One more dance with left and right chains -- four in a row.  I was once asked what moves I like in contra (diagonals, rollaways and disappearing partners) -- this is the response.  Evil Diane works really well for this one. Chain BridgeBecket A1  (8) Robins chain on the right diagonal       (8) Robins chain on the left diagonal (to shadow)  (let go of joined left hands in courtesy turn early) A2   (8) Larks chain straight across (shadows are facing each other across for a nanosecond)        (8) Larks chain on the left diagonal  (yes really) B1  With the one you just courtesy turned  (4) Balance the ring (4) Petronella;        (4) Balance ring (4) Petronella; turn around (you should be facing your Partner on the wrong side of the set) B2   (4) Balance THIS ring, (4) Larks roll your Neighbor Robin across        (8) Swing your Partner on your original side (no time for a balance) April Blum On Monday, March 24, 2025 at 01:55:12 PM EDT, Michael Fuerst via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Here is a dance with both a left and right chain.... The Balter Dance Becket Left     Beg-Int    by Michael Fuerst  May 2021 Recent video 2025 Cabin Fever weekend in Knoxville TN      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtTO2Jrsv4A *A1* Robins chain to neighbor  Left hand star once around *A2*Larks chain to partner.Right hand star once around. *B1*  With neighbor, right hand balance pull by across. Partners swing on side they started the dance,  end facing across. *B2* Long lines forward and roll away with 1/2 sashay.       (Larks slide right to robin's place while robins  roll in front of lark to take larks place) Partner balance towards each other and away (4) With robins holding their place,  larks roll from right side       to left side of partner, all finishing facing new neighbors (4). (Partners' joined hands at end of roll can guide  robins  into A1's chain.) Notes: (1) Balter - to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill, but usually with enjoyment. (2) Although neither expected nor intended, this dance is suitable for a crowd with a high proportion of beginners, as one caller reported to me:"I called a couple of your dances tonight. There were totally brand new dancers in the mix--folks with not even other dance experience--so even basic stuff required like 3 walk-thrus. We did Dave Found The Missing Coffee Cup, and Balter Dance. Balter Dance was particularly well received for its chains for both ladies and gents, which is rare, and works beautifully with the alternating stars. One person commented that it was great for helping new dancers, since you're in physical contact with either a partner or neighbor almost all the time, so you don't get lost or wander in the wrong direction."So by accident, this dance was aptly named. On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM jim saxe via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: The second part of "Parson's Farewell", published in Playford's _The English Dancing Master_ (1651), includes an action that (at least under some interpretations, such as the ones shown here         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X4wpEIOZIM&t=40s         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQhvmA0UJYg&t=45s ) is recognizably ancestral to gents' and ladies' chains, a connection that, if I recall correctly, I first heard of from Colin Hume. First the men travel across and back, passing by left hands with each other (but with some sort of variously-interpreted feint with right hands); then the women do the same, but with contrary hands. The turns with opposite and partner are commonly interpreted as one-hand turns. (The so-called "courtesy turn" didn't become a standard styling until some time in the 20th century.) Several of the quadrilles in J. A. French's _The Prompter's Hand Book_ (undated, but Library of Congress suggests circa 1893) include the figure "gents grand chain". French doesn't give definitions of the figures, but my guess would be that gents begin by crossing the set by left hands with opposite gent, as in a left-hands-across star halfway around. --Jim _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

Here is a dance with both a left and right chain.... The Balter Dance Becket Left Beg-Int by Michael Fuerst May 2021 Recent video 2025 Cabin Fever weekend in Knoxville TN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtTO2Jrsv4A *A1* Robins chain to neighbor Left hand star once around *A2* Larks chain to partner. Right hand star once around. *B1* With neighbor, right hand balance pull by across. Partners swing on side they started the dance, end facing across. *B2* Long lines forward and roll away with 1/2 sashay. (Larks slide right to robin's place while robins roll in front of lark to take larks place) Partner balance towards each other and away (4) With robins holding their place, larks roll from right side to left side of partner, all finishing facing new neighbors (4). (Partners' joined hands at end of roll can guide robins into A1's chain.) Notes: (1) Balter - to dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill, but usually with enjoyment. (2) Although neither expected nor intended, this dance is suitable for a crowd with a high proportion of beginners, as one caller reported to me:"I called a couple of your dances tonight. There were totally brand new dancers in the mix--folks with not even other dance experience--so even basic stuff required like 3 walk-thrus. We did Dave Found The Missing Coffee Cup, and Balter Dance. Balter Dance was particularly well received for its chains for both ladies and gents, which is rare, and works beautifully with the alternating stars. One person commented that it was great for helping new dancers, since you're in physical contact with either a partner or neighbor almost all the time, so you don't get lost or wander in the wrong direction."So by accident, this dance was aptly named. On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM jim saxe via Contra Callers < contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote:

