Linda Calls Dances
MY CONTRA DANCES
RYLA DREAM (June 2018) -- LONGWAYS/EASY/GENDER FREE
Start: All face up the hall, holding near hands with partner
A1 Up a Double & Back 2x
A2 Line A (traditionally the men's line) walk up & around partner, then Line B (traditionally the women's line)
walk up & around partner
B1 Do-Si-Do partner; two-hand turn partner
B2 All others arch & top couple tunnels down to the bottom (can say top 2 or top 3 couples tunnel down if
the lines are really long)
NOTE 1: Alternative B1/B2:
B1 All Balance Partner & Box the Gnat; change hands; All Balance Partner & Swat the Flea
B2 While the other couples swing & move up, the top couple separates and walks down the outside to the
bottom (if time, the top couple can grab a quick swing with their partner, too)
NOTE 2: For almost 20 years, I've been invited to lead an annual dance for about 200 inexperienced high school students attending RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference) at Texas Women's University in Denton, Texas. The hall for dancing has the worst acoustics in the world, so it's always challenging to find dances where up to eight contra lines (1) can hear me or the music and (2) dance together doing the same moves at the same time. After reviewing all my dances this year, they all started to look alike (i.e., top couple sashay down the center & back). So this dance came to mind. It debuted on June 14 and was an instant success. We had 4 contra lines of about 25+ couples.
LA BA CONTRA (Dup Imp) (July 1997) -- EASY/BEGINNER
A1 Long Lines forward & back twice
A2 Hands 4, Circle Left once around; Balance the Ring twice
B1 Men Arch left hand & Twirl Neighbor Lady into a Swing on original side
B2 Promenade across and back
[Alternative to Promenade: Right & Left Thru across & back or Ladies Chain across & back]
GREASE & GLUE (Gender Free Contra Lines - doesn't matter which line you're in as long as you have a partner across from you) (2017) - EASY/BEGINNER
A1 Couple 1 split Couple 2 & return to places (8); Couple 1 Do-Si-Do (8)
A2 Couple 2 split Couple 1 & return to places (8); Couple 2 Do-Si-Do (8)
B1 All 4 Star Right (w/hands) (8); Star Left (8)
B2 Couples Do-Si-Do 1-1/2 (16) (i.e., couples face each other holding near hands w/partner -- slide left 2
small steps, walk forward 2 small steps (couples pass each other), slide right passing back-to-back with
the couple you've been dancing with, take 2 small steps backwards (couples pass each other), slide left
again passing face-to-face with that couple, walk forward 2 small steps, slide right & stop when you are
facing the next couple (back-to-back w/previous couple)
NOTE: Written for an enthusiastic, loud, boisterous crowd of 200+ 18-year olds as an introduction to contra dancing in a room where the acoustics are horrible. It worked, mostly. Would probably work better with a smaller, more sedate crowd.
NACOGDOCHES (Dup Imp) -- EASY/INTERMEDIATE
A1 Hands across, Star Right; Star Left
A2 Women change places; Men change places; Repeat, ending with all in original places
B1 Hands 4, Circle Left; Circle Right (Couple 1 face down, 2s face up)
B2 Balance the Ring twice; hold onto Partner; all Zig Zag to next Neighbors (i.e., with Partner,
take two small steps to the left, step forward, passing current Neighbors, then take two
small steps to the right to face your next Neighbors -- previous neighbors are behind you)
POT O' GOLD (Dup Imp) -- INTERMEDIATE
A1 Down the hall four in line (Couple 1 in the middle); turn alone; Return to place and cast off
A2 Right and Left Thru across and back
B1 Balanced Square Thru four hands (i.e., shake Right hands with Partner -- Balance & pull by
to face the Neighbor you've been dancing with; left hand pull by this Neighbor and face
Partner across; Balance with Partner and pull by to face Neighbor; left hand pull by this
Neighbor) ("Give your 'good' hand to your Partner and your 'other' hand to your Neighbor")
B2 Couple 1 Balance & Swing in the middle
NOTE: Written for an "Irish" theme dance. A1-B1 is all about the search for the gold -- looking down the hall, across the hall, all around the hall. Only Couple 1 gets the satisfaction of finding the "gold" (getting to swing in B2) and the other couple ends up disappointed (and many dancers do feel the disappointment, because they have the wind up, but not the satisfaction of the swing at the end).
