Rich,

Let's do a bottom up estimate driven by an exerise.  Stand comfortably, hold the hands of the opposite role dancers on either side of you (imaginary or real), and execute a long-lines-forward-and-back. 

The distance from your left hand to your right hand is the distance along the line that you and your partner occupy.  People of different sizes will have different comfort factors.  We've all been in lines that were too scrunched up and lines where we couldn't even reach the next person.  3-5 feet per person feels acceptable to me, with about 4 feet being a good compromise.  Your foursome needs twice the space, of 8'.  That implies that 20 couples would do well with about an 80-foot line.  Of course, if you are doing any down-the-hall figures, you need some extra space.  Six steps at 2' per step is 12', but it's negotiable. 

How far did you travel on your forward voyage?  Again, everyone's mileage will differ, but I think that about 1 foot per step is suitable, so if you and your partner each take three steps, you would want 6 feet between you to start with.  That's consistent with taking four 1.5-foot steps to walk across in a chain or a right-and-left through.  Add an allowance for your depth and your partner's depth, say 1.5' each, and we're up to 10' width per set.  The courtesy turn is most comfortably done if you have a little additional room, maybe another 1.5'-2' on each side.  Now we're up to 13'-14'. 

I would thus claim that each hands-four needs about 8'x14', or 112 sqft.  28 sqft per person.  Having written the above, I look back at the other posts and am pleased to see that my number comes out pretty close to the others.  Depending on the shape of the space, there may be some floor area that is not useful, since each set wants its 13'-14' width.

David Harding

Friends,

I have been hire to call a wedding with 145 attendees and 15 known contra dancers.  The bride and groom are insisting on modern contras.

I have never thought about floor space, what is the typical requirement for a line of twenty couples?

Any very easy duple improper dances to recommend?  I plan on using "Family Contra" and "Jefferson and Lincoln".

Thanls,

Rich

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