That's a great dance, Jim. I collected it from Dick Bearman of Maryland who
called it in my area about 15 years ago. He calls it Balancing Act and I
have him as author on my much used dance card. It works very well as an easy
intro to 1/2 hey. Seems like several people were channeling the same dance
muse.
-----Original Message-----
From: James Saxe
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 4:47 AM
To: Caller's discussion list
Subject: Re: [Callers] Heys for new dancers
While I'm writing, here's a dance that I sometimes use
for the first hey of an evening:
Duple improper contra
A1. Neighbors balance and swing
A2. Women chain
1/2 hey (W start by R shoulder)
B1. Partners balance and swing
B2. Circle left 3/4
Balance the ring, partners California twirl
I came up with this by swiping the first 3/4 of "Southern Swing"
by Steve Zakon-Anderson and substituting a simpler B2 part, but
never named it. Lisa Greenleaf apparently came up with the same
sequence independently and named it "Hocus Pocus".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFEBaPqBXZM
Don Flaherty's "Slapping the Wood" is nearly identical, the only
difference being the do-si-do as couples in the first half of A1.
The first 3/4 of the dance also occur in Chart Guthrie's "Hay in
the Barn"
