I've used this on for 2 couples. Had it for years & years. Modified from some contra dance... *UNKNOWN* (2 cpls) 16 R&L thru across & back 16 Star R/L 16 Square thru 5 hands (opp R, PL, etc.) 16 B&S P You may be able to modify some of the mixers as well, like Elbow Hook Mixer, for example. On Fri, Feb 28, 2014 at 10:01 AM, rich sbardella <richsbardella(a)snet.net>wrote;wrote: -- *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko7302 CR 2829Mabank, Texas 75156(903) 451-5535 (H)* *(903) 292-3713 (Cell)* *(903) 603-9955 (Skype)*

Hello, all!Boy, am I ever glad to see this thread! I'm not the only one with this dilemma.Thanks much for all the ideas and dances; they will be most helpful. The following has been my efforts so far to deal with it. Polly Triangle Mixer[3 couples in triangle formation -think square with 3 sides- one couple designated #1, couple to their left is #2, next is #3. Gents retain "home" space, ladies "visit" for a mixer.]A1 All 6, Circle Left, Circle RightA2 Corner dosido, partner allemande LeftB1 [couple 1 face couple 2] Ladies chain, [couple 2 to couple 3] ladies chain[hence-lady #1 chains around the triangle to her left, this puts all ladies one place ccw to original partner, progressed position]B2 New partner balance & swing[next time new lady #1 starts, 3x thru should put everyone with their original partner] Break: Dance as above for rank beginners; slightly more complex version, you can add part 2 as a break. With current partner, progression is ccw, as a couple, until everyone is back in their original home place. A1 Couples 1 & 2 Right & Left thru; couples 1 & 3 Right & Left thruA2 Couples 2 & 3 Right & Left thru; couples 2 & 1 right & left thruB1 Couples 3 & 1 Right & Left thru; couples 3 & 2 right & left thruB2 Partner balance & swing.------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dance for Two Couplesset dance, mixer A1 Balance the ring circle 1/2 (approx, doesn't matter really since there is no up & down the set) Neighbor dosido.A2 R & L thru across Left hand starB1 Partner (left-handed maybe?) balance, and swingB2 Ladies chain (to new partner) pass thru across and California twirl. *Remember who your current partner is.---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's another three-couple dance that I don't think I've seen mentioned yet in this thread. Like "Cottontail Rag" (a/k/a "Hot Tub Rag" a/k/a "Jack Turn Back") discussed in my previous message, this dance involves ducking under arches and may not be suitable for the group of seniors Rich Sbardella mentioned in the message that started this thread. (However, Rich, see my additional comments below the row of asterisks.) But it might be useful for readers who sometimes call to small (or not-so-small) groups where most dancers are limber. I don't know an "official" title for this sequence but "Pull the Bottom Lady Through" seems appropriately descriptive. "Pull the Bottom Lady Through" Formation: Circle of three couples Figure: Circle left Circle right Forward and back Right hands across (Dancers for a handshake-style star-- each dancer taking right with the opposite-sex dancer directly across the ring--and turn the star) Left hands back "Pull the bottom lady through" (One pair of dancers will have their joined hands lower than the other two pairs. That gent pulls his opposite lady to his place under as the other dancers raise their joined hands to let her through.) "Pull her through and swing her too" (The [former] bottom lady, who has just been pulled through the arches, swings with her [formerly] opposite gent in his place. The other dancers meanwhile do *not* resume turning their star.) And now the next (The gent of the remianing pair whose hands are lower pulls his opposite lady through thearch formed by the remaining pair, and they swing.) And everybody swing (Last gent pull the last lady to his place and all swing.) Dancers finish their swing facing in in normal couple position (gent on left, lady on right) with their new partners. If gents stay in order during the "pull the lady" actions (holding their ground and pulling the ladies to gents' placs), two more repeats of the whole sequence will get everyone back to their original partners. I've generally seen this sequence (or variants) combined with other figures in the same way that traditional squares have a mix of main figures and chorus figures. Here's a video of Phil Jamison calling a version of figure at the 2011 "Dare to Be Square" weekend in Brasstown, NC: http://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/301 In addition to a version of the distinctive figure described above (but omitting the preliminary circle right and forward and back), the dance in the video includes a grand right and left and reverse and a three-couple version of "Dive for the Oyster". You can see dancers in the video sometimes competing to be bottom pair in the handshake stars, the idea being that the pair who do the first pull-through get rewarded with the longest swing. Other dancers may prefer to take a more sedate approach and reward their knees and backs with less bending. I learned "Pull the Bottom Lady Through" from the calling of Dolores Heagy. If I recall correctly, one of the figures she combined it with besides "Dive for the Oyster" was a three- couple "Double Bow Knot". (See http://squaredancehistory.org/items/show/300 for a square dance with "Double Bow Knot" danced successively by two couples, then three couples, then all four couples. There are a few spots in the video where dancers don't do the figure as intended, but also lot of times where they do. In Dolores's version, I believe the lead gent started the Double Bow Knot by dancing under the arch made by himself and his partner. Take note of the end ladies leading their part of the broken ring ccw around the outside. This "counterdancing" really adds to the flow of the figure.) I think Dolores may have learned "Pull the Bottom Lady Through" from Sandy Bradley. I don't know any more about the history of the figure. * * * * * * * * * * * * A variety of traditional-style square dance figures and breaks can be adapted for use in a three-couple circle. If dancers do a grand right and left in a three-couple circle, starting with partners by right hands as usual, then partners will meet halfway around the ring by left hands. In the first video I cited above, Phil Jamison has dancers go around their partners by left hands into a reverse grand right and left. More simply, they could just continue the grand right and left the whole way around (six changes total) to their starting places and eet partners by right hands as usual to start a promenade. (Or they could meet and swing or do-si-do or box the gnat ...) You can also use thing like (on the corner) Allemande left like an Allemande X Pass your partner (or "pass who you swung) and swing the next. Three repeats (instead of four as in a square) get you back to your original partner. Here's another (on the corner) Allemande left like an allemande O Go right [pull by R w/ most recent partner] And left [with next in forward grand right an left direction] And do-si-do [with next] New corners [the ones who recently did a left pull by] Allemande left like an allemande O ... Allemande Thar can also work in a three-couple ring, with appropriate adjustments if you want to get dancers back to original partners. 4-way symmetrical square dance sequences like "Texas Star" are easily adapted to the three-couple setting. Instead of "four ladies chain" [to opposite gents in a square], you can use "three ladies chain two places" (to original corner [the third gent around the square if you count partner as number one]). Three such chains [instead of two] get ladies back to original partners. Callers experienced with traditional squares will be able to come up many more ideas along these lines. --Jim

On 3/3/2014 7:06 PM, Aahz Maruch wrote: I've been looking at this thread as someone who calls English and one-night-stand dances and tried for some years to get English ceilidh dancing going in the Bay Area. If you're willing to do things that aren't recognizable as contra dances, there are hundreds and hundreds of small-set dances. There are tens of Scottish dances easier than Postie's Jig, there are cheerful squares in the English/British country tradition (Cumberland Square 8 is my frequent go to, but there's Goathland Square), zillions of two-couple and three-couple sets, etc. Most of them call for fairly specific tunes or types of tunes. My "what if hardly anybody turns up" list of gotos for English dances include: 2-cpl -------------- Rufty-Tufty Hit and Miss Heartsease (but only if you've done the others first) Handel With Care Three-Couple ------------------- Black Nag (yes, there's a hey, but you can either just teach it or live with it.) Upon A Summer's Day Trip to Tunbridge (very similar to Chorus Jig as three-couple) Come Let's Be Merry Young Widow fixup (1s have nothing to do in the last four bars so they can just go to the bottom and new 1s start. Four-Couple ------------------ Marlbrouk (Cotillion) Cumberland Square Triple Minors Scottish Style (four couple longways, each couple active twice and to the bottom) Broom, the Bonny Bonny Broom Five-Couple ---------------- Levi Jackson Rag (but with five couples you can just do duple-minor longways and be happy enough) That doesn't make a program for exclusively first-timers, but for them you can also use existing whole-set dances, make up dances, etc. -- Alan