Hello all,

We can't dance right now, but I'm still writing dances :-)

Specifically, when I ran a Kickstarter for the ABCs of Contra Board book, some folks pledged at a book+choreography tier, and requested family dances. (I'm also cross-posting this on the growing up trad list.) I'll have a separate thread about the non-family dances that came out of the ABCs of Contra.

The first one is called Rima's Railway Adventure on the Karana Ava Line.

Written for Rima Dael, her daughter Karana, and her niece Ava.

It's a scatter keeper. So young children get to keep their familiar partners, but still interact with lots of folks.

In groups of 2~5, make a train (conga line style). The person in the front is the engine.

All the different trains are dancing around the floor, interacting with other trains. Trains heading toward each other can make right hand or left hand stars when they pass. Trains could become tunnels for other trains; and you can circle in just your train and pick a new engine leader.

Once folks have the moves, you could even do singing-square style patter calls:

Here comes a train, on this dark night

Charge headlong but pass on the right

Reach out your hands and make a star

Turn it around but not too far

On to the next and look for more

pass on the left around the floor

With your left hands out star again

back around to where you began

Now find a tunnel you can go through

Make one for them so they're not blue

Through the tunnels and don't be slow

Find some more as away you go

Circle your train in your own group

Is your engine starting to droop?

Pick a new engine if you need

Then set off with a burst of speed

The second dance was written for Sarah Spence Lee

(of Sarah's Silks: https://www.sarahssilks.com/)

It has variations where you can do it as a mixer or a keeper; and you can either have partners use silks/hankies, or just take hands. But the hook part is the Rainbow run:
You and your partner join hands/silks, and make an arch. Your goal to run
around the room with your partner, and get as many different people to go
through your rainbow, and run through as many different rainbows as you can.

And here's some dances using that move:

Rainbow Stars Keeper
Scatter dance, all start with partner on the floor

A1 -----------
(8) Partner allemande Left
(8) Partner allemande Right
A2 -----------
(16) Rainbow Run
B1 -----------
go half-way through an arch, and make a hands across star
(8) Right Hands across star
(8) Left Hands across star
B2 -----------
(4) Balance Star
(4) Couple with hands below in star pull through to same side, form circle
(8) Circle Left

Or the mixer version, but with silks instead of direct hand-holds. Everyone
can have their silk in their right hand:

Rainbow Silk Stars Mixer

A1 -----------
(8) Partner two silk turn
(8) Partner two silk turn other way
A2 -----------
(16) Rainbow Run
B1 -----------
duck halfway through an arch to make a star:
(8) Silks across star (clockwise)
(8) Silks across star the other way
B2 -----------
(8) Circle Left
(8) Neighbor Do-si-do, that’s your new partner

Here's hoping we can dance and call family dances with kids again soon :-)

Luke