Easy contra dances

Al's Safeway Produce by Robert Cromartie.

[IMPROPER:]
Star-L all-the-way-around(8). Allemand-L nbr 1.5 (8).
Ladies allemand-R 1.5 (8). Partner swing(8).
Circle left 3-places(8). Nbr swing(8).
Long-lines(8). Star-R (merging to a star-L with new couple).
Martha Edwards | Echo Valley String Band.
Joy Greenwolfe | ? .

Small Potatoes by Jim Kitch.

[IMPROPER:]
With nbr, Bal&Swing(4+12).
R-hands-across--Star 1x (8). Ladies chain [to partner](8).
Ladies dosido(8). Partner swing(8).
Circle-left 3-places and pass thru(6+2), next nbr dosido(8).

The Baby Rose by David Kaynor.

[IMPROPER:]
Nbr Bal&Swing(4+12).
Circle-left 3-places(8). Partner DoSiDo(8).
Partner Bal&Swing(4+12).
Ladies chain(8). Left-hand star(8).
Jack Mitchell | Big Medicine.

Broken Sixpence by Don Armstrong.

[IMPROPER: 3 dosido's]
[New] Nbr dosido(8). Gents dosido(8).
Ladies dosido(8). ONEs swing, face down the hall(8), step between TWOs.
Line4-DTHall, turn alone(6+2). Line4-UTHall, bend the line(6+2).
Circle left(8) [or Right-hand Star]. [Reverse] Left-hand Star(8).
Inisheer Irish Dance | Contra from 15:58 till 21:22, Jonathan King calling | Waltz. Band: Flying Turtles. At 21:30, Joe tries to steal my waltz partner. Unsuccessfully.

*  NBR balance&swing(4+12) [on the side].
*  Long-lines, roll-away while backing up(8).
ONEs swing, face down the hall(8), step between TWOs.

Cranky Ingenuity by Bill Olson.

[IMPROPER: Dosido as couples]
Circle-left(8). As couples, dosido nbr-couple(8).
Individually, nbr dosido(8). Swing nbr(8).
Gents allemand-L 1.5 (8). Partner Swing(8).
Circle-left 3/4 (8). Ring-balance(4). California Twirl(4), to face new nbrs.
Myra Hirschberg | Mike Ayles & David Boulanger.
Alice Morris.

Family Contra in the Castle by Seth Tepfer.

[IMPROPER: Teaching: Face-up/down, memorize. Swing partner, ending the way you memorized.]
Balance-the ring, twice(8); Circle-RIGHT 4-places(8).
Balance-the ring, twice(8); Circle-LEFT 4-places(8).
[Face nbr] NBR dosido(8), then NBR-swing [on-the-side](8).
Long-lines(8). Partner swing [across-the-set](8).
Exchanged the circling directions, to flow into the R-shoulder nbr-dosido. Use long-lines rather than across-the-set partner-dosido.

Fidelity Reel by Bill Wellington.

[IMPROPER: Two s]
, then Nbr swing(8+8).
Long-lines(8). Gents allemand-L 1.5 (8).
, then swing partner(8+8).
With partner, promenade across(8). Ladies chain(8).

Frederick Contra by Tom Hinds.

[IMPROPER:]
(“New”)Gents dosido(8). Ladies allemand-L 1.5, to change places(8).
Partner bal&swing(4+12).
DTHall line4, ONEs next to TWOs(6), turn as a couple(2). Come back UTHall(6), bend the line(2)...
...Circle left 3-places(8). Nbr swing(8). Gents look for new gent on L-diagonal.

Hay in the Barn by Chart Guthrie.

[IMPROPER:]
Nbr Bal&Swing(4+12).
Ladies chain(8). Ladies start half-hey(8).
Partner Bal&Swing(4+12).
Ladies chain(8). Ladies start half-hey(8).
Seth Tepfer | Tim&Friends.
See also the “Roll in the Hey” medley.

Jefferson and Lincoln by Seth Tepfer.