Love it, Seth! I will have to add it to my repertoire. On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 12:19 PM Tepfer, Seth &lt;labst(a)emory.edu&gt; wrote:

Hi Louise, I heard the term “Arky” in the late 1990s in America for a couple who had switched roles, e.g: “Why are they on the wrong side?” “Oh, they‘ve gone Arky.” Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent From: Louise Siddons via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; Sent: 24 March 2025 14:41 To: Jeff Kaufman &lt;jeff.t.kaufman(a)gmail.com&gt; Cc: Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Subject: [Callers] Re: New Names for Ladies' Chains No date on it, but Al Olson’s Butternut Squash (with apologies for the gendered language: https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=3709) was published in Zesty Contras. I know 1983 wasn’t 50 years ago but it was over 40 — and many of the dances in there were written long before Larry published the book. Larry uses the term “arky” to describe a figure done from the unexpected side, so my impression is that at least in 1983, at least some dancers were doing dances with figures that inverted role expectations enough to need a word for it. I’d love to hear more from people on this list who were dancing back then. Louise.

No date on it, but Al Olson’s Butternut Squash (with apologies for the gendered language: https://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/thecallersbox/dance.php?id=3709) was published in Zesty Contras. I know 1983 wasn’t 50 years ago but it was over 40 — and many of the dances in there were written long before Larry published the book. Larry uses the term “arky” to describe a figure done from the unexpected side, so my impression is that at least in 1983, at least some dancers were doing dances with figures that inverted role expectations enough to need a word for it. I’d love to hear more from people on this list who were dancing back then. Louise.

Joe and I clearly replied at the same time, with a lot of the same thoughts :) It’s important to the historian in me to note that left-hand chains generally are not new to contra, nor are ‘role-reversed’ chains — they’re uncommon, but I can think of dances thirty and fifty years old with them without trying too hard. (If I were a dedicated contra dance historian, I’d be even more specific — but I’m sure there’s expertise on this list that can provide a wide variety of examples.) And I think it’s also important to note that we are not CALLERLAB, and we don’t need to have one answer to this question. It is generally considered (and has been the whole time I’ve been dancing, at least) a strength in our dance communities that we accommodate difference and variety in our callers, as well as in the execution of the dance (flourishes, etc.) and the people with whom we dance. It’s really interesting to hear how other people think through and address these changes. Louise.

Jeff suggested “Robins chain” which I just want to nuance a little bit. “Ladies' chain” has historically meant a chain by the right, and I have heard callers say “men, do a ladies’ chain” in gendered contexts. Callers using Larks and Robins, though, are in my experience more likely to say, “Larks, chain across” or similar, than to say, “Larks, do a Robins’ chain” — which is on the face of it slightly ludicrous. (The same would go for Robins chaining by the left — one wouldn’t say “Robins, do a Larks’ chain.) So if I’m calling with role terms (which, yes, I sometimes do), I might say “[Larks/Robins], chain across.” If I want to specify which hands (regardless of role terms/positional calling), I would say “chain by the right” or “chain by the left” rather than “right-hand chain” or “left-hand chain” — because those latter prompts produce stars a bit too often. Having said all that, experience suggests that “chain” is almost always fine by itself, because the walkthrough teaches the dancers who’s doing what, and most of the need for a longer phrase is because callers want to give dancers a reminder of the figure a bit sooner than one word allows. I “grew up” with people calling “ch-ch-chain” as a way to solve this problem without adding words, and I sometimes still do that because it’s concise and fun to say. Louise. (Winchester, UK)

For Larks/Robins calling I generally hear "Robins Chain". Jeff On Mon, Mar 24, 2025 at 7:36 AM Colin Hume via Contra Callers < contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: