MIT Contra; 48 bar dance

May 9th, 2012
calling, contra
I had a great time calling the MIT dance last night to great music by La Banane Enchantee. The wanted to play some crazy tunes, and while for most of them they didn't ask first, one was half again as long as a normal tune and they were polite and checked. Seeing as they were gracious enough to let me know in advance, I figured I ought to oblige and assembled a 48 bar contra for them. I used Don Flaherty's Heartbeat Contra as a starting point to get:

A1 (8) Ring Balance, Petronella
(8) Ring Balance, Petronella
A2 (16) Ring Balance, Neighbor Swing
B1 (8) Ladies Gypsy Right 1.5x
(8) Partner Swing
B2 (8) Long Lines
(8) Gents Gypsy Left 2x
C1 (16) Partner Balance and Swing
C2 (8) Circle Left 3/4
(8) Ring Balance, Partner California Twirl

The added section is the:

B2 (8) Long Lines
(8) Gents Gypsy Left 2x
C1 (16) Partner Balance and Swing

The goal was to add something interesting that didn't add too much to the mental burden. I did find I needed to keep prompting some of the figures in the Ladies/Lines/Gents section longer than usual, but people learned them. Most people didn't seem to notice anything was different. Just one of the dancers who is also a musician.

It made a good dance to end the first half with.

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