I determine "overused" when I scan my program for the evening and 3-4 dances in a row has a certain figure (allemande 1 1/2, circle, balance and swing, Ladies chain, etc). And when I look at my dance cards I see a lot of Heys, circle 3/4 and allemande 1 1/2 alot. When I balance my program for an evening I not only look for diversity in the individual figures, I also look at the overall direction of each dance's choreography. For example, are all the figures across the dance ie, hey or forward and back or chain, R&L through or allemande across? Then my next dance may be stars, circles, and allemandes on side or something up and down the set (to a shadow) or down the hall or an oval. Donna Hunt "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance." -unknown In a message dated 2/27/2012 5:51:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, grekenzie(a)gmail.com writes: What is so great about the "ProgramPlanning Matrix" is that it seems to be based upon input from a number of experienced, key people. Nevertheless, the matrix does place a significant burden on programmers. If you add in local preferences and personal preferences the task of programming becomes much more of a challenge. In general this is probably a good thing. I agree that it is the variation in the transitions, the music, the dancers, and the calling styles that adds excitement to contras. I'm not too concerned, personally, with "overused" figures. For me it is the non-basic figures that seem to be "overused." Keeping it simple and accessible allows greater participation which is what insures lots of variation in the people you interact with at each dance, and this--in my opinion--is the real draw of contras. If you think a figure is "overused," what is the basis of your opinion? is it: - comments from dancers - comments from programmers - personal preference - or something else? Just wondering. - Greg McKenzie ***************** On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 10:53 AM, <Dhuntdancer(a)aol.com> wrote: to find _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers