Ding, Dong, the Witch Is Dead <>Duple improper
October 24, 2000
A1 Women do-si-do (or gypsy or allemande right as well)
Women swing (unisex style or Galway swing)
A2 Men allemande right 1 ½
Men Galway swing*
B1 Balance and swing your partner
B2 Half a hey, women start right shoulder (Alternate: right and left through)
Women chain across
* Men's Galway swing is done with a hold that provides some personal space. The
men maintain the right allemande hold, and they cup the other man's right elbow
with their left hand, this makes for a very strong and stable, tetrahedron-like
hold and a powerful swing. This swing also appears in Smog Check.
This contra was written for a Halloween dance. The “Ding, Dong, the Witch is
Dead” riff from “The Wizard of Oz” is fun to throw into a tune if the band
knows it. Originally written with the women’s role doing a unisex swing, but
why should the men’s role have all the fun? You are at liberty to have both
roles do the same swing. Women’s role allemande right is a little more odd from
the position it is starting in though.
One I wrote.
> On Oct 12, 2017, at 7:38 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Devil's Backbone? Wizard's Walk? (Okay, I no longer have an objective sense
> of how Halloween-y this one is because it was the tradition at my school's
> contradance that we'd close out the Halloween contra with this one, with the
> band and the dancers competing to see who could go faster... it was a good
> time!)
>
> On Thu, Oct 12, 2017 at 10:34 AM, Bob Peterson via Callers
> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
> There’s this no-swing dance, which I got from
> https://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/devils_dream.html
> <https://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/devils_dream.html>
>
> The Devil's Dream
>
> Traditional
>
> Improper Contra
>
> A1
>
> 1s face down and lead down the centre while the 2s face up and go up the
> outside
> all turn alone and lead back to give neighbour nearest hand and half turn
> neighbour
> A2
>
> 1s facing down the outside and 2s up the middle: lead up or down again
> you promenade in the same direction both times
> all turn alone and lead back to give left hands to neighbour
> B1
>
> turn neighbour into a full ladies chain across
> B2
>
> half promenade neighbour across set
> half right and left back
> In CDM6 and 500 Zesty Contras
> Note that this dance has no swing; however it is probably the most popular
> contra in English dance clubs.
>
>
> \Bob
>
> On Oct 12, 2017, at 09:16, Rich Sbardella via Callers
> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
> wrote:
>
>> Hello Friends,
>> I need some Halloween themed dances. Any suggestions?
>> Rich Sbardella
>> Stafford, CT
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