I have a little observation to share about end effects that I've never heard anyone else mention. For background, note that in a simple duple-minor contra with no out-of-minor-set actions, dancers who reach an end of the set make the transitions inactive -> neutral -> active at the top or active -> neutral -> inactive at the bottom, in either case becoming neutral and then rejoining the body of the set exactly once. *** Now, how many of you have noticed that in a (duple minor, single progression) dance with a single temporary excursion out of the minor set, dancers will typically become neutral and return to the body of the set not twice, but *THREE* times? For example, suppose dancers leave their minor set to do an action such as a do-si-do, allemande, or star with their future neighbors (call this action the "sneak preview") and then return to original neighbors for the rest of the sequence before genuinely progressing to the new neighbors. An inactive couple starting in a foursome at the top of the set will experience the following transitions: 1. They leave their minor set and become neutral at the start of the sneak preview action. They might then wait in place during the sneak preview action, dance the action with "ghost" neighbors, or dance the action across the set with partners acting as neighbors. 2. At the end of the sneak preview action, they reenter the body of the set to dance the remainder of the sequence with original neighbors. 3. Then they finally progress to start the next round neutral at the top. 4. They temporarily enter the body of the set to dance the next repeat of the sneak preview action. 5. At the end of that sneak preview, they return to being neutral. 6. And finally they progress into the body of the set for good (or until they get to the bottom). The transitions are: inactive -> neutral -> inactive -> neutral -> active -> neutral -> active Similarly, a couple reaching the bottom would experience the transitions: active -> neutral -> active -> neutral -> inactive -> neutral -> inactive A similar analysis applies to dances where dancers briefly revisit previous neighbors or where dancers briefly depart (in various possible ways) from partners for an interaction with shadows. I only noticed this fact last year, after over 30 years of dancing and nearly 30 years of calling, during which I've both danced and called numerous dances with out-of-minor-set actions. I had previously noticed occasional dances in which out-of-minor-set actions result in dancers dealing with end effects three times, but I'd never before done a careful enough analysis to notice just how common it is. I suspect I'm not alone in not noticing. --Jim _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net