Erik's Dances
Lanny's Back
Duple Improper Contra
A1: Gypsy and Swing Neighbor
A2: Circle L. 3/4
Sw Part
B1: Balance Ring; Women cross by R. Shoulder
Balance Ring; Men cross by
R. Shoulder
B2: Balance Ring: One Petronella Turn
Balance Ring:
California Twirl w/ Part.
I wrote this dance in anticipation of a gig with the Portland band, The
Wildcats in about 1997. The accordian player, Lanny Martin, had
injured his
back
and it was uncertain whether he would be able to play. The title
can be either a lament or a celebration. Lanny recovered enough
to
play and his back was back in fine form the night of the gig, so Lanny
was indeed back.
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Artquake '95
Duple Improper Contra
A1: Long Lines Forward and Back
1's Swing
A2: Down the Hall 4 in line; Turn alone
Return and bend
the lines
B1: Women Chain over and back
B2: Circle L
Circle R
I was asked to call at the Portland Artquake festival in 1995 which
placed me and a band in front of about 2000 spectators whom I was
expected to encourage to Contra dance. We had about 50 "dancers"
in the crowd. They each took a beginner as a partner so every
couple had one experienced dancer. In this dance, partners have
an
easy time keeping track of each other and it's a nice, easy dance for
beginners.
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Tapestry
Duple Improper Contra
A1: 1's down cntr below one couple; separate; return up
outside to place
Circle L with former
neighbors
A2: 2's down the cntr below one couple; separate; return up
outside to place
Circle L with current
neighbors
B1: Gypsy and Sw. Nbr.
B2: Long Lines Forward and Back
1's swing
In the A parts you dance with two sets of neighbors. It pays to
spend a moment before the walk-through to introduce dancers to the
neighbors behind them as well as their current neighbors. The A
part of this dance is the A part from an English Country dance by the
title Dancing Wife by Gary Roodman. When I danced Dancing Wife
for
the first time I thought that set of figures was too cool to not share
with Contra dancers. When using this dance, please reference Gary
Roodman's English Dance. All I did was tag on a B part to get
Contra dancers to do some English. I wrote this around 2002 or
thereabouts. I think.
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Frozen Lotion
Duple Improper Contra
A1: Gypsy and Swing Nbr.
A2: Circle L 3/4
Allemande R Partner
3/4; Men allemande L
B1: Bal. and Swing Part.
B2: Men turn by L 1/2; Women take left, turn the star 1/2
way further
DSD next Nbr.
This dance was written with the tune Big John McNeil's in mind.
It didn't have a name until a Winter (Fall, actually; Thanksgiving
weekend 1993) camping trip in Northern Idaho
when
the temperature was -15 F. The name doesn't have anything to do
with the dance; it was just fun to say once the lips thawed out.
In the B2, the women join the star behind their partners.
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Whatchagonnado?
Becket Contra
A1: Circle L 3/4
Pass through; swing
next nbr.
A2: Women chain
R&L Through
B1: Balance ring; Petronella turn
Balance ring:
Petronella turn
B2: Balance and Sw. Part.
I wrote this one in 1996 or 1997 to go with the old-time tune
Rock the Cradle
Joe. "What 'cha gonna' do when the baby cries..." I was
once
told after calling this that Petronella turns just don't go with
old-time music, and did those fall together on purpose or was that an
unfortunate accident of programming. I did that on purpose.
'Cause I like it.
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Valerie's Trip to Portland
Duple Improper Contra
Double Progression
A1: Gypsy and Swing Nbr.
A2: Long Lines Forward and Back
Pass Through; Swing
Through
B1: Balance and Sw. Part.
B2: Cir. L 3/4
Weave the Line to 3rd
couple
I introduced this dance in Portland back around 2002 or 2003 before I
had chosen a title.
A woman asked to copy it down. Her name was (and still is, I
presume) Valerie, visiting from Juneau, AK. I was pleased that
she
liked it and named it on the spot. This dance has become one of
my
favorites. The pass through; swing through figure involves a pass
through to an ocean wave, immediately followed by an allemande right
halfway and gents turn by the left halfway to meet partners on the
side.
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Joyride
Duple Improper Contra
A1: Gypsy N
Mad Robin figure around N
A2: Half Pousette clockwise (Men back to begin)
Hey halfway (men start with L
shoulder)
B1: Men pass left once more to cross the set and swing partner*
B2: Women chain
Star L to next N
This is one of the most flowing dances I've written (2007...?) and
dancers have
expressed appreciation for the connectedness and satisfying feel.
After the half pousette with partner, the women should let go and take
a step back and to the left in order to leave room in the middle for
the men to begin the
hey. The timing of this dance has been described as "squishy",
which is ok. Encourage dancers to stretch out the Mad Robin, the
Pousette and the Hey and use all the music provided. The dance
was originally written to dance the fifth change of the hey in the B1,
but dancers seem to prefer to arrive for the swing at the top of the
phrase. That's fine, but they shouldn't arrive earlier than
that. *I've recently been teaching this dance the way I
initially intended it; with the fifth change of the hey and then the
swing in the B1 part of the dance. I've found that as I get
better at teaching it, it has become easier to convince dancers to
suspend their hurry in getting to the next figure during the A
parts. As dancers relax into the flow they seem to enjoy it more,
and saving that last crossing by the gents until the B1 seems to
enhance
the joy. (8/2011)
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Whoa, Nellie!
Becket Formation contra dance
A1: Men Al'd L 1-1/2
Star Promenade neighbor; men back out...
A2: Women Al'd R 1-1/2
Star Promenade partner; women back out...
B1: Balance the ring;
Petronella turn
Balance the ring: California Twirl (face new neighbors)
B2: Two new women Al'd R
1-1/2
Swing Partner
The first start promenade is done with the man picking up his neighbor
by putting his right arm around her waist. The second is done
with
the woman putting her left arm around her partners waist. The two
figures also turn opposite directions. So they really are mirror
images of one another! Written in the Winter of 1998.
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A Rose by Another Name (Would Smell...)
Double progression, improper
contra dance
Begin in progressed position (next
to neighbor on the side, woman on the right, facing partner across)
A1: Hey (Women start with R
shoulder)
A2: Women pass right once
again
Swing partner
B1: Circle L x 1
Women chain across
B2: Long Lines Forward and
Back
With NEXT neighbor, Gate halfway (men forward, women back)
With NEXT neighbor, Gate halfway (men back, women forward)
The progression at the end of the dance was picked out of the English
dance The Rose of Rochester which I though was too good to not share
with contra dancers. The gate figures should wrap around the ends
of the lines; if you don't have a NEXT neighbor to do the gate, do the
figure with your partner who happens to be accross from you. You
may have to reach for it, but it will get you in the right place to
start the dance again. I'm not sure when I wrote it.
Somewhere around 2002 I think.
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Evil Duane
Improper contra dance
Start in wavy line across; women take L in center, give R to neighbor
A1: Balance wave R and L;
slide R
Balance wave L and R; slide L (women slide L all the way across to
Partner)
A2: Balance and Swing Partner
B1: Give and Take (Long
Lines Forward; men hand partner to other man, men fall back with
neighbor woman for a...)
Swing neighbor
B2: Balance the ring;
Rollaway partner across
Circle L x 1/2; Pass through up/down
to
next wave
At the end of A1 if there is space and inclination, the women have a
great opportunity to spin twice on their way across the set to meet
their partners.
I wrote this dance back around 2006 to go with the tune Evil Diane by
Sam
Bartlett. I got Sam's permission to use a take off from his tune
name. Sam was intrigued by the mythology/story of the dance.
Duane was Diane's high school boyfriend. It didn't work
out; Duane cheated on Diane halfway through the dance. After one
last "rollaway" (ahem...) they broke it off and went on to the
next. But do we ever really learn from these experiences?
Apparently not. We seek pleasure wherever there's a great tune to
dance to.
My intent has been to call this dance when the tune Evil Diane is
available in the band's repritore. My hope is that you enjoy it
in
the same way. Any similarity to actual Dianes or Duanes is
strictly coincidental.
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Ad Vielle (Oddville)
Becket (sort-of) contra dance
Start in wavy line across; men take R in center, give L to partner
A1: Balance wave forward and
back
All drop hands, step forward to new wave
Balance new wave forward and
back
Allemande L ~3/4
A2: Balance and Swing Partner
B1: Circle L 3/4; pass
through up/down
Swing next neighbor; end facing
across
B2: Women allemande R 1-12
All allemande L partner ~1-1/4 to wave
with men in center by R
I wrote this dance in February, 2005 because I needed an accessible,
interesting dance to
fit the tune Oddville Cupola by Claude Ginsberg of the Seattle contra
dance band KGB (www.kgbmole.com/kgb). The Portland Megaband has
played Oddville Cupola for the last couple years and this dance has
been very pleasing to dancers when danced to that tune. Of
course, it will work with any 32-bar tune, but that one is
special. Thanks, Claude!
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Wasatch Wiggle
Duple improper contra dance
A1: See Saw Neighbor (left
shoulder do-si-do)
Men, Ald L 1-1/2
A2: Gypsy (or Balance) and
Swing Partner
B1: Balance Ring; Petronella
turn one place to right
Balance Ring;
Petronella-nella turn two places to right
B2: Balance and Swing
Neighbor
I wrote this one in August, 2007 for the Wasatch Wiggle dance weekend
produced by the Salt Lake City dancers. The dance has been
through a couple of revisions. Initially I choreographed an
inverse "Mad Robin" figure to start, with the men passing in front of
neighbor to start. I called that the "Happy Raven". That
works, but I replaced it with the see saw because it's easier to teach
and allows more neighbor interaction. The motion from the B2
neighbor swing carries one into that trajectory.
I'd never seen a Petronella turn which moves two places. I named
it a Petronella-nella and dancers immediately liked it when I
introduced this dance for the first time in Seattle. I hope I get
to dance it sometime; it looks like fun.
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Seagull
Becket contra dance
Start in wave across; men take L in center, give R to partner.
A1: Balance wave
R&L; Allemande R 3/4 to long wave (men facing in)
Balance wave R&L; Allemande
R 3/4 to short wave (ladies in center)
A2: Balance wave and Swing
Partner
B1: Circle L 3/4; Pass thru
up/down
Swing next Neighbor along
B2: 1/2 Hey across (men
start by L shoulder)
Men allemande L 1-1/2 to
beginning wave
The A part of this dance is remeniscent of the wonderful dance "You
Can't Get There From Here" by Carol Ormond. For some programming
I was doing I needed the simplicity of that figure but in a Becket
formation. When I danced it out in the barn with Caroline I liked
how it felt. We danced to the tune Seagull by Steeleye Span,
hence the name. That was back in 2008 in the Fall, I believe.
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Now We Are Four
Becket contra dance
A1: Give-and-Take;
Swing neighbor on gent's side. End facing down the hall.
A2: Down the hall four in
line (about six steps only); Switch ends and turn alone*
Return and bend the lines
B1: Circle L 3/4; Slide left
to face next neighbors
Two ladies Do-Si-Do
B2: Balance and Swing partner
Mike Richardson wrote a dance called "Now We Are Three" which this
dance is based on. Mike's dance begins with long lines F&B,
then a half hey. In the B1 the circle is once around. Other
than that, this is the same dance. Mike's dance is more
interesting in that when you slide left in the B1, for half of you the
women lead, for the rest the men lead. I wanted to do the
switch-ends-turn-alone figure, but I needed a dance with a neighbor
swing.
I tweaked Mike's dance a bit and arrived at this one in the Summer of
2009. I encourage
callers to try Now We Are Three as well as this one. Thanks,
Mike.
*Facing down, the couple on the right step forward
and slide straight left. The couple on the left slide straight
right. Once the two couples have switched ends of the line (still
facing down), then all turn alone to face back up the hall.
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Rocks and Dirt
Duple improper Contra dance
A1: Balance and Swing
neighbor
A2: Ladies chain across
Orbit {Ladies Al'd R 1-1/2 while men orbit ccw 1/2 way around}
B1: Balance and Swing Partner
B2: Circle L 3/4
Dance 3 changes of a
circular Hey (pass N by R, P by L, N by R) then face next neighbor
I was a structural geologist. What more can I say. I wrote
the dance in about 2003 and named it to commemorate a former noble
occupation. The
circular hey is common in English dances. Contra dancers can
figure it out. If you're not sure about that, have them use hands
and pull by.
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Stir Crazy
Becket Contra dance
A1: Cir. L. 3/4; Pass
thru up/down
Swing next Neighbor
A2: Cir. L. 3/4; DSD Partner
B1: Balance P by right, pull
by R, Pull by left with neighbor across
Balance P by right, pull by R, Pull by
left with neighbor across
B2: B&S Partner
Written in 2007...I think. This dance is on the you tubes.
