New dances: Set and Link Contras - Contra Callers

16 Nov 2024

I wrote this up as a blog post
<https://chromamine.com/2024/11/set-and-link-contras/>, but I also thought this list
would appreciate it and have interesting thoughts to share.

It occurred to me recently that I don’t think there are any contra dances that feature a
set and link figure. This is a figure from Scottish Country Dancing which follows this
sequence (assuming becket formation for this write up):

1. Couples face the other couple across the set, taking convenient hands with their
partner along the side
2. All balance right and left (4 beats)
3. All turn over their right shoulder as they trade places along the side of the set with
the robins going through the middle and larks going round the outside (4 beats)

It could be thought of as a petronella twirl for two or, perhaps, as a mad robin halfway
with twirling. If none of those descriptions work for you, there’s also a video of the
figure in action <https://youtu.be/hI-ebAspZzY?si=gkIDl8WmCzFc5HO4&t=16>. (Note
the video is to a leisurely Scottish strathspey, but it can be done to a jig or reel at
contra tempo just fine.)

I decided to write a couple:

*Set And Link Contra*
Harris Lapiroff
Becket CCW

A1
Set and link (trading with partner)
Balance the ring
Petronella twirl

A2
Neighbor balance and swing

B1
Set and link (trading with neighbor)
Balance the ring
Petronella twirl

B2
Partner balance and swing

Note A1: Each time through after the first, the set and link should start with a big
balance to the right to progress to new neighbors

And a slightly more complex, but still accessible, one:

*Broken Link*
Harris Lapiroff
Duple Improper

A1
Neighbor balance and swing

A2
Set and link (trading with neighbor)
Robins alle L 1½

B1
Partner right shoulder round
Partner swing

B2
Circle left 3
Pass through up and down
Next neighbor DSD

Note: Can also be done in becket by starting with B2, skipping the pass through, and
changing to a slide left progression at the end.

I danced these through with a few dancers in a living room and they worked. I was worried
the “Set And Link Contra” wasn’t appropriate for any crowd, being too simple and
repetitive for an experienced dance but too tricky for beginners. Some of my test dancers
agreed, but others thought that it was satisfying enough to dance to work – which I could
see maybe working for a late evening brain-off-dance-trance vibe.

A few open questions I have about these dances:

- In “Set And Link Contra,” is the big balance right to progress satisfying or awkward? We
didn’t have enough dancers to test the progression. A different option might be to make it
Becket CW and slide left, then balance back to the right. (I suspect slide right, balance
right would feel too muddy.)
- The balance right and then left sequence isn’t natural to contra dancers. Is there a way
to lead into it that makes it more natural? (Notably: a couple of my test dancers had done
at least a little Scottish and they both liked it, but one dancer who had only done contra
found it awkward.)
- Alternatively is there a different way of doing that balances that would be more at home
in a contra? I think balancing together and away wouldn’t give good momentum into turning
over the right shoulder, but perhaps balancing in and out in a ring would work?
- In “Broken Link,” I’m still not sure if the set and link into a robins left hand
allemande sequence feels good. When I tested it myself it felt flowy in a weaving sort of
way, but some of my test dancers reported it was awkward. We didn’t take time to workshop
it to see if the flow felt better once the set and link was more familiar.