Y2 BECKET (Becket) (2000) -- INTERMEDIATE
A1 With "next" Neighbors, Circle Left 3/4 (leaving one couple facing down and the other couple
facing up -- remember this Neighbor because you'll be coming back to him/her); pass this
original Neighbor by the right to face your next Neighbor and Do Si Do
A2 Star Left with these Neighbors once around and look for your original Neighbor; Swing your
original Neighbor
B1 Men allemande Left 1-1/2 to face Partner; Hey halfway (pass Partner by the right)
B2 Balance & Swing Partner on original side; slide left along the line with Partner to face next
Neighbors
NOTE: Written for Fiddler’s Dream Midnight Madness 2000 dance camp at Lake Texoma, on the Oklahoma side.
MR. OSKO'S HOLIDAY (Dup Imp) -- EASY/INTERMEDIATE
A1 Balance & Swing your Neighbor; end facing down the hall
A2 Down the Hall four in line; turn as a couple; Return to places and cast off
B1 Long lines forward & back; all Gypsy Partner in the middle
B2 All Balance & Swing Partner in the middle
NOTE: Written to fill a need.
HALLOWEEN VIII (1998-ish) (Dup Imp) -- EASY
A1 Pass thru across; Swing your (next) Neighbor
A2 Ladies cross passing right shoulders; Swing your Partner
B1 Promenade across; Ladies Chain to Neighbor
B2 Sashay round Neighbor (Sashay=move sideways around Neighbor - women moving in front first)
(Alt.: Couple #1 Gypsy right shoulders once around in the center); Long Lines go Forward & Back
MR. OSKO'S JAMBOREE (1998-ish) (Dup Imp) -- EASY
A1 Couple #1 dances down the middle below 2 couples; separate & return to places up the outside
A2 Couple #1 Do-Si-Do; Couple #1 Balance & Box the Gnat
B1 Couple #1 pull by right to Swing their Neighbor; face across
B2 Right & Left Thru across & back
NOTE: When you are the Active Couple, you get plenty of partner interaction; however, your Neighbor gets the best part of you.
PEEKABOO STREET (1998) (Dup Imp-Double Progression) -- EASY
A1 Couple #1 Balance & Swing; end facing down in the line of four
A2 All dance down the hall (Couple #1 in the middle); pass Right shoulders with your Neighbor to end facing
up the hall (Couple #2 in the middle); all return to places; Couple #2 arches & Couple #1 dives thru
B1 All Balance & Swing next Neighbor
B2 Right & Left thru across & back (Alt: Chains or Hey)
PING PONG (Dup Imp) (1997) -- EASY/INTERMEDIATE
A1 THE SERVE:
Ladies dance into the center (4) to an ocean wave (THE NET) along; Balance right & left (4)
Ladies turn single to the Right (4) end facing Partner—Balance Partner (THE BOUNCE) (4)
and...
A2 Short swing with Partner and face across (8); Long Lines Forward & Back (8)
B1 THE RETURN:
Men dance into the center (4) to an ocean wave (THE NET) along; Balance right & left (4)
Men turn single to the Right (4); end facing Neighbor -- Balance Neighbor (THE BOUNCE)
(4) and...
B2 Short swing with Neighbor & face across; pass thru across; California Twirl Neighbor, ending
facing Partner across
[ALTERNATIVE: Instead of pass thru & California Twirl, do a R&L Thru across]
FUZZY COZY (Dup Imp) -- INTERMEDIATE
(Written for Fiddler's Dream 2002 Dance Camp for the Contradance Scramble by Linda Mrosko, John Rapp, David Salonimer, Karen Carlile, Phillip McPheeters)
A1 Circle Left once; Swing neighbor and end facing down in a line of 4
A2 Down 4 steps - get "cozy" - arch with Neighbor, turn your back to neighbor & turn under
your own arch, ending facing up (8 beats)
Return up the hall; outside couples (Couple 1) arch over Couple 2 in the middle of the line
to form cloverleaf (8 beats)
B1 Cloverleaf circle left (8 beats) -- DO NOT DROP HANDS!
Unwind the clover to make an inside-out circle -- follow your left hand and circle Left
halfway (8 beats)
B2 Pull partner into a swing in the middle and end facing next couple
