From: luke.donev(a)gmail.com Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:15:02 -0500 To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: [Callers] Questioning a sacred cow of contra dancing It seems that one of the fundamental basics of contra dancing is that at the end of a swing, the lady (or person dancing the traditional lady's role) ends on the right. I've been thinking about calling in situations with a high percentage of new dancers, especially where gender ratios are off or deliberately being ignored. I'm wondering about dances that still have the form of a longways contra but where it doesn't matter who ends the swing where. For instance: Becket A1 Long Lines Yearn to the Left With Neighbor across from you, DSD 1x A2 Circle L Circle R B1 Star L Star R B2 Partner DSD on side Partner swing (or two hand turn), end facing across If you and your partner switch who is on the right at the end of the swing, it doesn't matter. You won't have to do any different moves, or accidentally lose your partner. It seems like if you want to avoid gendered rolls, you lose access to a bunch of moves (chains and Neighbor swings coming to mind). The moves above are valid, as are petronellas, allemandes, and promenades (R&L and heys might technically work, but they're not ones I would shoot for in the hypothetical situations I'm envisioning). Does anyone out there have a collection of dances like this that they like? Just a few months ago there was a discussion of some circle mixers for new dancers ( http://www.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers/2012-October/005152.html) which I found really useful; but I'd like to flesh out options for that level of crowd that aren't mixers and are swing forgiving. Thanks -- Luke Donforth Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com> www.lukedonev.com _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

It seems that one of the fundamental basics of contra dancing is that at the end of a swing, the lady (or person dancing the traditional lady's role) ends on the right. I've been thinking about calling in situations with a high percentage of new dancers, especially where gender ratios are off or deliberately being ignored. I'm wondering about dances that still have the form of a longways contra but where it doesn't matter who ends the swing where. For instance: Becket A1 Long Lines Yearn to the Left With Neighbor across from you, DSD 1x A2 Circle L Circle R B1 Star L Star R B2 Partner DSD on side Partner swing (or two hand turn), end facing across If you and your partner switch who is on the right at the end of the swing, it doesn't matter. You won't have to do any different moves, or accidentally lose your partner. It seems like if you want to avoid gendered rolls, you lose access to a bunch of moves (chains and Neighbor swings coming to mind). The moves above are valid, as are petronellas, allemandes, and promenades (R&L and heys might technically work, but they're not ones I would shoot for in the hypothetical situations I'm envisioning). Does anyone out there have a collection of dances like this that they like? Just a few months ago there was a discussion of some circle mixers for new dancers ( http://www.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers/2012-October/005152.html) which I found really useful; but I'd like to flesh out options for that level of crowd that aren't mixers and are swing forgiving. Thanks -- Luke Donforth Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com> www.lukedonev.com _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers