Hi, all I can’t think of a time ever when I had the answer to a question on this list – but here is a collection of dances I used many of in Austin in December 2017. You can see I was generous in my interpretation of holiday themed, including winter among other ideas. I hope folks find these useful. Dorcas Hand Houston TX 1. New Year's Day IMP Longways Dup Paul Balliet A1 LL F&B M DSD A2 L allm L 1 1/2 P Sw B1 Circle L 3/4 Pass thru to next N Gypsy this new N B2 N B&Sw (orig N for single prog) 2. BALANCE THE STAR Sicilian Circle – Originally OR IMP Raymond K. McLain of Berea, KY Beginner/Intermediate Dance Level (use “hand-shake star throughout” - Southern mountain tradition) A1 Right Hand Star and Balance twice - In and Out (8 counts) <— hence, “Balance” the Star! Turn the Star once ‘round (8 counts) A2 Left Hand Star and Balance - In and Out (8 counts) Turn the Star once ‘round (8 counts) B1 Neighbors DSD (8 counts) Gents Promenade this N into your P’s place (8 counts) (Gent acting as a pivot) B2 Partners DSD (Similarly) Gents Promenade Partners into Original place AND continue Promenade on to face a New Couple! (8 counts) Notes: "Balance The Star" was written by Raymond McLain Sr. for Christmas Country Dance School with Beaumont Rag as THE tune to play. The dance was written as a Sicilian Circle Dance - c. 1970 or 1971 3. Carlisle Double Star IMP Longways Dup Walter Lenk (Give and Take, 2004) A1 Star R! N Sw A2 M pull by to WAVE, Bal the wave P Sw B1 Down in 4, turn single Ret B2 Circle L ¾ Star L to progress 4. Rock the Cradle Joe Contra/Improper Ridge Kennedy STARTS IN SHORT WAVES, neighbor right hand A1 Balance and slide to the right (as in Rory O'More) (8) Balance and slide to the left (as in Rory O'More) (8) A2 Neighbor balance and swing (16) B1 Give & Take to gent's side & swing (16) B2 Circle Left ¾ (8) Balance the Ring & pass through to short wave (8) 5. Etna Star 4x4 Fred Breunig (Zesty) A1 Fwd 8 and back ½ W Grand Chain A2 Fwd 8 and back ½ W grand chain B1 Star L w/ opp cpl Star R w/ same B2 Circle 8 HALFWAY P Sw – end facing orig direction [cpls are interchanged] 6. Walk on the Sunny Side IMP Don Flaherty Start facing down in 4, Act in ctr A1 1’s arch; 2’s dive thru to next N N swing A2 M allm L 1 ½ P swing B1 Promenade across Circle ¾ and open to line (W2 leading) B2 Down in 4, pivot, back up 4 more Up in 4, pivot, back up to place READY for 1’s to arch… BREAK 7. Winter Wind<http://www.dance.ravitz.us/#wn> Becket, counter-clockwise Cary Ravitz 12-2011 A1 LL F&B, P roll away w half sashay Circle RIGHT ¾ A2 N B&Sw B1 Circle – Bal & Petronella Circle – Bal & Petronella B2 NEW N – Star R ¾ M turn in – P Sw 8. Tempus Fugit TEMPEST David Smukler A1 Line of 4 go down the hall Return, face the nearest side couple A2 Circle Half (follow momentum to put 2s in ctr – see note) 2s arch, 1s dive thru as 2s California twirl DSD the one you meet B1 B&Sw that N, end facing up or down w Gent on L, Lady on R B2 Same 4 circle L halfway (return 2s to outside) ALL PSw – and w 2s facing IN, 1s facing DOWN [1s will alternate sides as they progress] Note that in A2 the couple on the left of the line (as they face the music) turns left and circles to the right with their neighbor couple, while the couple on the right turns right and circles to the left. Momentum will naturally carry the circle the correct way. Because the twos always circle the same way, when in doubt they are in charge. TEMPEST formation: As in a 4-face-4, the ones are in a line-of-4 facing down, both couples standing side by side. However, what distinguishes Tempest formation from a Portland Fancy is that the twos are not in another line-of-4 facing up. Rather, they are out at the sides, facing in, as if in a very widely spaced Becket formation dance (wide enough that the line-of-4 fits between). The “four-face-four” method. Begin with a double contra (two couples in a line-of-four facing down at two more facing up, and so forth down the hall). The ones, who are facing down the hall, are all set. The twos, who are facing up, separate out to the sides and face in. 9. Joyride IMP Erik Weberg A1 Gypsy Neighbor (8) Mad Robin around Neighbor (8) A2 Half Pousette clockwise (8) 1/2 Hey, men passing left shoulders (8) B1 Men pass L once more to cross set, swing Partner (2/14) B2 Women's Chain (8) Star Left(8) 10. Stars of Bethlehem Improper Bob Isaacs (for Bethlehem PA dance) A1 N1 balance, box the gnat, star R A2 N2 allemande L, N1 swing B1 Circle L 3/4, partner swing (on side) B2 Ladies chain to N1, star L 11. "There is no way to Peace; Peace is the way" BECKET Erik Hoffman A1 Women Do Si Do; Partner Swing A2 Men Allemande Left 1-1/2; Neighbor Swing B1 Long Lines Forward & Back; Women Right Elbow Turn 1-1/2 B2 Women Star Promenade Partner 3/4 until two (Next Neighbor) Men meet Men link Left Elbows (women let go of the right elbow) to Star Promenade End on Own Side with a butterfly twirl to face that same Next Neighbor couple Erik's Note: the quote is a saying from A. J. Muste, our nations one time "most famous pacifist." It boggles my mind that, with our corporate media tied to the military-industrial complex, we could have ever had a famous pacifist. Then again, we had Martin Luther King, too... EXTRAS Renewal IMP Gene Hubert A1 F&B, Almd L N 1&3/4 to wave across w/W in the middle A2 Bal, W slide R (Rory O'More), All Sw P B1 1/2 hey w/W by R, Almd L P 1&3/4 to wave across w/M in the middle B2 Bal, M slide R, Sw N Yearning for Peace IMP David Smukler A1 RBal w N, box the gnat RStar HALF, turn single L (loop LEFT), reach across set to P w LEFT A2 LBal w P, swat the flea LStar HALF, turn single R (loop R) B1 Single file promenade (clockwise) within this group of 4, 3 places Gents turn back to PSw B2 LL F&B Circle L ¾, pass thru up and down, give R to next The “swat the flea” figure is just a left handed “box the gnat.” The day I composed this (April 21, 2007) I was deeply discouraged by what seemed like a relentless stream of tragic stories on the daily news. I wanted with all my heart to call a dance that night that somehow suggested the theme of peace. First, I considered Erik Hoffman’s wonderful dance, “There is No Way to Peace; Peace is the Way,” but Erik’s dance needs more space up and down the set than I was likely to have that night. Then I looked at a dance popular with English country dancers called Peace Be With You,written by Fried de Metz Herman. I started tinkering with it to try make it into a sequence that contra dancers would easily understand and enjoy, and this was the result. I did not call it that evening, but did on the next day. My first impulse was to give the dance the title “Sholom Aleichem,” which is Yiddish for “Peace Be With You,” but eventually settled on this title instead to try to convey a little of the sense of longing I felt as I worked on the dance. Winter in Summerland BECKET by Jeff Spero & James Hutson A1 Gents allemande left once and a half Neighbor Swing A2 Long lines forward and back Pass through to an ocean wave Wave Balance B1 Walk forward to the next neighbor Gypsy new neighbor right one-half Hey three-quarters (gents, center, left) (men go over and back, women cross the set) B2 Partner Balance and Swing [Start again with these same neighbors] 11. "20 Below" by Bill Olson BECKET Bill Olson A1 Circle left 3/4 to a wave across(L left in the center, N right) (8) Balance the wave (4) Pass through to a new wave (4) A2 Balance the wave(4) Neighbors swing (12) B1 Gents allemande left 1 ½ (8) Half a hey (Partners pass right on the outside) (8) B2 Partners balance and swing (16) ZESTY CHRISTMAS HORNPIPE IMP Tony Saletan / Ted Sanella A1 1s balance woman 2 and circle 3 to the left TWICE around A2 1s balance gent 2 and circle 3 to the left twice, opening to a line facing down with the woman in the middle; woman 2 joins the line (now of four). B1 Down 4-in-line (1s in the center), all turn alone, return and hand cast off. B2 Long lines forward and back; 1s swing in the center and end facing the next woman Tony's notes: Mark (and anyone else interested), in the Boston area (where I danced for several decades before recently moving to the state of Washington), we begin Vinton's (alias Christmas) Hornpipe pretty much as follows: On the first four beats all three people involved (woman #1 and the two gents in the subset) all balance advancing