[Callers] Re: Favourite Dances for Small Crowds

Hi, Allison.. Levi Jackson Rag is for five couples. (You can do it with six but the mixer doesn't mix as thoroughly.) The Magnificent Seven is seven couples. A 7-person dance is "The Weevil". The Weevil 7 people, no partners, four face three. By Richard Mason 32-bar anything. Annotated from Thomas Green's page. Note that between four people, there are three gaps. Threes position themselves opposite the gaps and think of this at home; this simplifies life. A1: 3s figure eight round fours -- go through gap in front of you, turn right, round that person, through the same gap and turn left to go round the other person, then through the gap and home. A2: On right diagonal (except for someone at the end of the line of 4) cross giving right hands, on left: cross with left hands, on right cross with right hands, on left cross with left hands (This gives a progression, 2 places to the right) B1: 1: Top person (top of line of four) steps into the center of the set, remains facing across. 2: Next person (top of line of three), same thing. 3-7: Each other person in turn. 8: Taking hands (long ocean wave), step back to lines (tunnel). [Variant; as Jonathan Coxhead taught it, you take hands when you step in, and you jump back sharply on 8. Either is okay.] B2: Notice what side you're standing on now. without letting go: the top person dive down through the tunnel, dragging/ unravelling it behind him; at the bottom let go and cast back up the side whence you came. I think this is more of a scurry-round dance than a stepping dance, but it can be stepped to. If too fast, brains will fry during the diagonal. Dance falls apart but it just doesn't matter much. After a run of attempted ceilidh dances where we kept having five dancers, I came up with some five-person dances, one of which was a variant on The Weevil: THE LESSER WEEVIL 12/2/2004 Alan Winston 5-person-set, line of 2 facing line of 3 5x 32-bar jig, reel (contra sound for either), or waltz (!) A tip of the hat to Richard Mason's "The Weevil" A1: 1-4: Lines balance forward (step close) and back (step close), cross over. 5-8: The same back to place. A2: 1-2: Stepping into "waves" with hands up and joined, balance forward and back. 3-4: Allemande right with right-hand neighbor (if any). 5-8: Waves balance f+b, allemande left into line (no hands). B1: 1-4: Right-hand neighbors do-si-do back into line 5-8: Four changes of a Right shoulder straight hey for five (progressive). B2: 1: Top person jumps out to THREE side. 2: Next person jumps out to TWO side. 3: Next person jumps out to THREE side. 4: Next 2 people jump out to correct side (having had time to figure it out). 5-8: 2s swing each other WHILE 3s basket or circle 3; open in the same position you started the swing. Also this, which your lugnut strip-the-willow reminded me of: IVE-STAR WALTZ 12/3/2004 Alan Winston five people in pentagon formation moderate-tempo 32-bar waltz count off numbers before you start; #1 might be the point toward the band. A1: All set R&L into center, turn single R, circle left. A2: All set LEFT and RIGHT, turn single LEFT, circle RIGHT; #1 exits circle early and finishes next to choice for B1. B1: #1 and #1's choice, orbit outside the set, waltzing or promenading WHILE the other three right-hand star in the center, left hands back. [#1 drops his or her choice off at home and cuts back through the set to home place.] B2: #1 & #5, RH 1/2. #1 & #4, LH 1/2. #1 & #3, RH 1/2. #1 & #2, LH 1/2. (Try B2 with "step left and close; pull by right ..." etc if you prefer.) [For ECDers or a less prankish crowd, instead of randomly picking somebody out of the set and having to hustle home, have #1 and #5 (who is one place CCW from #1) promenade and finish at home, then start the progression in B2.] -- Alan ________________________________________ From: Allison Jonjak via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 2:27 PM To: Jonathan Sivier Cc: Contra Callers Subject: [Callers] Re: Favourite Dances for Small Crowds BEWARE: This email originated outside of our organization. DO NOT CLICK links or attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Unexpected circumstances gave me 5 dancers a couple years ago, and I wrote Tighten Your Lugnuts on the fly: https://contradb.com/dances/2387 It's nice enough that I wrote it down and call it at cider presses or other "places I'm randomly at and someone requests a dance". If I remember correctly, Levi Jackson's Rag is for 7 dancers? I haven't called that myself. On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 2:31 PM Jonathan Sivier via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: Square - NOT! is a fun dance. I think you will find it is 6 couples, not 6 dancers, in a triangle. Jonathan On 10/29/2024 1:58 PM, John Sweeney via Contra Callers wrote: _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave@lists.sharedweight.net<mailto:contracallers-leave@lists.sharedweight.net> -- Allison Jonjak allisonjonjak@gmail.com<mailto:allisonjonjak@gmail.com> allisonjonjak.com<http://allisonjonjak.com>