Jeff, If you have room for a square, you probably have room for a quadruplet or triplet. Some four-on-four contras can be modified into a quadruplet, but there are a number of good quads out there.
A fun triplet for experienced dancers is David Smukler's "David's Triplet #5" which features a hey for six. http://www.davidsmukler.syracusecountrydancers.org/DSS.html#trip5 For Quads I would suggest the dances below by Gary Roodman as well as those in the back section of Larry Jenning's "Give and Take". Also see my list posted here back in October of 20 dances for 5-10 dancers. Will Loving ----------------------------------------------------- Square Line Special By Gary Roodman (From his book "Calculated Figures") Type: Contra Formation: Quadruplet Music: ³Swinging on a Gate² or any 32-bar contra dance tune, 4 times through. A1 ----------- (8) Long lines, forward and back (8) Go forward again and pass through and turn alone A2 ----------- (4) Take Right Hand with partner across, balance (4) (in your group of four) pull partner by the Right, neighbor by the left (8) Swing the next (partner on the ends, neighbor for the centers) (End the swing forming a square) B1 ----------- (8) Head couples Right & Left through (8) Head couples ladies Chain B2 ----------- (8) Head couples lead to the right, circle left once (8) Sides arch, heads duck under, separate, around one (form lines to start the dance again, your original partner will be across from you) ----------------------------------------------------- Rise and Run By Gary Roodman Type: Contra Formation: Quadruplet Becket Music: ³My Wife¹s a Wanton Wee Thing² (or any 32-bar contra dance tune - 4X through) A1 ----------- (8) Star Right 1X (both sets of four) (8) Middle four Star Left 1X A2 ----------- (16) Partner balance and swing B1 ----------- (8) ³1st couples² Right and left through on the Right diagonal, courtesy turn (4) ³2nd couples² Right and left through on Left diagonal, and immediately turn as a couple to the right and (4) progress cw 1 position around the set B2 ----------- (8) Women Chain (8) Women Chain (for a mixer, substitute N Swing for second chain, or R&L for first chain) Notes: How about 4X through with same partner and then make a change which will cause you to change partners for 4X more? e.g. B2 could have women chain across to swing N, or R&L and then women chain on 12/12/08 9:15 AM, Jeff Kaufman at [email protected] wrote: > I'm wondering if anyone has any squares that work well for house > parties? > > Background: I've called contras a good bit, primarily at swarthmore > college, and sometimes find myself in a situation where there are > people who want to dance, good music, and space for a square but not a > contra. Generally the dancers are more familiar with contra dance > than square dance, perhaps even people who sit out squares when > they're called at the weekly dances. > > When this has happened to me, I've ended up just trying to call > something, making it up as I go, which has worked ok, but not really > very well. I can generally keep them dancing and keep calling at the > right times, but the resulting dance isn't usually very interesting. > So I was thinking that the best solution would be to memorize a few > suitable square dances. > > Thinking about what suitable means. Any standard contra figure is ok. > Nothing that I would have to walk through (simple is better than > boring). Nothing that is too picky about the music (singing squares). > > Does anyone have suggestions? > > Jeff > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers -- William M. Loving Dedication Technologies, Inc. 7 Coach Lane Amherst, MA 01002-3304 USA [email protected] Tel: +1 413 253-7223 (GMT 5) Fax: +1 206 202-0476
