[Callers] few dancers dances

[John Sweeney via Callers]

Hi Rickey,

Some of your options depend on the skill levels of your dancers and their
willingness to explore related genres.  There have been lots of great
suggestions already. Here are a few more.

Many of the Playford dances are great fun and can be danced with the kind of
energy that contra dancers like to use. Have a look at this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avfqi-cjrYI
The first figure is OK, albeit a little long, but the second one, the
Shuttle (starts at 1:22), is great fun, as is the last one, the Sheepskin
Hey (starts at 1:46).  If you think your dancers would enjoy that sort of
dance then there are loads of great English dances out there, from Playford
through to eCeilidh: http://www.webfeet.org/dances/index.html

Here is another sample with four different heys in three figures (watch the
top couple carefully in the last figure - they are doing a circular hey
while the others are dancing heys on the side!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmepHV5cM7k


Couple dances:
Salty Dog Rag
Swedish Masquerade
The Ideal Schottische


Two Couple Dances:
Thanks to Mr Playford
Jubilation
and lots more...


Three Couple Dances:
Too many to mention!


Four Couple Dances:
No good - if you have 10 to 14 people then too many are sitting out - I have
the same problem at some of my sessions.


Five Couple Dances:
Yorkshire Rose
Boston Tea Party
Fivepenny Piece
And I have a version of Up Tails All using modern moves, each couple going
round the circle doing the move of their choice with each other couple, with
multiple couples active at the same time - contact me if you are interested.


Six Couple Dances:
Square --- NOT!
Hexitation - and double up the Heads to turn 12 people into a square dance
for fun in the choruses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qNy9II3OiU


Seven Couple Dances:
See the recent discussion at Cat's Calling Academy:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/110222402336603/permalink/1201075319917967/


Five Assorted Dancers:
Five Weevils (I think some weevils were mentioned already)
F-Lock
Quintilinear


SAD Dances (Seven Assorted Dancers):
Six Plus One
The Moon & Seven Stars


Nine Assorted Dancers:
Westward Ho!


Of course there are also Circle Mixers.

And Appalachian Big Set is fun as well if you have 12 people (or 10 or 14 -
one couple will be out briefly each time). Here is a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3mEOihRck
There are lots of two couple figures in the tradition and you can mix them
up any way you wish, with a scatter promenade between each couple of figures
to change neighbours. Each dance starts and ends in a big circle and there
are lots of fun moves for that formation in the tradition as well. This is
square dancing for when you don't have multiples of eight!

Hope that helps.

Happy dancing,
John

John Sweeney, Dancer, England john at modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent