[Callers] Floor Space Requirement

[David Harding via Callers]

Rich,

Let's do a bottom up estimate driven by an exerise.  Stand comfortably, 
hold the hands of the opposite role dancers on either side of you 
(imaginary or real), and execute a long-lines-forward-and-back.

The distance from your left hand to your right hand is the distance 
along the line that you and your partner occupy.  People of different 
sizes will have different comfort factors.  We've all been in lines that 
were too scrunched up and lines where we couldn't even reach the next 
person.  3-5 feet per person feels acceptable to me, with about 4 feet 
being a good compromise.  Your foursome needs twice the space, of 8'.  
That implies that 20 couples would do well with about an 80-foot line.  
Of course, if you are doing any down-the-hall figures, you need some 
extra space.  Six steps at 2' per step is 12', but it's negotiable.

How far did you travel on your forward voyage?  Again, everyone's 
mileage will differ, but I think that about 1 foot per step is suitable, 
so if you and your partner each take three steps, you would want 6 feet 
between you to start with.  That's consistent with taking four 1.5-foot 
steps to walk across in a chain or a right-and-left through.  Add an 
allowance for your depth and your partner's depth, say 1.5' each, and 
we're up to 10' width per set.  The courtesy turn is most comfortably 
done if you have a little additional room, maybe another 1.5'-2' on each 
side.  Now we're up to 13'-14'.

I would thus claim that each hands-four needs about 8'x14', or 112 
sqft.  28 sqft per person.  Having written the above, I look back at the 
other posts and am pleased to see that my number comes out pretty close 
to the others.  Depending on the shape of the space, there may be some 
floor area that is not useful, since each set wants its 13'-14' width.

David Harding


On 8/1/2016 8:01 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I have been hire to call a wedding with 145 attendees and 15 known 
> contra dancers.  The bride and groom are insisting on modern contras.
>
> I have never thought about floor space, what is the typical 
> requirement for a line of twenty couples?
>
> Any very easy duple improper dances to recommend?  I plan on using 
> "Family Contra" and "Jefferson and Lincoln".
>
> Thanls,
> Rich
>
>
>
>
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