[Callers] Good dances with challenging timing

[jim saxe]

Here's a dance that I think rewards good timing:

     Brimmer and May Reel
     by Dan Pearl
     Duple improper contra

     A1.  Balance and swing (new) neighbor
     A2.  Right and left through
          #1 couple swing
     B1.  Down the hall four in line (4!)
          #1 couple (in center) California twirl (4) 
	  Mirror allemande neighbors with handy hand (M1 and W2
              by L, W1 and M2 by R) twice around (8!)
     B2.  Lead up the hall as couples, two's following ones; ones
              cast down (unassisted, of course) around twos and
              face up while twos continue up and turn in to face
              down; circle left (still in original foursomes) half
              way (to original places); pass through up and down
              to progress (16)

The A parts are given as Dan now prefers them.  The original
version had more challenging timing

     A1.  Swing (new) neighbor (8)
          Right and left through (8)
     A2.  #1 couple balance and swing (16)

but that can be viewed more as a defect than as a rewarding
challenge. I'm more interested in the action in the B parts.

     * If dancers take six or eight steps down the hall before
       starting the California twirl, the subsequent actions can
       become a "rat race."

     * The key to getting the 2x allemandes done in time is not
       to take huge steps but to keep your feet close to your
       neighbor's feet.

     * If twos don't continue up the hall as ones cast around
       them, they lengthen the ones' path and may also cause
       the entire set to drift towards the foot of the hall.

     * If dancers start the CA twirl on time, and keep the
       allemandes tight, the action in B2 need not be at all
       rushed in order to bring them to their new neighbors
       just in time for the balance.

--Jim