I figured there would be a flood of 4-4 dances. Sorry for the delay. I'm not certain my go-to 4-4 qualify as easy, but here are some I enjoy calling:
This search provides the choreography for a bunch of 4-4s:


Coconut Cream Pie, Lynn Ackerson - as previously said, lovely 4-4; probably exactly what you are looking for.

Coray's Silver Jubilie, by Carol Ormand; stars, orbits, satisfying.
Quickspin, also by Carol; features intersecting waves with rory o-more slides
No More Worth-less Swings, a 4-4 where you end up switching between your partner and trail buddy as you progress. 3 swings, and a big of Corey's Silver Jubilie in the middle.
Devil's Backbone by William Watson is my favorite 4-4; it features an unwind the stars figure. I'm sure YouTube has videos of it which will help more than any online text explanation.
Warm Up, by Cary Ravitz and friends; simple figures, swing everybody and yet slightly more difficult than it appears on paper


Title: Apple Pie Quadrille
Author: Ron Benson; requires 40 bar tune; 4-4
A1: forward and back; middle 4 dancers RH* 1x
A2: P allemande L 1.5; new (other) middle 4 dancers RH* 1x
B1: P B& Sw
B2: all 8 circle left 1x
C1: Left hand lark/gent of each line cast over left shoulder, leading their line to the other side of the set and then up/down to face a new line of neighbors.

Someday I want to write a version of this where everyone gets a chance to lead the cast/lead the line, not just the lark/gents.


Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his)

Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center
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From: ROBERT FABINSKI via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 7:13 AM
To: Colin Hume <colin@colinhume.com>; Colin Hume via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>; Contra Callers <contracallers@sharedweight.net>
Subject: [External] [Callers] Re: simple 4-face-4 dances
 
Hmmm. I didn't see the original request.
My go to is Coconut Cream Pie.
It doesn't matter who goes in the stars, since you swing partner after them.

bobfab@aol.com

On Wed, Mar 6, 2024 at 5:49 AM, Colin Hume via Contra Callers
<contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
On Sun, 3 Mar 2024 17:30:25 -0600, Allison Jonjak via Contra Callers wrote:
> Any simple favorites? Bonus points if they are a california twirl progression to feel "familiar".

I'm really surprised that in three or four days no-one has responded to the request.
Maybe the people on this list just don't like 4-face-4 dances.
So I decided to write one  It has the obligatory two swings!  And the bonus points!

Allison's Favorite (or if you don't like the title, Allison, I'm happy to change it).

I suggest 32-bar jigs because of all that balancing.

A1:  Lines of four forward and back.
      Left-hand people (of each couple) make a left-hand star: balance in and out; star half-way.

A2:  Meet the one diagonally across from you, balance and swing -
      finish on the usual side, facing into the set.

B1:  Right-hand people make a right-hand star: balance in and out; star half-way.
      Swing partner and face into the set.

B2:  Join hands in a ring of 8: go in to the middle and back (with suitable noises).
      Balance the ring; California twirl partner to face a new line.

As usually happens in a double contra, you stay with the other couple in your own line
but alternate ends.

For the partner swing, the left-hand people need to move forward and to the left
as your partner approaches.

When you're out at the ends you can do the figure as a two-couple set.
Just make sure that the final California twirl leaves you facing the approaching line of four.

Colin Hume



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