Hi, all
I can’t think of a time ever when I had the answer to a question on this list –
but here is a collection of dances I used many of in Austin in December 2017.
You can see I was generous in my interpretation of holiday themed, including
winter among other ideas. I hope folks find these useful.
Dorcas Hand
Houston TX
1. New Year's Day IMP Longways Dup
Paul Balliet
A1 LL F&B
M DSD
A2 L allm L 1 1/2
P Sw
B1 Circle L 3/4
Pass thru to next N
Gypsy this new N
B2 N B&Sw (orig N for single prog)
2. BALANCE THE STAR Sicilian Circle – Originally OR IMP
Raymond K. McLain of Berea, KY Beginner/Intermediate Dance Level
(use “hand-shake star throughout” - Southern mountain tradition)
A1 Right Hand Star and Balance twice - In and Out (8 counts)
<— hence, “Balance” the Star!
Turn the Star once ‘round (8 counts)
A2 Left Hand Star and Balance - In and Out (8 counts)
Turn the Star once ‘round (8 counts)
B1 Neighbors DSD (8 counts)
Gents Promenade this N into your P’s place (8 counts) (Gent acting as
a pivot)
B2 Partners DSD
(Similarly) Gents Promenade Partners into Original place
AND continue Promenade on to face a New Couple! (8 counts)
Notes: "Balance The Star" was written by Raymond McLain Sr. for Christmas
Country Dance School with Beaumont Rag as THE tune to play. The dance was
written as a Sicilian Circle Dance - c. 1970 or 1971
3. Carlisle Double Star IMP Longways Dup
Walter Lenk (Give and Take, 2004)
A1 Star R!
N Sw
A2 M pull by to WAVE, Bal the wave
P Sw
B1 Down in 4, turn single
Ret
B2 Circle L ¾
Star L to progress
4. Rock the Cradle Joe Contra/Improper
Ridge Kennedy
STARTS IN SHORT WAVES, neighbor right hand
A1 Balance and slide to the right (as in Rory O'More) (8)
Balance and slide to the left (as in Rory O'More) (8)
A2 Neighbor balance and swing (16)
B1 Give & Take to gent's side & swing (16)
B2 Circle Left ¾ (8)
Balance the Ring & pass through to short wave (8)
5. Etna Star 4x4
Fred Breunig (Zesty)
A1 Fwd 8 and back
½ W Grand Chain
A2 Fwd 8 and back
½ W grand chain
B1 Star L w/ opp cpl
Star R w/ same
B2 Circle 8 HALFWAY
P Sw – end facing orig direction
[cpls are interchanged]
6. Walk on the Sunny Side IMP
Don Flaherty
Start facing down in 4, Act in ctr
A1 1’s arch; 2’s dive thru to next N
N swing
A2 M allm L 1 ½
P swing
B1 Promenade across
Circle ¾ and open to line (W2 leading)
B2 Down in 4, pivot, back up 4 more
Up in 4, pivot, back up to place
READY for 1’s to arch…
BREAK
7. Winter Wind<http://www.dance.ravitz.us/#wn>
Becket, counter-clockwise
Cary Ravitz 12-2011
A1 LL F&B, P roll away w half sashay
Circle RIGHT ¾
A2 N B&Sw
B1 Circle – Bal & Petronella
Circle – Bal & Petronella
B2 NEW N – Star R ¾
M turn in – P Sw
8. Tempus Fugit TEMPEST
David Smukler
A1 Line of 4 go down the hall
Return, face the nearest side couple
A2 Circle Half (follow momentum to put 2s in ctr – see note)
2s arch, 1s dive thru as 2s California twirl
DSD the one you meet
B1 B&Sw that N, end facing up or down w Gent on L, Lady on R
B2 Same 4 circle L halfway (return 2s to outside)
ALL PSw – and w 2s facing IN, 1s facing DOWN
[1s will alternate sides as they progress]
Note that in A2 the couple on the left of the line (as they face the music)
turns left and circles to the right with their neighbor couple, while the
couple on the right turns right and circles to the left. Momentum will
naturally carry the circle the correct way. Because the twos always circle the
same way, when in doubt they are in charge.
TEMPEST formation: As in a 4-face-4, the ones are in a line-of-4 facing down,
both couples standing side by side. However, what distinguishes Tempest
formation from a Portland Fancy is that the twos are not in another line-of-4
facing up. Rather, they are out at the sides, facing in, as if in a very widely
spaced Becket formation dance (wide enough that the line-of-4 fits between).
The “four-face-four” method. Begin with a double contra (two couples in a
line-of-four facing down at two more facing up, and so forth down the hall).
The ones, who are facing down the hall, are all set. The twos, who are facing
up, separate out to the sides and face in.
9. Joyride IMP
Erik Weberg
A1 Gypsy Neighbor (8)
Mad Robin around Neighbor (8)
A2 Half Pousette clockwise (8)
1/2 Hey, men passing left shoulders (8)
B1 Men pass L once more to cross set, swing Partner (2/14)
B2 Women's Chain (8)
Star Left(8)
10. Stars of Bethlehem Improper
Bob Isaacs (for Bethlehem PA dance)
A1 N1 balance, box the gnat, star R
A2 N2 allemande L, N1 swing
B1 Circle L 3/4, partner swing (on side)
B2 Ladies chain to N1, star L
11. "There is no way to Peace; Peace is the way" BECKET
Erik Hoffman
A1 Women Do Si Do; Partner Swing
A2 Men Allemande Left 1-1/2; Neighbor Swing
B1 Long Lines Forward & Back; Women Right Elbow Turn 1-1/2
B2 Women Star Promenade Partner 3/4 until two (Next Neighbor) Men meet
Men link Left Elbows (women let go of the right elbow) to Star
Promenade
End on Own Side with a butterfly twirl to face that same Next
Neighbor couple
Erik's Note: the quote is a saying from A. J. Muste, our nations one time "most
famous pacifist." It boggles my mind that, with our corporate media tied to
the military-industrial complex, we could have ever had a famous pacifist.
Then again, we had Martin Luther King, too...
EXTRAS
Renewal IMP
Gene Hubert
A1 F&B, Almd L N 1&3/4 to wave across w/W in the middle
A2 Bal, W slide R (Rory O'More), All Sw P
B1 1/2 hey w/W by R, Almd L P 1&3/4 to wave across w/M in the middle
B2 Bal, M slide R, Sw N
Yearning for Peace IMP
David Smukler
A1 RBal w N, box the gnat
RStar HALF, turn single L (loop LEFT), reach across set to P w LEFT
A2 LBal w P, swat the flea
LStar HALF, turn single R (loop R)
B1 Single file promenade (clockwise) within this group of 4, 3 places
Gents turn back to PSw
B2 LL F&B
Circle L ¾, pass thru up and down, give R to next
The “swat the flea” figure is just a left handed “box the gnat.”
The day I composed this (April 21, 2007) I was deeply discouraged by what
seemed like a relentless stream of tragic stories on the daily news. I wanted
with all my heart to call a dance that night that somehow suggested the theme
of peace. First, I considered Erik Hoffman’s wonderful dance, “There is No Way
to Peace; Peace is the Way,” but Erik’s dance needs more space up and down the
set than I was likely to have that night. Then I looked at a dance popular with
English country dancers called Peace Be With You,written by Fried de Metz
Herman. I started tinkering with it to try make it into a sequence that contra
dancers would easily understand and enjoy, and this was the result. I did not
call it that evening, but did on the next day. My first impulse was to give the
dance the title “Sholom Aleichem,” which is Yiddish for “Peace Be With You,”
but eventually settled on this title instead to try to convey a little of the
sense of longing I felt as I worked on the dance.
Winter in Summerland BECKET
by Jeff Spero & James Hutson
A1 Gents allemande left once and a half
Neighbor Swing
A2 Long lines forward and back
Pass through to an ocean wave
Wave Balance
B1 Walk forward to the next neighbor
Gypsy new neighbor right one-half
Hey three-quarters (gents, center, left)
(men go over and back, women cross the set)
B2 Partner Balance and Swing [Start again with these same neighbors]
11. "20 Below" by Bill Olson BECKET
Bill Olson
A1 Circle left 3/4 to a wave across(L left in the center, N right) (8)
Balance the wave (4)
Pass through to a new wave (4)
A2 Balance the wave(4)
Neighbors swing (12)
B1 Gents allemande left 1 ½ (8)
Half a hey (Partners pass right on the outside) (8)
B2 Partners balance and swing (16)
ZESTY CHRISTMAS HORNPIPE IMP
Tony Saletan / Ted Sanella
A1 1s balance woman 2 and circle 3 to the left TWICE around
A2 1s balance gent 2 and circle 3 to the left twice,
opening to a line facing down with the woman in the middle;
woman 2 joins the line (now of four).
B1 Down 4-in-line (1s in the center), all turn alone,
return and hand cast off.
