Love the title, Joseph!!! I wrote a dance in 2016 with similar celestial themes and figures for my friend and longtime contra, ECD, and waltz dancer Dr. Bernard Whiting. He was one of the leading scientists responsible for the historic first observation of Gravitational Waves. This dance describes the process of that observation, with two black holes (the Gents) first orbiting and then colliding (swinging). The resulting "Wave" made in the fabric of spacetime (largely represented by the Ladies' interweaving trajectory) travels through space, and is observed here on Earth (for a Partner Swing). *Dr. Whiting's Delight* 2016, Angela DeCarlis Becket R, Intermediate (harder for the caller than for the dancers!) A1: Circle L 3/4 N Swing A2: Long Lines Forward, Gents Rollaway Neighbor on way Back 1/2 Hey (Begins Gents by Right) B1: Gents Right Shoulder 'Round and Cross-hand-grip Swing [1] While Ladies Orbit CCW All the way around [2] B2: Gents keep Right, take Left with Neighbor in Short Wave, all facing Direction of Progression [3] Balance Wave Forward & Back All walk forward, New gents pass by Right [4] Partner Swing [1] The Gents' Cross-hand Swing often begins with a Right Allemande grip, before the left hand grip and buzz-step are incorporated. When done correctly, this swing will be comfortable and safe for the Gents, and will also transition effortlessly into taking hands in the short wave across. [2] Taking the time to teach the ladies to pass adjacent orbiting ladies by the Left, Olympic Rings Style, does a lot to make this part of the dance more interesting for them. [3] It's super useful to outline direction of progression for the dancers at the beginning of the walk-through [4] I used to call this as a short "Hook" Right Allemande when I led it, but Lisa Greenleaf advised me to modify it so as to not involve hands. Either way, It's easy for folks to autopilot in this part of the dance and expect to form a new wave, when it's really more like a swing through. I also just recently wrote a dance with an interesting star figure that I'll look forward to sharing later this summer, after I've had a chance to call it at BIDA on July 7. Happy writing, all! Angela On Wed, May 15, 2024 at 2:04 PM John Sweeney via Contra Callers < contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

I've put together a dance with stars, orbits, shifting waves and Rorys, but no planets (circles). Here it is: Aurora O’More Peter Foster 19 May 2024 Becket A1 (8) Rights and lefts (8) Left hand star A2 (8) Women allemande left once around WHILE men turn out and orbit clockwise halfway to short wavy lines (right hand with neighbour) (8) Balance right and left, then Rory O'More slide right B1 (8) Balance again, then pass through to a new wavy line (left hand to new neighbour, men right hands in the middle) (8) Balance left and right, then Rory O'More slide left B2 (8) Allemande right just halfway, then men allemande left once around WHILE women orbit clockwise halfway (8) Swing partner I tried it last night and it went fairly well. Some people were not very familiar with the orbit move, which resulted in some interesting scrambles. Peter _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

Allemande 1 1/2 is only 8 counts! On Thu, May 23, 2024 at 12:03 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: Interesting! Sorry to nitpick, but how did the B2 go?  It appears there are 12 counts in the first half of B2 (allemande 1 1/2 = 12 counts).  Are you encouraging them just to cheat in the extra beats by doing the allemandes faster?  Did that create the scrambles? --jh-- On Wed, May 22, 2024 at 8:47 AM Peter Foster via Contra Callers &lt;contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: I've put together a dance with stars, orbits, shifting waves and Rorys, but no planets (circles). Here it is: Aurora O’More Peter Foster 19 May 2024 Becket A1 (8) Rights and lefts    (8) Left hand star A2 (8) Women allemande left once around WHILE men turn out and orbit clockwise halfway to short wavy lines (right hand with neighbour)    (8) Balance right and left, then Rory O'More slide right B1 (8) Balance again, then pass through to a new wavy line (left hand to new neighbour, men right hands in the middle)    (8) Balance left and right, then Rory O'More slide left B2 (8) Allemande right just halfway, then men allemande left once around WHILE women orbit clockwise halfway    (8) Swing partner I tried it last night and it went fairly well. Some people were not very familiar with the orbit move, which resulted in some interesting scrambles. Peter

Yes, the allemande in B2 is a bit tight. The allemande 1/2 is actually less than 4 beats, and the momentum helps launch the women into the orbit. There were some scrambles there, but there were actually more scrambles in the in the first orbit, when the men were a bit slow to turn out. It was certainly interesting to watch. Peter On 23/05/2024 2:39 pm, Jonathan Sivier via Contra Callers wrote: _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

Hi Joseph et al. Saw this today, and here's what I came up with: Mescolanza (4 face four), Couples swap sides each time, start facing up and down A1: Opposite Larks Allemande Left 1.5 (8), Opposites swing (8) face across; A2: Larks Allemande left (with line buddy lark) to short waves across (8), Balance (4), with the one in your right hand (original diagonal opposite) Allemande right about 7/8 (to place larks in the center); B1: Larks hands across star left WHILE Robins orbit cw half way to meet partners (8) take partners by the right hand to form two waves that cross in the middle, Waves balance right and and left (4) and everyone slide right past their partner (a la Rory O' More (4); B2: Partners Balance and Swing, and face original direction of dance (16). Needs a field test, of course. But if you like it, you can name it. Critiques and requests for clarifications welcome. Greg On Wed, May 15, 2024 at 1:34 PM Joseph Erhard-Hudson via Contra Callers < contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: