[Callers] Re: Really fun 3X3 dances? And easy squares?

For barn dance purposes, I have a variation on one of the "Three Meet"s from the community dances manuals. A1: threesomes link arms, go forward and back Threesomes in promenade direction promenade to change places with the other threesome, facing back the way they came. A2: Repeat to home. B1: individually with opposite: do-si-do, two-hand-turn B2: Version 1: - Forward and back, forward and pass through, acknowledge new neighbors. Version 2: - Circle six halfway, threesomes basket swing, face new neighbors. For Civil War/Victorian, at least as old as the 1840s: Rustic Reel (16-bar sequence) Middles of each line taking two hands with right-diagonal, gallop right and return. Same with left diagonal. (If everybodys's well coordinated the middles don't miss a step in the gallop.) Lines of three forward and back, forward and pass through (optionally scrambling to change middle person as you go.) I love "Walpole Cottage" but it's too much for new dancers, with a super contra corners where the middles turn each other and all four corners, heys for three, etc.) I don't usually get into heys for three in one-nighters; if I did, 'Dashing White Sergeant' has some merit. Back before "Larks and Ravens" I had a contra dance evening where there lots of men and they weren't dancing with each other. I came up with a couple of dances for the gender imbalance situation, although my current position is that everybody should just learn to dance both roles. I have gendered names in the dance notes because that was the point of these two dances: Women: Go ask two guys to dance" and set them up for three-face-three. I don't really have three-face-three contras in my repertoire, so I made up a couple on the spot. I wanted to be sure everybody got to swing, and I was worried that the guys who wouldn't dance with each other would freak if they had to swing each other, so each of these includes the women swinging two people. First was a variation on "Three Meet" from the community dance manuals. Threesomes with women in the center A1: threesomes f&B, threesomes promenade past each other by left shoulder and face in. A2: Repeat to home. B1: Right diagonals (women and right-hand opposite) swing Left diagonals (women and left-hand opposite) swing women go home B2: F&B & pass through . [With a bright jig, the A is more fun than it looks on paper.] I had more time to think about the second one, and I came up with something that I quite like. If the name "Imbalance & Swing" isn't taken, I think I'd call this sequence that. Maybe this will prove useful to somebody. IMBALANCE AND SWING Alan Winston, 9/27/2008 Jigs or clearly-phrased reels Threesomes with women in the middle. A1:Opposites dosido individually (8) Women pass right (4), right allemande right diagonal (4) A2: Left diagonal (same line) Left Allemande (8) Women Allemande Right 1.5 (8) B1: Swing a partner (8) Swing the other partner (8) B2: pass straight through (4) and threesomes basket swing, open facing new neighbors. (12) And I gave some thought to something where middles swung right-hand-partner, right-hand-opposite, left-hand-opposite, left-hand-partner, but eventually decided that it would be too fatiguing for the middles. (I like swing-to-swing transitions but maybe doing that all round a rectangle is too much.) Hope this helps! -- Alan ________________________________ From: Emily Addison via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2019 11:19 AM To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Subject: [Callers] Really fun 3X3 dances? And easy squares? Hi fellow callers! I remember seeing a video a few months back from the Portland Intown contra. The dancers seemed to be having an absolute blast with a 3X3 contra-like dance. Does anyone have any really fun 3X3 dances? I'm looking to add variety into the formations I'm calling at an upcoming contra/square/barn dance. Also --> Any suggestions for super fun but easy to learn square figures? Thanks! Emily in Ottawa