In older contra dances, danced duple or triple proper, same-sex right-and-left-through moves are common -- that is, a R and L through started from a position where two men are facing two women. Through the folk process, we have largely abandoned that practice, and either don't call those dances or call them much modified. There may be a number of reasons for this, but I think likely part of it has been discomfort with the same-sex interaction in that move. The folk process can take us in any number of directions…. "AFAIK it's a non-traditional element being added to a traditional folk dance form. It's not well defined, so awkward. A caller could say that #2's take the ladies position in the swing, but a caller at the next dance could say the reverse... so still not well defined. "As a caller, the job is to facilitate an enjoyable dance, not make a point of deliberately poking people's stress buttons. "As a traditional folk dance form, contra dancing is not static, but evolution should come from the "folk," not self appointed social attitude police. `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Richard S. Hopkins Tallahassee, FL 850-894-9212 850-544-7614 (cell) hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net