[IMPROPER: 1's arch, then backing up]
Circle left(8). Circle right(8).
Star-R(8). Star-L(8).
Long-lines(8). ONEs&swing(8), in the middle.
Line4 DTHall, ONEs in the center(4). ONEs arch(4) [still facing down]. TWOs pop through(4) [facing up the hall]. All go up 2 by 2 [ONEs bkwards](4); ONEs are facing their new NBRs.

Judah Jig by Charlie Fenton.

[IMPROPER: Circle-into-star]
Bal&swing nbr(4+12).
Circle-left 3 places, swing partner(8+8).
Circle left(8). Hands-across R-hand star(8) [i.e, both in same dir].
Ladies chain to Nbr(8), L-hand star(8) to face new nbrs.

Dave Harvey. See “Roll in the Hey” medley. Bob Isaacs: “Charlie Fenton, of San Francisco, named this dance for the street on which the local contra dance was located.

Oak Hill Quickstep by Bob Nicholson.

[IMPROPER: 4-in-line, turn alone]
Down the hall, 4-in-line [ONEs in the center], turn alone(8); come on back, face nbr(8).
Bal&swing nbr(4+12).
Ladies chain(8), then chain on back(8).
Long lines(8). ONEs swing(8).

Simplicity Swing by Becky Hill.

[IMPROPER: Identify ONEs/TWOs, and direction of progression.]
Nbr bal&swing(4+12).
Circle left 3-places(8). Partner swing(8).
Long-lines(8). Ladies chain [to nbr](8).
Star-L 4-places(8). Next Nbr dosido(8).
OR: A2: Long-lines and Gents take partner back to Gents side(8). Partner swing(8).
Jean Gorrindo | Celtic Spring. Linda Leslie, calling the give&take variant.

Mixers

Notes not yet correct for:

The Flying Scotsman by .

[Triplet or quadruplet, PROPER] abc
123 or abcd
1234
[Top three] Gents join hands, weave around L1, between L1 and L2, between L2 and L3 (8), and back to place(8).
[Top three] Ladies join hands, weave around G1, between G1 and G2, between G2 and G3 (8), and back to place(8).
ONEs sashay way down the hall(8); [on beats 5,6,7,8 the other couples join hands on the side, take four steps to move up, making a new top couple]. ONEs sashay back (little steps) to the bottom of their set.(8).
Join hands in short-lines facing across. Sashay down(8); sashay up(8).
TFS, YouTube and Slightly more complicated version.

The Barn Mixer by Rick Mohr.

[Scattered-fours, couple-with-couple. Contra-music.]
Circle left(8). R-star, wrist-grip star(8).
Slide hands to Rights-&-lefts with Nbr(8). Dosido Nbr(8).
Nbr bal&swing(4+12); this is your new partner.
Promenade anywhere with new partner(16), to find another couple to circle with.

Borrowdale Exchange

[Scatter mixer: 3-couple groups, Lady on right]
Circle left(8), circle right(8).
Dance to center and back(4+4). Partner dosido(8).
Right hands-across star [3 couples](8). All lift joined-hands; lowest-hand gent pull [new]partner under the arch, then next lowest-hand gent, then last; you have three new couples.
As couples, scatter promenade to make new sets. [Cèilidh (“kay-lee”) version: Skip as couples].
Danced in Seattle.

Mad Scatter by Rick Mohr.

[Scatter mixer: Couples in 4-somes or 6-somes or 8-somes]
Circle left(8). Dosido nbr(8).
Allemand-R partner 1.5 [sending ladies in](8). Ladies star-L, while Gents orbit CW(8).
Bal&swing new partner(4+12).
Promenade anywhere with new partner(16) [Find another group to circle with].
Any number of couples can be in the circle left, ditto the star-L.

Dive for the oyster, dig for the clam.

[2-couples in hands-4, anywhere on the floor.]
[Hands-4] “Dive for the oyster ”(8). A couple makes an arch, others dive/peek under; all hands stay joined. “Dig for the clam”;(8); the other couple makes an arch, and the others peek through.
[All hands stay joined] “Shoot through the hole in the old tin can”(16). First couple arches, 2nd pops through, rolls-over-outside shoulder, brings the other couple through, and they roll over.
Circle-L, circle-R(8+8).
Promenade about the hall(16), to find a new couple.
[This is a different version].

La Bastringue

[Circle mixer:] In-to-Center, back(8). Again(8). Cir-L(8), Cir-R(8). Gent turns LH lady to him, swing(4+12). Promenade(16) with swing-hands-out/in.
2008 California State Fair. Of French-Canadian origin, La Bastringue is a fine warm-up dance.

Slightly less Easy contra dances

Chainsaw Reel by Don Lennartson.

[BECKET: ID-dir-prog, THEN Becketize! Huge oval circle. ]
[Same two] Ladies chain(8). Long lines(8); keep hands, and connect at the ends to make a huge oval.
Oval right(8) [“Ovaltine”]. Oval left(8) [“OvalTang”].
[Original foursomes] Circle-left(8). [C'mon back with a] Left-hand star(8) all the way around [Gent in front of his partner].
[Ladies look right and] Allemand-R the new nbr-lady coming toward you(8). Partner-swing(8), on the side.
Jonathan King, Footloose. Called as no-walk-through. Caller? | Band?.

Chain the Hey by Becky Hill.

[IMPROPER:]
Nbr dosido, then swing(8+8).
Gents allemand-L 1.5, partner swing(8+8). [short swing]
With partner, promenade across(8). Rights-and-lefts across(8).
Ladies start half-hey(8), to Ladies chain(8). [Turn to face new nbrs]
David Keller | Playing with Fire.
Seth: Good 4^th dance.

The Cure for the Claps by Bob Isaacs.

[IMPROPER:]
Ring-bal, petronella(4+4), partner swing(8).
Ring-bal, petronella(4+4), nbr swing(8).
DTHall line4 [ONEs in the center], turn alone(6+2), UTHall, bend line(6+2). 4-by-4 go down the floor
Circle left all the way(8). Ring-bal(4), Cal-twirl(4).
Bob Isaacs | Crowfoot. See 4:20-4:42.
Jonathan King | Flying Turtles. Contra till 2:53, then a waltz.

Delphiniums and Daisies by Tanya Rotenberg.

[IMPROPER:]
Nbr allemand-L 1.5 (8). Ladies chain(8).
Ladies start a full-hey(16).
Partner Bal&Swing(4+12).
Circle-left 3-places(8). Nbr allemand-R 1.5 (8).
Lisa Greenleaf | Great Bear Trio.
Dave Harvey. At 2:21 a dancer plays spoons

Heartbeat Contra by Don Flaherty.

[IMPROPER:]
Bal-the-ring then petronella(8). Bal-the-ring, petronella(8).
Bal-the-ring(4). Nbr swing(12) on the side.
Ladies  1.5 in the middle(8), partner swing(8) on the side.
Circle-left 3-places(8). Ring-bal(4), California twirl(4).
Hank Morris | Contraversial.

Sarah's Journey by Gene Hubert.

[IMPROPER: Contra-stretch; Fours far apart. No balance on box-the-gnat.]
Box-the-Gnat with Nbr(4); Gents pull-by L-hand to cross the set(4). Partner swing(8).
Circle left all-the-way(8); Dosido Partner(8).
Box-the-Gnat Partner(4); Ladies pull-by L-hand to cross the set(4). Nbr swing(8).
Rights-&-lefts across(8). Star-L all-the-way(8), to face new Nbrs.
Jo Morland | Stringdancer. William Watson | Joyride.

Becket Reel by Herbie Gaudreau.

[BECKET: Your partner is on one side of you, your shadow on the other.]
Allemand-L your shadow(8). Partner swing(8).
Ladies chain across and back(8+8).
On left diagonal: Right&left through(8). Straight across: Right&left through(8).
Star left(8). Star right(8). [...until you see your shadow...]
Linda Leslie | Band ?.

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Easy contra dances

Raindrops on roses, And whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells, And schnitzel with noodles
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Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver-white winters that melt into springs
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When the dog bites...
When the bee stings...
When I'm feeling sad...
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad