Re: [Callers] Favorite AABBCC contra dances?

Hi William, I think this might be my first (second?) post to this list. A not-too-complex AABBCC dance which has seen a fair amount of use since 1986 or whenever it was: Shutesbury Reel improper double progression A1: circle left; swing neighbor; end progressed A2: Down hall 4; wheel as couples; return to progressed place B1: Hay for 4, ladies passing right shoulders to lead B2: with brand new neighbor, dos-a-dos; right hand turn (or cross hand turn, which I now prefer) 1 3/4 to a 4-person wavy line, gents joining left hands in center C1: Balance the wave [works well with Reel Beatrice, among others]; gents left hand turn 1/2; swing partner C2: Circle left 3/4; circle balance; w/partner, California twirl Even after the dancers have the rest of it down, I tend to continue to prompt the beginnings of A2 and C2 because both follow swings. I made the dance up after fiddler Sue Sternberg (best known for her stint in Wild Asparagus) returned from her big Ireland trip playing a heartbreakingly gorgeous rendition of Charlie Lennon's "Kilty Town", a beautiful AABBCC tune. To cook Sue's version down into standard contra dance length seemed unthinkable; I decided to do the opposite: Tinker with the dance instead of the tune. I intended the dance to be a tribute to Sue, a magnificent human being and already one of my fiddle heroes, herself, but she was young and shy, so, to spare her the mortification of being publicly honored by name, I called it Shutesbury reel in honor of the town where she lived. A lot of wonderful tunes got played in her house, whose subsequent owners left Sue's name on the mailbox on Montague Road for 20 years in her honor. The dance is so basic that somebody else may well have thought it up earlier. David Kaynor On Dec 2, 2013, at 3:27 AM, William Watson wrote: