Hi Rickey, Some of your options depend on the skill levels of your dancers and their willingness to explore related genres. There have been lots of great suggestions already. Here are a few more.
Many of the Playford dances are great fun and can be danced with the kind of energy that contra dancers like to use. Have a look at this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avfqi-cjrYI The first figure is OK, albeit a little long, but the second one, the Shuttle (starts at 1:22), is great fun, as is the last one, the Sheepskin Hey (starts at 1:46). If you think your dancers would enjoy that sort of dance then there are loads of great English dances out there, from Playford through to eCeilidh: http://www.webfeet.org/dances/index.html Here is another sample with four different heys in three figures (watch the top couple carefully in the last figure - they are doing a circular hey while the others are dancing heys on the side!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmepHV5cM7k Couple dances: Salty Dog Rag Swedish Masquerade The Ideal Schottische Two Couple Dances: Thanks to Mr Playford Jubilation and lots more... Three Couple Dances: Too many to mention! Four Couple Dances: No good - if you have 10 to 14 people then too many are sitting out - I have the same problem at some of my sessions. Five Couple Dances: Yorkshire Rose Boston Tea Party Fivepenny Piece And I have a version of Up Tails All using modern moves, each couple going round the circle doing the move of their choice with each other couple, with multiple couples active at the same time - contact me if you are interested. Six Couple Dances: Square --- NOT! Hexitation - and double up the Heads to turn 12 people into a square dance for fun in the choruses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qNy9II3OiU Seven Couple Dances: See the recent discussion at Cat's Calling Academy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/110222402336603/permalink/1201075319917967/ Five Assorted Dancers: Five Weevils (I think some weevils were mentioned already) F-Lock Quintilinear SAD Dances (Seven Assorted Dancers): Six Plus One The Moon & Seven Stars Nine Assorted Dancers: Westward Ho! Of course there are also Circle Mixers. And Appalachian Big Set is fun as well if you have 12 people (or 10 or 14 - one couple will be out briefly each time). Here is a sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3mEOihRck There are lots of two couple figures in the tradition and you can mix them up any way you wish, with a scatter promenade between each couple of figures to change neighbours. Each dance starts and ends in a big circle and there are lots of fun moves for that formation in the tradition as well. This is square dancing for when you don't have multiples of eight! Hope that helps. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent