I decided not to use a database program (although I have to admit that I didn't try very hard to look for one). I would be interested in knowing what program people are using and how they like it, though. I decided to go for looks instead. I used MS PowerPoint to make slides and formatted them the way I wanted to look at the card. You can see an example in the attached PDF file.
First I'll talk about the dance card, then I'll talk about the Legend. Most of the card is self-explanatory: title in the upper left, formation and author on the upper right. Where you might not understand is at the bottom edge: I have put (in notation) each of the non-universal moves that appear in the dance. You can look at the legend card to see what letter codes I used for each figure. This allows me to put the cards in order on the table and do a quick scan for patterns (too many stars in a row or too many contra corners in the evening). The notation in the bottom center is also described on the legend card: It counts the types of swings that appear in the dance. Again, this allows me to look for patterns while I'm programming and to make sure I don't go too long without a neighbor swing or if the dance is unequal.
The last code at the bottom is just a placeholder at this time. I know that I want to sort the dances somehow later on, but right now I don't know how I want to do it. It could be a code for Beginner or Advanced, or it could be a code for a certain type of figure. I'll decide that later.
PowerPoint has a search utility, so I can use that when I'm looking for a dance.
Hope this has helped! Chris
contra_dance_cards.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document
