contra (two couples in a line-of-four facing down at two more facing up, and so forth down the hall). The ones, who are facing down the hall, are all set. The twos, who are facing up, separate out to the sides and face in.

Another Part of the Island
a dance in Tempest formation (see note above for explanation of formation)

A1	Line-of-4 go down the hall, turn as couples Return, face the nearest side couple
A2	Circle left halfway (4); weave the line across (12): a 1/2 hey-for-4 with each couple acting as a unit (ladies pass right shoulders on outsides, gents pass left shoulders in ctr)
B1	Same four circle left once around and swing neighbor
B2	Balance and swing partner, end with twos facing in and ones facing down

Tempus Fugit, my first Tempest formation dance, progresses such that the left-hand couple in the line-of-4 becomes the right-hand couple the next time through the dance, and vice versa. This, my second dance in Tempest formation, has the same feature and also swaps the side couples back and forth. Another Part of the Island was composed on March 12, 2006, and revised June 13, 2008. The title is drawn from the most common scene direction in Shakespeare's play, and refers, in part, to the way the couples migrate.

Going Dutch
a dance in Tempest formation (see note above for explanation of formation)

A1	Line-of-4 go down the hall, turn as couples Return, face the nearest side couple
A2	All right-hand star halfway, twos left-hand star halfway All right-hand star halfway, ones left-hand star halfway
B1	These four circle left 3/4 and swing neighbor
B2	Circle left 3/4 and swing partner, end with twos facing in and ones facing down

My friend, Carmen Giunta created an English Country style dance based on Another Part of the Island, which he calls Star-Crossed Tempest. It is quite different from this dance, full of setting, poussettes and what not. I swiped the stars figure in A2 and reinserted it back into my contra-style dance. My title is a nod to Ernst van Brakel's marvelous Dutch Crossing, which has a chorus figure that resembles the figure I took from Carmen. Going Dutch was written May 24, 2006.

Tempus Fugit
a dance in Tempest formation (see note above for explanation of formation)

A1	Line-of-4 go down the hall, turn as couples Return, face the nearest side couple, and take hands four with them
A2	Circle left halfway, twos arch and ones dive through, then ones pass through with the other couple 1 as the twos California twirl Do-si-do with the one you meet
B1	Balance and swing that neighbor, end facing up or down the hall with the gent on left and lady on right
B2	Same four circle left halfway and all swing partner, end with twos facing in and ones facing down

Many 4-face-4 dances progress such that the left-hand couple in the line-of-4 becomes the right-hand couple the next time through the dance, and vice versa. I had not encountered a Tempest formation dance with this feature, so I created this one. Tempus Fugit was composed on February 20, 2006.

The version above is the most reliable. A more difficult variation has a slightly different A2:

Balance the ring twice
Circle left halfway, dive through and pass through

The double balance is a nod to older versions of The Tempest, and a feature I enjoy. I think a double balance can bring a whole room together in a powerful way. However, time really does fly in this variation. Eight counts is barely enough time to circle half, dive through and pass through. In the first version, the do-si-do takes up the slack if any dancer experiences a momentary lapse. But in the variation the dancers must work together without hesitation if they are to meet their new neighbor in time to balance at the top of B1. The twos can help out by not moving forward as they typically might when the ones are diving through. This keeps them in close enough to the center that the ones can reach them in time for the balance on B1.

Toronto Tempest
a dance in Tempest formation (see note above for explanation of formation)

A1	Line-of-4 go down the hall, turn as couples Return, face the nearest side couple
A2	Circle left halfway and pass through, passing this neighbor by the right shoulder Ones allemande left a shadow (from the other first couple) 1-1/2 while the twos turn as a couple to face in
B1	Ones meet a neighbor on the opposite side: balance and swing, end facing up or down the hall
B2	These four circle left halfway, and all swing partner, end with twos facing in and ones facing down

Composed November 23, 2008. I had just called Tempus Fugit at the Toronto Dance the night before. It went well overall, but I felt I had to work awfully hard as a caller to keep everyone together and happy. My goal was to come up with a slightly easier sequence. This was first tested with dancers on March 12, 2009 in Rochester, NY. I love these Tempest dances, and hope that others will try them.

I composed the tune Molecular Structure for a delightful dance by Carmen Giunta called Professor Kekule's Reverie. Permission is granted to print personal copies and to perform live; all other rights reserved.

David's Dance Caller's Home Page - top of this page

This page last updated 7-5-10