Of course contra dancers like swinging, so you could try incorporating this version into a contra dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfqC8uVfCUo In “Cowboy Dances” (1939) there was also a version with half a two-hand turn (but they called it a swing!) every time you met someone. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

Hi Luke, thanks for a great weekend. I'm piping up as a dancer who had hoped that you would call a grand square in a contra formation after the discussion here. Tonight I find myself in an analytical frame of mind, thinking about where we stumbled, in the hope that you (and others) will keep calling this dance and have great success with it. I'm from Illinois, but a regular at the two Wisconsin weekends (IndepenDance and Squirrel Moon). The programs tend to be dominated by contras, but with enough squares so most dancers are familiar with the basic concepts. I haven't been keeping count, but it feels as though most weekends include one dance with a grand square, and I felt that there were sufficient dancers on Sunday who knew the grand square figure that we should have been fine. Personally, I struggled to remember which direction to start as we flip-flopped from side to side. I think a lot of us were disoriented that way. Even in a square dance with rotating partners, one role usually stays home and can anchor the orientation. Part of my problem was not (yet) having internalized my identity as part of a right or left couple in a four-facing-four. I don't need to think any more when I'm addressed as a gent (or lady), as a middle or inside or outside. I know when I'm a head or a side. I know where to find my corner wherever I am at the moment. But I don't recall dancing a four-facing-four where the right couples did something different from the left couples. My two cents in the interest of continuous improvement. -Dave Harding On 7/5/2016 12:15 PM, Luke Donforth via Callers wrote:

Thanks for the feedback on how it went. Someone else suggested trying to get a regular grand square into the program earlier in the weekend, which may have helped. I do think there are other dances which differentiate in 4x4s, such as the center 4 star, or having one person in a group of four lead the rest of the line. I agree it's more of a cognitive load though. Another version I considered, Fox Hollow Fallacy, had the same bent 4x4 set-up but then had you do the grand square with heads and sides couples. So you're working with your corner instead of your partner. I hope to try that at some point and see how it goes. You could go even further in homage to square dancing and start it with right side couples one time, then head couples the next, then left side couples, then side couples; an alternating four-phase sequence (RHLS gives a more even distribution of the roles than RLHS). But that's more of the square "pay attention to the caller" tradition than contra's "learn the dance and the caller drops out" tradition. I can imagine another F word dancers might use to name that Fox Hollow variant... For anyone out that way considering attending, I thought the dance weekend as a whole was loads of fun. On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 10:46 PM, David Harding via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: -- Luke Donforth Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com &lt;Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com&gt;

An FYI…..Jacob also calls this dance “Fox Hollow Fancy”. In the RPDLW syllabus from 2005….Jacob states that both titles are valid. Linda On Jun 30, 2016, at 6:13 PM, Bob Isaacs via Callers &lt;callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote:

Hi Luke, "Bases Loaded" was the one.. authors: Jim Saxe, Lydee King Scudder, To Thoreau, maybe a few more? As far as I know this was written in a choreography workshop led by Jim Saxe. The "concept" was to put a grand square into a 2x2 contradance, where there obviously aren't enough dancers to do a 'real' grand square.. The result was pretty darn cool. When and where this workshop was held I am not sure.. You there Jim??? I learned this one from Kathy Anderson.. and definitely called it at the DEFFA Festival.. It helps to keep the music "marchy", not too fast and ask the dancers to "look sharp".. hee hee.. Try to keep the dancers on the 45 degree "bias" for the first 5/8 of the dance., that is hard some times.. "forward, two, three, turn, back, two, rollaway" etc.. the whole "Grand Square" part (both A's) I call "on the beat". there ya go.... bill From: luke.donev(a)gmail.com Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2016 22:38:10 -0400 Subject: Re: [Callers] Grand Square in a contra? To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net; callbill(a)hotmail.com Thanks all for your help! It seems probably that it was Bases Loaded (based on the write up at http://www.dancerhapsody.com/calling/dances.html); but it's even more likely that it was Bill Olsen calling, so I'd like to hear him weigh in on both probabilities ;-) I found write ups of some of the others mentioned: Fatal Attraction: http://www.dance.ravitz.us/#fa Mini Grand Swing: http://www.childgrove.org/index.php/about-dances/dance-writers/jim-hemphill… and the don't jog my memory. Didn't find the others, but had fun poking around though. The discussion of doing the grand square on the diagonal struck me as something that could be included in a 4x4 as variations of Jacob Bloom's dance ff your 4x4 was "bent". To get into bent 4x4: get into regular 4x4 lines, point out the couple on the diagonal in the other lines of four swing partner, end facing that diagonal couple. It's like a square dance on an x instead of a + Once you're there: Fox Hollow Foibles "bent" 4x4 A1 Grand Square, right side couples starting forward, left side couples starting with split A2 Reverse, right side couples starting with split, left side couples starting forward B1 Corner Balance and Swing, square set B2 Heads pass through Sides pass through Partner swing, face "bent" line of direction Musically, I could see pluses and minus to moving the entire grand square to the A phrases. It's consistent, and allows for a punch on the B1 balance & swing. But the A2->B1 transition signifying the reverse could also add some pizzazz. When I use it as a break in squares, I (usually) have both halves of the grand square in the same half of the tune. I'm curious how other people use grand squares, and what they try to do in terms of phrasing. One apparent advantage of the original Fox Hollow Fancy is setting up clear head couples to start forward in the grand square. I don't know how well dancers would remember "right side couple goes forward" as they swap sides back and forth. Even in the "bent" formation, you could have the heads (who are corners) start the Grand Square forward. You don't see much of your partner in Fox Hollow Fancy though, and the diagonal grand square lets you have more partner interaction. Small factors to weigh. Anyway, thanks again Shared Weight for being a resource. Luke On Thu, Jun 30, 2016 at 7:05 PM, Chris Page &lt;chriscpage(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: The popular four-face-four is "Grand Square Contra" There's also "McQuillen Fancy" by Tony Saletan "Bloom One" by Al Olson "To Hans T" by Birgit Rasmussen "To Torsten" by Birgit Rasmussen There's a grid square by Bob Isaacs called "Grand Square Grid". There's some contras that try and give the feel of Grand Square: Bases Loaded Fatal Attraction (Ravitz) Mini Grand Swing (Hemphill) Petite Square Contra (Tom Senior) Square Off Reel (Gaudreau) To Mette T (Rasumussen) -Chris Page San Diego -- Luke Donforth Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com