[Callers] Contra Corners Dance

[Erik Hoffman]

Strangely enough, I forgot about Wallpole Dollhouse. Thanks, Jim for reminding me of it.

It can, of course, be a contra line or a Sicilian circle.

Melanie's dance is a little simpler, better to use on newish dancers.

I like them both, and, they are more forgiving--as a progressive dance--than any of the others mentioned so far.

~Erik Hoffman


-----Original Message-----
From: Callers <callers-bounces at lists.sharedweight.net> On Behalf Of jim saxe via Callers
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2019 9:18 AM
To: Rich Sbardella <richsbardella at gmail.com>; Caller's discussion list <callers at sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Contra Corners Dance

A nice easy dance for introducing Contra Corners is "Down by the Riverside" by Melanie Axel-Lute:

     http://www.maxellute.net/down.html

The dance is a progressive 3-face-3, ending with a basket swing in B2 after which dancer open out with anyone in the middle, facing a new threesome.  Like Erik Hoffman's "Walpole Dollhouse",

     http://lists.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers-sharedweight.net/2013-May/006143.html

you can think of it as a much simplified version of Pat Shaw's "Walpole Cottage".

On account of the progression, dancers get to lead the contra corners figure with a succession of different opposite active (center) dancers.  Thus, dancers who don't quite understand the figure are likely eventually to run into counterparts who can send guide them in the correct direction.  By contrast in a triplet, triple-minor, or duple-minor setting, a confused dancer may be asked to lead contra corners with the same equally-confused partner time after time.

--Jim

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