I know that Byron Ricker has been collecting and writing dances that he calls "Quads." These are contras that work well with as little as 4 couples. The important feature of a "Quad" is that no couple ever waits out. so it can be done with 4 or more couples. Also, all Quad dances must be Becket dances. (At least, I haven't thought of a way to make a non-Becket Quad.) These dances are important for some of those smaller northern NH dances that Byron calls. Here's one of them: Chasing the "L" (Becket) - Byron Ricker A1: Diagonal R&L over; Ladies chain across. A2: Men Ala L 1 1/2 X to partner. Gypsy w/partner B1: Hey for 4 (W start with L shoulder) B2: Bal & Swing partner. There are also a lot of triplets (Ted Sanella wrote many of them, as had Byron) that a good for 3 couples. Rich. Rickey remarked on 6/20/2007 12:20 PM:

Hi Ricky, Here is one I made up on the spot one night for a dwindling crowd at a one-night-stand gig in a summer beach community on the Maine Coast. It's a triplet, and I call it the Ocean Park Shuffle, after the name of the town that hosted the dance. A1 Long Lines(Lines of three) go forward and back Partners do si do A2 Partners balance and swing B1 Top 2 couples star left 1x Bottom 2 couples star right 1x B2 Top 2 couples circle left Top couple cast down to the bottom of the set (I don't actually know if that's the right term - they go down the outside of the set to the bottom, no one follows them) I've used it a couple times since in similar situations. -cynthia -----Original Message----- From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Rickey Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 12:21 PM To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: [Callers] Low Numbers Hi, I am wondering if you have any dances for low numbers of dancers (perhaps 6 or less), when most or all of the dancers are beginners and adults. I am also wondering if you have any dances (presumably different dances), that do not require choosing a partner and are good openers for beginner adults. Thanks as always to all, Rickey Holt. _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers