I have a little observation to share about end effects that I've
never heard anyone else mention.

For background, note that in a simple duple-minor contra with no
out-of-minor-set actions, dancers who reach an end of the set make
the transitions

    inactive -> neutral -> active

at the top or

    active -> neutral -> inactive

at the bottom, in either case becoming neutral and then rejoining
the body of the set exactly once.


*** Now, how many of you have noticed that in a (duple minor,
single progression) dance with a single temporary excursion out of
the minor set, dancers will typically become neutral and return to
the body of the set not twice, but *THREE* times?


For example, suppose dancers leave their minor set to do an action
such as a do-si-do, allemande, or star with their future neighbors
(call this action the "sneak preview") and then return to original
neighbors for the rest of the sequence before genuinely progressing
to the new neighbors.  An inactive couple starting in a foursome at
the top of the set will experience the following transitions:

   1.  They leave their minor set and become neutral at the start
       of the sneak preview action.  They might then wait in place
       during the sneak preview action, dance the action with
       "ghost" neighbors, or dance the action across the set
       with partners acting as neighbors.

   2.  At the end of the sneak preview action, they reenter
       the body of the set to dance the remainder of the
       sequence with original neighbors.

   3.  Then they finally progress to start the next round neutral
       at the top.

   4.  They temporarily enter the body of the set to dance the
       next repeat of the sneak preview action.

   5.  At the end of that sneak preview, they return to being
       neutral.

   6.  And finally they progress into the body of the set for
       good (or until they get to the bottom).

The transitions are:

   inactive -> neutral -> inactive -> neutral -> active -> neutral -> active

Similarly, a couple reaching the bottom would experience the
transitions:

   active -> neutral -> active -> neutral -> inactive -> neutral -> inactive

A similar analysis applies to dances where dancers briefly revisit
previous neighbors or where dancers briefly depart (in various
possible ways) from partners for an interaction with shadows.

I only noticed this fact last year, after over 30 years of dancing
and nearly 30 years of calling, during which I've both danced and
called numerous dances with out-of-minor-set actions.  I had
previously noticed occasional dances in which out-of-minor-set
actions result in dancers dealing with end effects three times,
but I'd never before done a careful enough analysis to notice
just how common it is.  I suspect I'm not alone in not noticing.

--Jim


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