Hi Chris, I was working with a band that wanted to play an AABBC tune (I don't remember which), and I wrote a long contra to go with it. I put a contra corners in, since that often takes up so much of the dance there isn't room for a whole lot else. The dancers were fine with it. I don't think most of them noticed the extra length tune, although they did notice the tension build towards the balance and swing.
The exact same trick won't work here, since the B's are odd length, but if you want to play around with a contra corners you might try something like: PROPER dance A1 1s turn contra corners A2 1s balance and swing in the middle B1+ gents allemande left 1 1/2 while women orbit clockwise halfway around circle gypsy neighbor on side and melt to swing (each active is on their home side) B2+ 2s 1/2 figure 8 up through ones 1s step between 2s, down the hall four in line turn alone and come back, bend the end and on to the next The active woman will have to switch hands with her partner to go into the contra corners from the circle. It's an unbalanced dance (never a personal favorite), but there's something for the 2s, and the 1/2 figure eight to the line of four could flow well. Without knowing which tune you're trying to work in, I can't say much more for flow than that. I don't have a crowd of dancers on hand to try it out, and I'm guessing you'd have some at the same time or before I would (Friday). I hope you find something that works for you, it's always nice when a band really digs a tune. -- Luke Donev http://www.lukedonev.com [email protected]
