The thing I learned from doing this is that the person leading the front has to take *very small* steps - smaller than a full step - or else things get stretched out and uncomfortable at the end.
Good luck! It's a fun dance and people really seem to get a kick out of it.

On Tue, Feb 14, 2023 at 7:10 AM Casey Carr via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

Frannie, what a great use of the spiral!  I think of this move as an add on (as Lisa used it) vs a dance.  I will often use a spiral at a community dance and attach it to the end of a circle dance or a big Southern Circle Mixer... also great at weddings, private parties, etc. 

I start it by having everyone circle left and then I hop off the stage and lead the spiral as Frannie described.  The tricky part is at the end of unwinding the spiral you have to lead the group slowly in order to leave enough time for the end of the spiral to unwind before you get them back into a big circle left.  Once they are circling left again at the end I have them go into the middle twice with big shouts.  Sometimes I'll also have the whole circle rip and snort before the spiral.  It's always a hit!

Casey Carr


On 2/14/2023 7:54 AM, frannie via Contra Callers wrote:
Lisa Greenleaf lead a spiral waltz at my wedding.  If you are friends with me or Dan Vilter on Facebook he took a video and you could watch it. One of us shares it every January 5th or so.  It's a great video.  Lisa had everyone form a circle around us (bride and groom) she let us start waltzing in the middle before leading all the guests around us in a circle/spiral left, with her only holding one person's hand.  As the circle got smaller and closer to us she inverted the circle and spiraled everyone back out from the center.  Then she told everyone to waltz with their partners. It was a wonderful moment,  it makes a great video and it's really easy to do. Also since it's just walking in a circle it's easy to get everyone up to do it. 
Good luck!
~Frannie Marr 

On Tue, Feb 14, 2023, 8:43 AM Hannah Chamberlain via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Greeting callers!
I am calling a friend's wedding this weekend and she requested "the spiral dance," a circle dance where at some point one person leads everyone into a spiral (or, optionally, anywhere around the hall?). I think I've danced it before, but I'm having a hard time finding a name or notes on how to call it. Can anyone share a version with me?
Thanks in advance,
Hannah Chamberlain
(outside of) Portland, ME
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