Contra Dances by Donna Calhoun

Donna has been calling and writing contra dances since 1990. You may contact her at TNContraCaller @ gmail.com

The following are dances I wrote over a period of several years. At the end of each dance I have pointed out the potential trouble spots as I see them and have given a brief history of how I came to write the dance. Feel free to use any of these dances in your program. That's why they're here. I've written more dances than these, but I'll spare you the pain and suffering.

Another good dance resource is Kiran Wagle's Index of Dances. If you are looking for information on a specific dance try Michael Dyck's Contradance Index Another good resource page is Internet resources for contra dance callers

If you want to know where to contra dance in your area try Dwayne Johnson's Locator Map

ADPD (Awesome Double Progression Dance)

The Brown Bag Reel

Carla's Stomp

Caught in the Act

Contra Clockwise #1

Contranella

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

Follow the Lady

Highway Hypnosis

The Jealous Lover

Lemon Squares

Patio Doors

Ryan's Happy Feet

Stay in Touch

Super Simple Circle Mixer

Who's on First



Follow The Lady

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


The only difficult part about teaching this dance is to tell the men where to end up before you tell them to allemande. Also remind the dancers that the gypsy moves pretty quickly.

This is the first dance I ever wrote. I had just learned that if you walk though a hey backwards you can maintain eye contact with your partner. The gypsy -- hey -- swing combination seemed to me to be about the maximum level of flirting possible. The name, of course, comes from the figures as the Lady gives her partner a "come hither" look with the gypsy then leads him through the hey.

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ADPD (Awesome Double Progression Dance)

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2


This is one of the easiest double-progression dances I know. I often do this as a no-walkthrough dance.

This dance was written in desperation one night when I was calling our local dance and I left my cards on the kitchen table. It Worked!! I intended to call it The Panic Button in honor of its origin but events conspired against that name. Robert Cromartie picked it up from me at Feet Retreat then called it at his local dance. Afterwards Gene Hubert asked him "What was the name of that awesome double progression dance?" Robert wrote that as the title on his card and later submitted it to Larry Jennings under the name ADPD for inclusion in the next incarnation of Zesty Contras. (GIVE and Take) Since the new name was about to appear in print, it won.

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Contra Clockwise #1

by Donna Calhoun

Becket, clockwise

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


This one can get people dizzy because almost all of the movement is in the same direction, clockwise.

It is the third usable dance I wrote. I was experimenting with ideas about dance flow for awhile.


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Brown Bag Reel   (aka Zombie Walk)

by Donna Calhoun

Becket, clockwise

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


Make sure to remind people to wrap around the ends for the promenade in A2. I compare the "ring" to a rubber band. That image seems to help.

This dance was written on July 4th 1989 in the car on the way home from a Dawn Dance at which Tony Parkes called I enjoyed the figure and the pun for the single file promenade. I attempted to write down the dance as I remembered it . Unfortunately, after dancing all night, my memory was poor and I could not remember the dance very well. When I finally found a copy of Tonys Dance I realized this was a new one and it needed a new name. I call it The Brown Bag Reel because that was the only paper I could find when I wanted to write down the dance.

ALTERNATE: For Halloween I have the dancers perform the single file promenade in  a "Zombie Walk" (Hands outstretched, shuffling footsteps) It went over well with the local crowd

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Caught in the Act

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)



The name of this dance comes from the figures. The gent "catches" his partner flirting (gypsying) with another man and begins the chase. When she realizes that he too was flirting, the roles change. In the end they both get caught for the Balance and Swing.

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Highway Hypnosis

by Ralph Ball  and Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


While the experienced dancers seem to enjoy the sneak preview of their next neighbors, the gypsy with a new neighbor then returning to the original neighbor can cause some confusion for newer dancers.

End effects: the last time before you go out at the top or bottom of the set, the person you gypsy is your partner.

Written March 2, 1996. We were driving on the interstate late one night on our way home from a dance in Johnson City and decided to write a dance to keep us from falling asleep at the wheel. Unlike some dances which take weeks to write, this one fell into place in about 20 minutes.

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Ryan's Happy Feet

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


Written in honor of Knoxville dancer Ryan Worden who loves to spin and stomp in the petronella turns.

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Carla's Stomp

by Donna Calhoun and Carla Wells Dailey

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


Written on the way home from Jonesborough Days 2011, in an effort to stay awake after all that dancing.

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Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper, dbl-prog

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)


I needed another dance to call on Halloween 2010. I loved the phrase from Shakespeare, so I decided to write a double progression dance to fit. In my mind, each petronella spin is a stir of the caldron.

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Contranella

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper, dbl-prog

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

If you go out at the bottom of the set after the petronella, stand on the proper side and wait for the contra corners.

Feb 2011, I wanted a double progression Contra Corner dance to call for the long sets at Cabin Fever.

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Patio Doors

by Donna Calhoun

duple, becket

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

August 2011, Playing around with the Rory O'More move. The name comes from a dance caller (I would tell you who if I could remember) who during the walkthrough said "You can spin past your partner like in Rory O'More. Or just slide past them like a patio door"

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Lemon Squares

by Donna Calhoun, Eileen Hayes and Cindy Robey

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

Written late Saturday night of Jonesborough days 2011, up in our hotel room after a day of dancing and a few glasses of wine. Eileen thought that Lemon Squares would make a great name for a dance so the three of us cooked up this one.

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Stay In Touch

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

Our dance community has been experimenting with having all of the men wear blindfolds to dance. I wrote this one as a good starter for that. You are almost always in physical contact with another dancer and the women lead the men in the star when it is time to progress. Blindfold dancing seems to help both the men and the women. It helps the men pay attention to the music and the women must constantly be aware of where they are and with whom they should interact.

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Super Simple Circle Mixer

by Donna Calhoun

circle mixer

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

July 2011, When asked to call a dance for a local group of mentally challenged Children and Adults I came up with this. It ended up not being a mixer but everyone still had a great time. This has probably been written before, but I didn't have it in my card set, so I gave it a name.

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Who's on First

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

Remember to pair up the calls. If the Gents swing the ladies allemande and vise versa;  I usually drop the gender calls early in the dance, because the dancers can keep up with it better than I can.

This is one I wrote back in the early 90s. I don't remember the occasion

 

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The Jealous Lover

by Donna Calhoun

duple, improper

A1)

A2)

B1)

B2)

 

The Chase figure: At the end of the A2 the ladies are facing out gents are facing in. This sets them up for the chase. Lady one starts by leading out of the set and above to circle both neighbors. #1 gent follow partner but after circling #2 gent cut through the middle. #1 gent is now in the lead. He goes out side and up around both neighbors, Lady #1 follows, after circling around gent #1, she cuts through. They meet in the middle below their neighbors for the balance and swing. Throughout the chase the #2 couple are "posts".

This is the first dance I wrote with the "chase" figure in it. The dance is very unequal, in that the twos spend most of the time watching the ones have all the fun. I recommend short sets. One thing I love about including this figure in a program is that it level the playing field. Even dancers who have years of experience are frequently caught off guard with this one. As long as they have a great time with it who cares if it is done exactly right?

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Updated on 9/17/2011