Keywords: NW Folklife Portland
Megaband Erik Weberg. Seth and Jen are featured; what fun!
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Skip's Rusty Button
Duple improper contra dance
Double Progression
A1: Balance neighbor right hand; Box the gnat
Start right once around to
next neighbor along
A2: Balance new neighbor left hand; Swat the flea
Star left once around
B1: Women drop out on home side while men allemande left 1-1/2 to
partner
Swing partner on side
B2: Women allemande Right once around, pull by left with partner
Men pull by right in center,
allemande left with neighbor 1-1/4 to next neighbor
David Kaynor and I wrote the first half of this dance one evening at
Sue Songer's house while we were playing music and never finished
it. That was the Fall of 2010. Then he went east and I
stayed west and we each finished the
dance in our own way. So if you find a very similar dance by
David with a different name, that's why. I borrowed the B2 from
Steve Zakon-Anderson's dance Southern Swing.
One problem with the dance is that the first progression happens early
and the second at the end of the dance. So there is almost always
a couple waiting out. I thought of "fixing" that by starting the
dance at the current A2, but that would lose the symmetry of the
dance. So I decided to leave it this way and consider it a chance
for a couple to rest.
Skip Morey is a contra and English dancer here in the Portland
area. Skip has danced all around the country for many years and
is a delightful presence on any dance floor. He came up to me one
evening to show me that the name button he has worn to dances for years
had developed a beautiful layer of rust on the back from the many hours
of warm, humid conditions it has endured pinned to Skip's shirt.
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Something Completely Different
Becket contra dance
A1: Hey halfway (women pass right to start)
Women allemande right 1-1/2
A2: Swing neighbor on side; end facing partner across set next to
neighbor
Balance toward your neighbor
and away; Men rollaway neighbor lady from right to left
B1: Give-and-take; Step forward toward partner, Women draw
partner over to home side
Swing partner in home
position
B2: Circle left once around
On left diagonal march
forward to face new couple, square up and back staight away from these
new neighbors to begin again
I wrote this dance to fit the Liberty Bell March which was being played
by the Portland Megaband in March, 2011. The Liberty Bell is a
John Phillip
Sousa march which is more widely recognized as the Monty Python's
Flying Circus theme march. The tune has a great punctuated
landing on the last four bars of the A2 which is why in this case the
balance follows the neighbor swing. The dance, of course, works
with any tune, but really makes sense when done with a tune that has
that same emphasis right there in the A2. When people recognize
the tune, don't be surprised to see some silly walks.
Callers, if you use this dance, please encourage the dancers to end the
neighbor swing in time to do the balance and rollaway. I have it
on good authority (thanks, Caroline) that it is really frustrating when
her neighors sloppily extend the swing a few extra counts making the
next figures awkwardly compressed. The right tune goes a long way
toward giving the dancers a feel for what they should be doing.
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Dancing on the Edge
Duple Proper contra dance
A1: 1st corners walk around each other by the left halfway to
meet
partner on the side; Balance partner on bars 3 and 4
Swing partner
A2: Circle left 3/4
Swing neighbor
B1: Balance ring; 1s rollaway the 2s from above to below (1's
move up a place as you rollaway)
1's dance Half Figure 8 down
through 2s to end in home place
B2: All allemande left partner 3/4 to wave of four up/down center
of set.
In the middle of the wave of
four, the two by the right hand (second corners) allemande 1-1/2 to
the
other end of the wave while the
two at the ends of the wave orbit
ccw to the other end of the wave.
All allemande left partner 3/4 to
end on proper side of the set.
For a long time I've been wanting to work the final orbit figure from
Joyce Walker's English dance Fenterlarick into a contra dance. I
finally managed it and got to call it for the first time at a new
English/Contra dance camp near Payson, AZ the weekend of June 17-19,
2011. The dance camp itself is high on the Mogollon Rim in
Northern Arizona and is called Dancing on the Edge. It was very
rewarding to see the dancers enjoying this new hybrid contribution to
the contra dance repritoire.
Contra dancers may not be familiar with their corners, so do let them
know who first corners are and remind them that roles switch when they
turn around at the ends of the set. Also, make sure the 1s move
up one place during the rollaway lest the dance creep down the
hall. I haven't seen that happen, but if the 1s are lazy with the
rollaway it could...
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