Peter Foster (Australia!) has a good Becket dance for beginners although I'm not sure he's named it.
A1 Star Right; star left A2 Pass thru across the set and swing partners to face down B1 Down the hall as couples (4 in line) turn as couple and return to face across B2 Long lines forward and back; half promenade and wheel right to face new couple (J-promenade) Barrie bullimore On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 9:59 AM Michael Fuerst via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > Here is a dance of mine that would work with teenagers after several > dances > On could replace the partner B&S with partner dsd, then neighbor dsd across > Positional Thinking Becket Left > A1 > Balance the ring. Pass to a wave by gents turning right > 1/2, ladies crossing set to take partner's left hand > Balance left and right; allemande left 3/4 to long wavy > lines, gents facing in > A2 > Balance forward and back, box circulate to long waves, > with gents facing out, current neighbors left and next neighbors right > hands joined. > Balance right and left; ladies cross set while > gents turn over right shoulder to next neighbor's place. > B1 > Partners balance and swing, end facing new neighbors across > B2 > Long lines forward and back. > Circle right > > > On Sat, Jan 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM Rick Mohr via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I love that we're thinking about contra choreography for groups of mostly >> newcomers -- so different from writing for experienced or mixed groups. A >> contra doesn't need a swing to be fun, or a chain requiring roles, or >> caring which side of the set you're on. Great to have some good minds on >> the topic! >> >> Here are two reliably good ones from our teen dance: >> >> On the Ball (Rick Mohr) duple improper >> A1: Circle left, dosido neighbor >> A2: Circle right, see-saw partner >> B1: Balance the ring and Petronella turn >> Balance the ring and Petronella turn >> B2: Balance the ring, two-hand turn partner 1 1/2 >> >> Andy White's (Amy Cann) duple improper >> A1: Circle left, dosido as couples >> A2: Dosido neighbor, two-hand turn neighbor >> B1: Clap with neighbor / partner / neighbor / partner – self, rights, >> self, lefts >> B2: Twos arch and move forward as ones duck through >> Ones arch and move backward as twos duck through backward >> Twos arch and move forward as ones duck through >> >> See also some others here <https://rickmohr.net/Contra/TeenDance/Dances/> >> . >> >> Rick >> >> On Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 10:41 AM Lisa Sieverts via Contra Callers < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Riffing on Luke’s dance Star Trek Phraser, I’ve written this one. It’s >>> essentially role-free, in that it doesn’t matter who ends up on the left or >>> the right after the swing. Yes, there are 3 stars in a row. >>> >>> Stars are Aligned >>> by Lisa Sieverts >>> BECKET, CCW >>> >>> 1. >>> >>> LH Star >>> 2. >>> >>> RH Star >>> 3. >>> >>> P Do Si Do (on side) >>> 4. >>> >>> P Swing >>> 5. >>> >>> Whole Set Oval Left >>> 6. >>> >>> Whole set Oval Right >>> 7. >>> >>> F&B >>> 8. >>> >>> LH Star, on to the next, partners moving along the line >>> >>> Lisa Sieverts >>> 603-762-0235 >>> [email protected] >>> >>> On 9 Sep 2024, at 20:08, Luke Donforth via Contra Callers wrote: >>> >>> Thanks all. >>> >>> I continue to turn this one over in my head, and I think I've got a new >>> one (borrowing heavily from Bob Isaac's *To Turn a Phrase* and the >>> star-to-star transition of Mick Richardson's *Star Trek*) >>> >>> Star Trek Phraser >>> by Luke Donforth >>> Contra/Becket-CCW >>> >>> A1 ----------- >>> (8) Left hand Star >>> (8) Whole set oval right >>> A2 ----------- >>> (8) whole set oval Left >>> (8) Groups of 4 Circle Left 1X >>> B1 ----------- >>> (8) Partner Do-si-do >>> (8) Partner swing >>> B2 ----------- >>> (8) Long lines, forward and back >>> (8) Left hand Star 1x, walk on to next star >>> >>> On Sun, Sep 8, 2024 at 7:55 PM <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> https://aptsg.org/Dance/dances.html#Balter >>>> >>>> On Sun, Sep 8, 2024 at 11:50 AM Luke Donforth via Contra Callers < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hello all, >>>>> >>>>> Oftentimes at One Night Gigs, I'll do a mix of circle and longways set >>>>> dances. With scatter mixers and specialty dances, I can fill an evening. >>>>> But sometimes I get a group that "wants contras" or is looking to grow >>>>> their familiarity with the dance form. >>>>> >>>>> I think Becket dances without lark/robin distinctions and no neighbor >>>>> swing are AN easy option into "hands-four" contras. There are other ways >>>>> in, but I'm looking for more Beckets that match that description. For a >>>>> while I've had "Pluck It" in my box as a friendly option: >>>>> >>>>> Pluck It >>>>> Contra/Becket-CW >>>>> >>>>> A1 ----------- >>>>> (8) Circle Left >>>>> (8) Circle Right >>>>> A2 ----------- >>>>> (8) Left hand Star >>>>> (8) Right hand Star >>>>> B1 ----------- >>>>> (8) Partner Do-si-do >>>>> (8) Partner swing >>>>> B2 ----------- >>>>> (8) Neighbor Do-si-do across set >>>>> (8) Long lines, yearn left >>>>> >>>>> This is, in my opinion, pretty close to the traditional mixer Scatter >>>>> Shot but done as a keeper in Becket. (It does have a DSD across the set, >>>>> which in a recent thread was listed as a no-no for some callers. While I >>>>> wouldn't use that move at a dance weekend, for One Night gigs I think it's >>>>> accessible and acceptable). You don't have to teach ballroom swing, and if >>>>> folks want to elbow swing and swap roles with their partner it doesn't >>>>> really impact the dance (this is a small advantage of Becket over improper >>>>> for this type of dance; different position on the side is less >>>>> disorienting >>>>> than different side of the set). >>>>> >>>>> What other Becket dances do folks have that don't rely on roles? No >>>>> larks allemande or robins chain, etc. >>>>> >>>>> On the drive home from my gig last night I came up with this one >>>>> (which may already exist), written for Naomi who organizes the community >>>>> dance I was at: >>>>> >>>>> A Pillar of Weathersfield >>>>> Contra/Becket-CW >>>>> >>>>> A1 ----------- >>>>> (8) Balance the ring and spin to the right (petronella) >>>>> (8) Balance the ring and spin to the right (petronella) >>>>> A2 ----------- >>>>> (16) Partner balance and swing, end facing down the hall >>>>> B1 ----------- >>>>> (8) Down the hall, four in line (turn as couples) >>>>> (8) Return and face across >>>>> B2 ----------- >>>>> (8) Long lines, forward and back >>>>> (8) Promenade across the Set, turn as a couple and progress >>>>> (Go between the ones you danced with, passing by left shoulder, and >>>>> the new couple on your right, turn to take hands with new couple) >>>>> >>>>> I'd be curious what else folks have that they use for entry-level >>>>> contras when you don't have a critical mass of experience for improper >>>>> dances with neighbor swings. >>>>> >>>>> Thanks! >>>>> Luke Donforth >>>>> Burlington, VT >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Luke Donforth >>> [email protected] <[email protected]> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >>> >>> To unsubscribe send an email to >>> [email protected] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >>> To unsubscribe send an email to >>> [email protected] >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to >> [email protected] >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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