| Dance Name | Author | Variants/comments | ECD/Contra crossover elements | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yellow Stockings | Neal 1726 | Energy level is contraish. Plus I'd planned to do a 9/8 timed contra in the second half. | |
| 2 | Geudman of Ballangigh | Playford 1696 | Had planned to do "The Geud Contra of Ballangigh" in the second half, dropped because of space/complexity limitations. | |
| 3 | Gentleman's Delight | Philippe Callens | Had planned to do "Belgian's Delight" in the second half, dropped because of space limitations. | |
| 4 | Draper's Gardens | Playford 1709 | A number of raw beginners came in at this point, and I had prepped the band with a limited number of alternates. | |
| 5 | The Young Widow | Griffiths 1788 | Triple minor | Transitional dance between ECD and contra. |
| 6 | Bare Necessities | Pat Shaw | 3-couple set Final gypsy with new neighbor was left shoulder. |
A Pat Shaw dance, who wrote in both American and ECD styles. This one is more ECD, though many moves feel American. |
| 7 | The Dancing Wife | Gary Roodman | Mirrored in "Tapestry." | |
| 8 | Lilliburlero | Playford 1690 | Another reserve alternate dance. | |
| 9 | Hole in the Wall | Playford 1698 | Yet another reserve alternate dance, after "Lilliburlero" was shaky. "Elizabeth" wasn't going to work at that point. | |
| Break (contra lesson) | ||||
| 10 | Handsome Young Maids | Sue Rosen | Contra version of "Dublin Bay" figure, cloverleaf turn single. | |
| 11 | Blurring the Lines | Me | Pousette and lead around. | |
| 12 | Talent and Hope | Philippe Callens | Contra written by an ECD caller, plus hey for four. | |
| 13 | Tapestry | Erik Weberg | Contra version of "The Dancing Wife." | |
| 14 | Mad, Mad World | Martha Wild | Mad robins in bulk. And gypsies. | |
| 15 | Catch a Falling Star | Melanie Axel-Lute | Hands-across stars and turn single. | |
| Break (food) | ||||
| 16 | Heather's Cookie | Martha Wild | "Companions" adaptation, with the pousette/hey transition. | |
| 17 | Levi Jackson Rag | Pat Shaw | 5-couple set | Technically an ECD dance. No, really! |
| 18 | Mirror, Mirror | Jim Kitch | An emergency substitution. More mad robins. | |
| 19 | The Second Time Around | Jim Kitch | An emergency substitution. More gypsies and heys. | |
| 20 | Kinematic Vorticity | Carol Ormand | B2: Women allemande right 1 & 1/2, swing neighbor | Gates. |
A special combination English Country (from 5:30-7:30 pm) and contra (from 8:00-11:00 pm) event. Originally I'd planning a much stronger mapping between the two halves, but a lot of raw beginners came in halfway through the ECD event, and later I had to cut back on the complexity level of the contra set as well. "The Dancing Wife," "Lilliburlero," "Tapestry," and some sets of "Levi Jackson Rag" did not go well -- I probably should have simplified even more.
It was also a very crowded evening. The hall was typically a cozy one, and that night was a free dance. Plus very recent construction walled off a formerly usable corner of the room.
I did get one good specific bit of feedback after teaching "Tapestry" -- in the A2, while technically the circle is with current neighbors, from the dancers' perspective the circle is with new neighbors.
Amusingly enough when I reprogrammed the last third during break, I chose "Heather's Cookie" (a dance similar to "Joyride") because it introduced the first ladies chain of the evening. The dancers were already familiar with all the other stuff like pousettes and heys.
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