B2 Long lines forward and back;
1s swing in the center and end facing the next woman
Tony's notes:
Mark (and anyone else interested), in the Boston area (where I danced for
several decades before recently moving to the state of Washington), we begin
Vinton's (alias Christmas) Hornpipe pretty much as follows: On the first four
beats all three people involved (woman #1 and the two gents in the subset) all
balance advancing into a hand-holding circle of three. If the set is compact
enough side-to-side, forming of the circle is almost instantaneous, and dancers
can enjoy the connection of "balance the ring" almost from the very first beat.
Random other winter themed ideas
- "Dancing the Winter Away", Jim Kitch
- "Snow Dance" Gene Hubert
- You could try the contra modified version of Wendy Crouch's Winter
Solstice<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEeXfkuZb1M> (video)
(square with an extra couple). Renamed Swinging Solstice for the other side
of the Pond. Features a grand square for 5 couples! Progression is
clockwise.
Champaign Cocktail
IMP
Jonathan Sivier
A1 Neighbor do-si-do
Ladies allemande left 1 1/2
A2 Partner balance and swing (on gent's original side)
B1 Circle left 3/4 (back to original places)
Neighbor swing (on the side)
B2 Circle left
Star left (look for new neighbors)
I came up with this dance on 5/20/2013 prior to a gig in Bloomington, IN. I
wanted a nice easy dance for early in the evening and was tired of the same old
dances I had been using. I borrowed bits from several other easy dances. I
live in Champaign, IL and figured it was a cocktail of dances and thus the
name, a play on Champagne Cocktail.
Snow Dance by Gene Hubert
Christmas is on Monday - by Jim Hemphill
Snowball Shimmy BECKET (Easy)
Seth Tepfer
A1 -----------
(8) Circle Left 1X*
(8) Men allemande Right 1-1/2
A2 -----------
(16) Neighbor balance and swing
B1 -----------
(8) Balance the ring and twirl to the right (petronella)
(8) Balance the ring and twirl 2 places to the right (petronella)
B2 -----------
(16) Partner balance and swing (face left)
Notes: *I Changed this to slice left, gents alle Left 1 & 1/2
Snow Dance
IMP (Intermediate)
by Gene Hubert
A1 -----------
Ring Balance
Ladies pass by the R/change places (alternate with men change places)**
Ring Balance
California twirl with your Neighbor (face a new couple, shadow in other hand)*
A2 -----------
Circle left once
Star left once
B1 -----------
Partner Balance and Swing
B2 -----------
Right and Left through (long lines)
Ladies Chain
Hors d’oeuvre
IMP (easy)
by Melanie Axel-Lute
A1 -----------
(8) Neighbor Do-si-do
(8) Neighbor swing
A2 -----------
(8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Women's Chain
B1 -----------
(8) Women allemande Right once
(8) Partner swing
B2 -----------
(8) Circle Left 3/4
(4) Balance the Ring
Pass through
Double Dreydl
IMP (easy)
By Tony Saletan (Composed December 15, 1987)
A1 N B&Sw
A2 Circle L ¾
P Sw
B1 Lines of 4 down the hall
Turn as couples, return
1s face across while 2s hand cast to face across
B2 Circle RIGHT
L Chain
Author's Notes:
I wrote the dance during Chanukah. The title may be interpreted as referring to
the two swings, or the two circles, since both figures go around like a top.
The magic moment in this dance is the transition from the 2s casting
counterclockwise (left), flowing into the circle right. Each woman should
assist this by pulling her partner into the circle right; dancers are used to
the man pulling the woman into a circle left, but he can't gracefully push her
into the circle right. Many contras have figures that are particularly fun for
the 1s; the cast in "Double Dreydl" gives the 2s a special bonus.
This dance is from American Country Dances On
Line<http://quiteapair.us/calling/acdol/>
All rights reserved by the author; used by permission.
Added to database 6/23/2002; edited by Russell Owen
Christmas Stars
IMP
Rich Sbardella
A1 Ones star left 1 with woman two (M1 behind partner)
Ones star right 3/4 with man two (W1 behind partner)
Man one cross set to original place
A2 Neighbor gypsy
Neighbor swing
B1 Circle left 3/4
Partner swing
B2 Ladies chain
Long lines forward and back
It's trickier than it looks, because it's different for the ones and the twos.
From: Rich Sbardella via Contra Callers <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 8:43 AM
To: Contra Callers <[email protected]>
Subject: [Callers] Dances with Holiday Themes and Titles
Hello Folks,
I am looking for some contra dances which have a holiday theme for Christmas,
Chanukah, or New Year's (Eve) for an open contra dance.
Do You have any favorites?
Rich
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