BAYOU DELIGHT Becket, double progression Ken Gall 5/6/10 A1 on left diagonal (if you have one) RIGHT AND LEFT OVER ____LADIES CHAIN__straight across__________________________ A2 (after courtesy turn) LADIES CROSS passing by right (4) ____PARTNER GYPSY and SWING ___________________ (12) B1 MEN ALLEMANDE LEFT once and a half ____NEIGHBOR SWING on Man’s home side____________________ B2 BALANCE CIRCLE (4), PARTNER ROLL AWAY with half sashay(4) Man rolls his partner in front of him, across the set _____CIRCLE LEFT three quarters___________________________ I’ve been calling this dance since the
summer of 2010. A number of callers from around the country, including Nils Fredland, Diane Silver, Jerome Grisanti, Ann Fallon, Lori Pimental, and Mike Clark, have
copied it, and it has been called in several states. There is a video of me calling it at Glen Echo on Youtube. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A1 hands across STAR RIGHT three places _____pull by RIGHT AND LEFT across the set ______________________ A2 STAR LEFT once around _____PARTNER ALLEMANDE LEFT (twice if you have time)______________ B1 HALF HEY, ladies lead by passing right in the middle _____PARTNER SWING on woman's side___________________________ B2 CIRCLE LEFT three quarters ____ BALANCE the circle; CALIFORNIA TWIRL______________________ We all need special days! Allie Oop was my younger sister's nickname when she was a wee little kid. I wrote this dance on her birthday, October 25, with the a sequence inspired by a dance I heard Tamarra Loewenthal call at the wedding of Juliet Port and Chris Reading a few days earlier. The dance flows incredibly well, with lots of partner connection. Allie Oop is now more generally known as Alice Clayton, a sometimes contra dancer, musician and nurse practitioner living for the last several years on Lummi Island, off the coast of Bellingham, Washington. The dance was picked up by several callers almost immediately. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MIND THE GAP Improper Ken Gall 9/12/11 A1 LADIES PASS RIGHT to change places, then ALL CIRCLE LEFT one time (QUICKLY!) ______PARTNER BALANCE and CUDDLE, end facing CW, women in the middle_ A2 PROMENADE in cuddle position (6) TURN as a couple (2) PROMENADE BACK ___________________________________________ ___________________ B1 MEN with original neighbor man ALMD. LEFT ______PARTNER SWING_on man's side_________________________________ B2 LONG LINES forward and back ______LADIES CHAIN_to progress_____________________________________ This is a fairly easy dance, revised from an earlier version. The cuddle is typically a swing dance move, so 32 bar swing music works well. Partners keep hands when getting into the cuddle position, in this case with the man standing still lifting his left hand over the woman's left shoulder, and the woman turning under the joined hands toward the middle of the set. This promenade is around the larger set, not just in the set of four. Mind the Gap is the warning sign you see as you step up to get onto the train in Ireland.The balance
and cuddle move was learned from a Dave Notman dance at Sugar Hill, 2010. STONY POINT SQUARE NOT Four face four Ken Gall 10/15/11 A1 LINES OF FOUR, forward and back CORNER SWING (end in square formation). The following calls are to positions, as if it was a square_____________________ A2 HEADS GO FORWARD and SWING, ending in side position. At same time: SIDES BACK AWAY from each other, TURN and SWING opposite, ending in head position REPEAT__________________________________________________________________ B1 REPEAT REPEAT (ending back with original corner)______________________________________ B2 MEN ALLEMANDE LEFT once and a quarter, SCOOP UP PARTNER _____STAR PROMENADE and BUTTERFLY WHIRL to progress_____________________________ This dance is not a square, it just feels like one. This is particularly fun to sneak in to dance communities that groan if you announce a square, as long as there are not too many beginners. It requires quick movement, and should start with slow music until the dancers get it figured out. Each of the four sequences in A2 and B1 get only eight beats, so movement and swing is very fast. Even if they get messed up, there is a chance for recovery when the men star left to get their partner. I called a dance at the Stony Point Barn in Lawrence, Kansas, October, 2011, and hoped to call this dance--but half the crowd were newcomers so I saved it and called it first in Indianapolis to a more experienced crowd. Most of them got it, and all of them had a great time. There has been dancing in the Stony Point barn for most of its 130 years, and it is on the farm where my wife Carole's mother, Helen Holcomb, grew up. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AS GOOD AS IT GETS Improper Ken Gall 12/29/10 A1 CIRCLE LEFT one time ______ NEIGHBOR SWING_______________________________ A2 CIRCLE LEFT three places ______ PARTNER SWING__on man’s side___________________ B1 MEN ALLEMANDE LEFT one time ____ PARTNER SWING__on man’s side___________________ B2 LONG LINES forward and back ______ LADIES CHAIN__________________________ ________ This is similar to Cary Ravitz’s Jubilation Variation, one of the relatively few dances that include two partner swings. This is even simpler than Cary’s dance--and in the final progression you can change the call for three partner swings. Dwayne Johnson of Louisville and others have copied this dance. It works great as a no walk through final dance, or part of a closing medley. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * STAR STARTER Improper Ken Gall 11/18/10, revised A1 STAR RIGHT This is an easy dance for new dancers. As a teaching point, if appropriate at the time and for the particular group, you can suggest a left hand to left hand neighbor balance in A2, then raising joined left hands over their heads, and putting right hands on each others waists, as a satisfying variation on the standard swing. (Previously titled First Star.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HOOSIER GIRL Improper, Double Progression Ken Gall 8/6/11, revised A1 CIRCLE LEFT one time An earlier version of this dance was published by the Country Dance and Song Society in the summer issue, 2009. This version really flows, with a swing to swing to swing sequence similar to Rick Mohr's String of Swings. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * JOY TO THE TWIRLED Improper Ken Gall 7/16/10 Energetic music, perhaps a
jig to start and then crank it up. Joy to the World (Jeremiah was a Bullfrog) by Three Dog Night,
is great as second tune. A1 BALANCE, MONTANA TWIRL with PARTNER across the set ______ BALANCE, MONTANA TWIRL with NEIGHBOR_on side of the set______ _______NEIGHBOR SWING _________________________________________ B1 MEN PASS by right shoulder _______PARTNER SWING woman’s side_______________________________ B2 STAR LEFT one time (hands across star, with woman in front of Partner) ALL BALANCE by left, MEN PULL BY left to progress _______ while women glance right to face their new neighbor___________________ The Montana Twirl is an unusual move, but easy to learn. I usual explain it as a California Twirl on steroids-- you essentially do a California twirl and keep turning, changing places and taking the other hand with the twirlee, but keeping in the same minor set. Janet Levatin's California Twirling was written earlier and I believe she named the move. The progression in B2 works well, is easily learned, and almost unique. It takes a litle longer to teach than many other dances, wut hardly takes any calling, the moves are so memorable. I’ve called this dance dozens of times, including at the Michigan Dance Heritage workshop, at North Carolina's Splash Dance, at Memfest, and at Glen Echo. It has been enthusiastically received. It has been copied by several callers, including Bill Sudkamp. Rick Mohr said it looks like a fun dance. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MORE OF THE BEST THINGS Improper Ken Gall 7/13/10 High energy music. _____with actives in the middle____________________ A2 FOUR WALK DOWN, turn alone _____FOUR WALK BACK, bend to circle _____________ B1 CIRCLE LEFT THREE QUARTERS _____PARTNER SWING on man’s side_______________ B2 CIRCLE LEFT THREE QUARTERS _____BALANCE CIRCLE, PASS THRU________________ The basket swing is rarely done in contra. The dance may be better suited for a barn dance or ceili, but it is great fun for energetic young dancers, even newbies. It is based on Carol Ormand’s Food, Sex, and Beer, which has the basket swing for three. I changed the A part of her dance to have everyone more
active. In teaching the basket swing, have everyone in the minor set put their right foot in the middle. Men join hands with each other, and lift them over the ladies' heads and lower them behind the ladies' backs. The women join their hands and do the same over the men's heads. Each group turns clockwise as much as they want and as fast as they are comfortable with. Both beginners and experienced dancers enjoy the basket
swing. The dance has been copied by others, including Bill Sudkamp. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * SLIDING INTO FIRST Becket Ken Gall 7/18/11 A1 PARTNER BALANCE and SWING _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ B1 HALF HEY, women start by passing right shoulders _____PARTNER SWING away from home______________________________ B2 CIRCLE BALANCE; PETRONELLA _____STAR RIGHT, three quarters, and SLIDE left, men turning to face partner__ Becket dances that start with a partner balance and swing are not very common, although I understand there are dances by David Colestock, Bob Isaacs, and John-Michael Seng-Wheeler with the same opening. I called an earlier draft of the dance a couple times, and then made slight revisions for a smoother transition from B2 to A1. A dance with two partner swings is unusual and always well received. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WALKING BACK TO YOU Improper Ken Gall 3/7/13 A1 NEIGHBOR BALANCE and SWING--end facing clockwise in promenade position ______________________________________________________________________________ A2 PROMENADE the big oval 6 steps, and TURN ALONE so women are still on the inside _ PROMENADE BACK___________________________________________________________ B1 LADIES with original neighbor lady ALLEMANDE LEFT once and a half, while MEN CAST to the outside, loop around, and ____ PARTNER SWING____________________________________________________________ B2 LONG LINES forward and back ____LADIES CHAIN_______________________________________________________________ This is a very easy satisfying dance, great as the second or third dance when there are a lot of newbies--they get it easily and more advanced dancers like it as well. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |