Of course you are correct that it is a "regular" contra. There is nothing that forces the dance to be done in waltz time, only my intent makes it a waltz contra. I give a little of the back story in this video of the maiden voyage of the dance. 

http://youtu.be/PXwAAASyrSE
I don't have any of the teach in the video, but like Ric, I  had them practicing the swing  in waltz time. I demoed how to do it with alternating feet, so yes,  it added about a minute and a half to the walk-through. I will sometimes do it as the last dance of the first half with the instruction, "Find a partner for a waltz and line up for a contra". The last time thru at the end of the partner swing, the call is, "Free waltz with your partner!"

Here is the dance done to a 4/4 tune:
http://youtu.be/Xgbw3ID-RBU

Sometimes you push her envelope....  ;-)

Bob Green
St. Louis


Sent from my iPad

On Aug 8, 2017, at 2:00 PM, Tony Parkes via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

Ric, that looks more like a normal contra than a waltz contra to me. Can you share your experience of swinging, or teaching a swing, to waltz music?

 

Thanks…

Tony

 

Tony Parkes

Billerica, Mass.

www.hands4.com

New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century

(to be published real soon)

 

 

 

From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Ric Goldman - Letsdance via Callers
Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2017 2:44 PM
To: 'Dugan Murphy' <dugan@duganmurphy.com>; 'Callers List Serve' <callers@sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Waltz-Time Contra Choreography

 

Hi Dugan,

 

One of my favorites is Bob Green’s Alison Wonderland, (improper):

A1           1-8          Nbrs balance + swing

A2           1-4          Circle L ¾

                5-8          Ptnr swing

B1           1-4          Gents star promenade 1x*

                5-8          Butterfly twirl

B2           1-4          Women chain to Nbr

                5-8          Long lines fwd + back

* Consider gents linking elbows to get into this.

 

Thanx, Ric Goldman

 

From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Dugan Murphy via Callers
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2017 11:02 AM
To: Callers List Serve <callers@sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Waltz-Time Contra Choreography

 

Do you have a favorite contra dance written to fit a waltz tune?  I danced one once many years ago and haven't thought much about it since, though it was pretty special.

 

Thank you in advance for sharing some choreography!

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