I wrote this up as a blog post <https://chromamine.com/2024/11/set-and-link-contras/>, but I also thought this list would appreciate it and have interesting thoughts to share.
It occurred to me recently that I don’t think there are any contra dances that feature a set and link figure. This is a figure from Scottish Country Dancing which follows this sequence (assuming becket formation for this write up):
1. Couples face the other couple across the set, taking convenient hands with their partner along the side
2. All balance right and left (4 beats)
3. All turn over their right shoulder as they trade places along the side of the set with the robins going through the middle and larks going round the outside (4 beats)
It could be thought of as a petronella twirl for two or, perhaps, as a mad robin halfway with twirling. If none of those descriptions work for you, there’s also a video of the figure in action <https://youtu.be/hI-ebAspZzY?si=gkIDl8WmCzFc5HO4&t=16>. (Note the video is to a leisurely Scottish strathspey, but it can be done to a jig or reel at contra tempo just fine.)
I decided to write a couple:
*Set And Link Contra*
Harris Lapiroff
Becket CCW
A1
Set and link (trading with partner)
Balance the ring
Petronella twirl
A2
Neighbor balance and swing
B1
Set and link (trading with neighbor)
Balance the ring
Petronella twirl
B2
Partner balance and swing
Note A1: Each time through after the first, the set and link should start with a big balance to the right to progress to new neighbors
And a slightly more complex, but still accessible, one:
*Broken Link*
Harris Lapiroff
Duple Improper
A1
Neighbor balance and swing
A2
Set and link (trading with neighbor)
Robins alle L 1½
B1
Partner right shoulder round
Partner swing
B2
Circle left 3
Pass through up and down
Next neighbor DSD
Note: Can also be done in becket by starting with B2, skipping the pass through, and changing to a slide left progression at the end.
I danced these through with a few dancers in a living room and they worked. I was worried the “Set And Link Contra” wasn’t appropriate for any crowd, being too simple and repetitive for an experienced dance but too tricky for beginners. Some of my test dancers agreed, but others thought that it was satisfying enough to dance to work – which I could see maybe working for a late evening brain-off-dance-trance vibe.
A few open questions I have about these dances:
- In “Set And Link Contra,” is the big balance right to progress satisfying or awkward? We didn’t have enough dancers to test the progression. A different option might be to make it Becket CW and slide left, then balance back to the right. (I suspect slide right, balance right would feel too muddy.)
- The balance right and then left sequence isn’t natural to contra dancers. Is there a way to lead into it that makes it more natural? (Notably: a couple of my test dancers had done at least a little Scottish and they both liked it, but one dancer who had only done contra found it awkward.)
- Alternatively is there a different way of doing that balances that would be more at home in a contra? I think balancing together and away wouldn’t give good momentum into turning over the right shoulder, but perhaps balancing in and out in a ring would work?
- In “Broken Link,” I’m still not sure if the set and link into a robins left hand allemande sequence feels good. When I tested it myself it felt flowy in a weaving sort of way, but some of my test dancers reported it was awkward. We didn’t take time to workshop it to see if the flow felt better once the set and link was more familiar.
Hello all,
Oftentimes at One Night Gigs, I'll do a mix of circle and longways set
dances. With scatter mixers and specialty dances, I can fill an evening.
But sometimes I get a group that "wants contras" or is looking to grow
their familiarity with the dance form.
I think Becket dances without lark/robin distinctions and no neighbor swing
are AN easy option into "hands-four" contras. There are other ways in, but
I'm looking for more Beckets that match that description. For a while I've
had "Pluck It" in my box as a friendly option:
Pluck It
Contra/Becket-CW
A1 -----------
(8) Circle Left
(8) Circle Right
A2 -----------
(8) Left hand Star
(8) Right hand Star
B1 -----------
(8) Partner Do-si-do
(8) Partner swing
B2 -----------
(8) Neighbor Do-si-do across set
(8) Long lines, yearn left
This is, in my opinion, pretty close to the traditional mixer Scatter Shot
but done as a keeper in Becket. (It does have a DSD across the set, which
in a recent thread was listed as a no-no for some callers. While I wouldn't
use that move at a dance weekend, for One Night gigs I think it's
accessible and acceptable). You don't have to teach ballroom swing, and if
folks want to elbow swing and swap roles with their partner it doesn't
really impact the dance (this is a small advantage of Becket over improper
for this type of dance; different position on the side is less disorienting
than different side of the set).
What other Becket dances do folks have that don't rely on roles? No larks
allemande or robins chain, etc.
On the drive home from my gig last night I came up with this one (which may
already exist), written for Naomi who organizes the community dance I was
at:
A Pillar of Weathersfield
Contra/Becket-CW
A1 -----------
(8) Balance the ring and spin to the right (petronella)
(8) Balance the ring and spin to the right (petronella)
A2 -----------
(16) Partner balance and swing, end facing down the hall
B1 -----------
(8) Down the hall, four in line (turn as couples)
(8) Return and face across
B2 -----------
(8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Promenade across the Set, turn as a couple and progress
(Go between the ones you danced with, passing by left shoulder, and the new
couple on your right, turn to take hands with new couple)
I'd be curious what else folks have that they use for entry-level contras
when you don't have a critical mass of experience for improper dances with
neighbor swings.
Thanks!
Luke Donforth
Burlington, VT
Hello All,
I own the domain ContraDanceCaller.com and have listed it for sale. If you
are interested in acquiring the domain for your own website, please let me
know.
The list price is $500 obo. It is valued by the broker at $559.
Mary Keith Eustis
8 Tradewinds Way, Salem, SC 29676
864-710-5434
Keustis06(a)gmail.com
...to Barb and Sue, by David Kaynor.
At the end of the B2 Robins chain to their neighbor. Same neighbor,
correct? The A1 begins with a neighbor B&S. I think this is a NEW
nbr...... Which makes sense, since there's no other progression. Just
checking.
-Amy Wimmer
Seattle
