Though I know that there are lots of traditional dances with a ladies chain (turn away) new N...., I am really not crazy about them. Ok....I'll admit it, I actively dislike them. Particularly for new dancers, and particularly going to a discrete move like a balance. It requires the lady to extricate themselves from a previous neighbor (who should certainly not twirl and forget, but frequently does), and requires the (polite) gent to turn away from their direction of progression to get new ladies pointed in the right direction at the end of the courtesy turn before the gent can progress (and for that matter, requires the courtesy turn to be either done more quickly, or otherwise to be cut short to get everyone going in the right direction. (don't even get me started on dances that have a butterfly whirl -> turn away to a new neighbor). (There are dances -- like Punctuated Raindrops -- that have that progression, that I will still call a) because they're great dances other than that and b) because the timing of the progression isn't discrete -- if you're late to start the allemande L, it's ok, the timing will work out in the wash.) </rant>

The ladies allemande L progression, 1) puts the ladies in a bit more control, 2) allows the caller to point out where they're going, and who they're going to and 3) leaves a free hand available to reach out to the new neighbor. Even with similarities in the rest of the dance, I think that is really enough to make it a distinct (and a more accessible) dance from the ones mentioned.

Jack

On Sun, Aug 21, 2016 at 9:53 PM Linda Leslie via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

This dance is virtually the same as Troxler’s on the Loose, by Chris Ricciotti. The only difference in Chris’ dance is that the final move is a ladies chain.
Beth Parkes also wrote a dance that is mostly the same: Forgotten treasure. She begins the dance with a N B&S, and ends it with a chain as well.
Linda

On Aug 21, 2016, at 9:10 PM, Luke Donforth via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I was trying to find an easy and accessible dance, a real glossary basic contra.
>
> I feel like this must already exist, but I'm not finding it in my notes. Someone got a prior?
>
> Type: Contra
> Formation: Duple-Improper
>
> A1 -----------
> (8) Neighbor Do-si-do
> (8) Neighbor swing, end facing down the hall
> A2 -----------
> (8) Down the hall, four in line (turn as couples)
> (8) Return and Bend the line
> B1 -----------
> (6) Circle Left 3/4
> (10) Partner swing
> B2 -----------
> (8) Long lines, forward and back
> (8) Women allemande Left 1-1/2
>
> The B2 could be W DSD 1.5, although I like the allemande for the connection for brand new dancers. I specifically chose the left hand to leave the women facing towards their new neighbor.
>
> I know it's really close to a bunch of other stuff. B2 could be C L 3/4, balance and pass through; or chain to left hand star à la The Nice Combination; etc.
>
> Barring it already having been named by someone else, I'm going to call it "Having Fun with PAM" to keep track of it in my box; since I just got back from the fabulous PAMFest (Peacham Acoustic Music Festival).
>
> Thanks.
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Jack Mitchell

Durham, NC