I wrote this up as a blog post, 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. (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:

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:

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.