Yes, Flirtation Reel is a lovely dance, but there are a few things about it which make it a bit less than ideal for dancers' first exposure to heys.
First, the transition from the up-the-center to the hey provides no momentum/flow guidance about which shoulder to pass to start the hey. For the first hey dance, I'd prefer one with stronger flow at the moment of initiation. Second, the series of passes (NR, 2's L, Same sex R, 1's L, etc.) is not only different from most heys (which have same-sex in the center [because they are equal dances]), but the series of passes seems to be a bit harder to grasp in the same way that the differing roles of unequal dances bumps up the complexity of the sequence a bit. For my money, a hey dance that satisfies my requirements is a modified "Roll in the Hey". The original is: A1 circle left; swing neighbour A2 circle left three quarters; swing partner B1 long lines go forward and back; half ladies chain across B2 hey for four, ladies pass right to start Lately, I have been calling it A1 Dosido neighbor; swing neighbor. This is much more forgiving than the Hey/Circle (full) left combination. This dance features a Ladies Chain immediately before the hey, and the women's track is essentially the same as the hey. I use this similarity when I walk through the dance. Dan