into a hand-holding circle of three. If the set is compact enough side-to-side, forming of the circle is almost instantaneous, and dancers can enjoy the connection of "balance the ring" almost from the very first beat. Random other winter themed ideas - "Dancing the Winter Away", Jim Kitch - "Snow Dance" Gene Hubert - You could try the contra modified version of Wendy Crouch's Winter Solstice<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEeXfkuZb1M> (video) (square with an extra couple). Renamed Swinging Solstice for the other side of the Pond. Features a grand square for 5 couples! Progression is clockwise. Champaign Cocktail IMP Jonathan Sivier A1 Neighbor do-si-do Ladies allemande left 1 1/2 A2 Partner balance and swing (on gent's original side) B1 Circle left 3/4 (back to original places) Neighbor swing (on the side) B2 Circle left Star left (look for new neighbors) I came up with this dance on 5/20/2013 prior to a gig in Bloomington, IN. I wanted a nice easy dance for early in the evening and was tired of the same old dances I had been using. I borrowed bits from several other easy dances. I live in Champaign, IL and figured it was a cocktail of dances and thus the name, a play on Champagne Cocktail. Snow Dance by Gene Hubert Christmas is on Monday - by Jim Hemphill Snowball Shimmy BECKET (Easy) Seth Tepfer A1 ----------- (8) Circle Left 1X* (8) Men allemande Right 1-1/2 A2 ----------- (16) Neighbor balance and swing B1 ----------- (8) Balance the ring and twirl to the right (petronella) (8) Balance the ring and twirl 2 places to the right (petronella) B2 ----------- (16) Partner balance and swing (face left) Notes: *I Changed this to slice left, gents alle Left 1 & 1/2 Snow Dance IMP (Intermediate) by Gene Hubert A1 ----------- Ring Balance Ladies pass by the R/change places (alternate with men change places)** Ring Balance California twirl with your Neighbor (face a new couple, shadow in other hand)* A2 ----------- Circle left once Star left once B1 ----------- Partner Balance and Swing B2 ----------- Right and Left through (long lines) Ladies Chain Hors d’oeuvre IMP (easy) by Melanie Axel-Lute A1 ----------- (8) Neighbor Do-si-do (8) Neighbor swing A2 ----------- (8) Long lines, forward and back (8) Women's Chain B1 ----------- (8) Women allemande Right once (8) Partner swing B2 ----------- (8) Circle Left 3/4 (4) Balance the Ring Pass through Double Dreydl IMP (easy) By Tony Saletan (Composed December 15, 1987) A1 N B&Sw A2 Circle L ¾ P Sw B1 Lines of 4 down the hall Turn as couples, return 1s face across while 2s hand cast to face across B2 Circle RIGHT L Chain Author's Notes: I wrote the dance during Chanukah. The title may be interpreted as referring to the two swings, or the two circles, since both figures go around like a top. The magic moment in this dance is the transition from the 2s casting counterclockwise (left), flowing into the circle right. Each woman should assist this by pulling her partner into the circle right; dancers are used to the man pulling the woman into a circle left, but he can't gracefully push her into the circle right. Many contras have figures that are particularly fun for the 1s; the cast in "Double Dreydl" gives the 2s a special bonus. This dance is from American Country Dances On Line<http://quiteapair.us/calling/acdol/> All rights reserved by the author; used by permission. Added to database 6/23/2002; edited by Russell Owen Christmas Stars IMP Rich Sbardella A1 Ones star left 1 with woman two (M1 behind partner) Ones star right 3/4 with man two (W1 behind partner) Man one cross set to original place A2 Neighbor gypsy Neighbor swing B1 Circle left 3/4 Partner swing B2 Ladies chain Long lines forward and back It's trickier than it looks, because it's different for the ones and the twos. From: Rich Sbardella via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 8:43 AM To: Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Subject: [Callers] Dances with Holiday Themes and Titles Hello Folks, I am looking for some contra dances which have a holiday theme for Christmas, Chanukah, or New Year's (Eve) for an open contra dance. Do You have any favorites? Rich