We’ll explore the evolution of the longways dance form over two centuries: stately triple minors, duple minor proper, duple improper dances with increasing degrees of activity for all dancers, and the Becket formation. Can be as short as one workshop session or expanded to cover an hour a day for a full week. (This version was recently billed as “Dancing Through Time.”)

This session showcases the dances that brought new figures into an expanded contra repertoire. The process goes back decades, but the 1970s and 1980s saw a dramatic increase in these changes. Becket formation, Petronella twirls, weave the line, star thru, square thru, poussettes, Mad Robin, double progression– these are just some of the innovations we’ll explore.

Until recently, before the explosion of new dances written in the last twenty-five years or so, the core of the contra dance repertoire included a small group of dances, some of which go back 200 years. Most have an associated tune. I’ll introduce dances that are explored in Cracking Chestnuts, a CDSS publication I co-authored that looks at these classics of the repertoire. This session can be done with live music, if the musicians know the necessary tunes, or with recordings.)

The phrase is Ralph Page’s, and the workshop showcases more elegant dances from our repertoire, both old and new. Can be an English & American session if the musicians are able to play for ECD, or it can focus solely on American style dances– contras, squares, double quadrilles, couple dances.

Ted Sannella was a modern-day dance master, an internationally-recognized leader whose many compositions illustrate the variety possible in creating dances within the New England dance tradition. This session will showcase examples of Ted’s choreographic genius: contras, squares, triplets, and a mixer or two in other formations.

Inspired in 1968 by the English country dance Fandango, Ted Sannella created 41 triplets, mini-contra dances for sets of three couples in which a new couple becomes active each time through. From simple to complex, Ted’s Triplets offer wide variety for today’s dancers.

Ted Sannella created the contemporary triplet for contra dance, but in the years since his death, others have started to explore the choreographic possibilities of this formation. In this session, we’ll sample some contemporary triplets, ranging from simple to more complex.

Gene Hubert was an innovative, prolific and influential choreographer, widely credited with introducing the concept of “flow” into the contra dance world. Starting in the 1980s, Gene’s dances incorporated heys, gypsies, and other figures to enrich the repertoire. This session can focus just on contras or can include squares as well.

Challenging, yet satisfying, contras, squares and triplets, aimed for experienced dancers. This session will showcase material that stretches dancers’ brains and bodies a bit. In some cases, these are dances that involve unusual figures; others demand precise timing with little room for recovery.

The last 40 years have seen an explosion of creativity in the contra dance world, as hundreds of new dances have appeared that stretch the boundaries set by more traditional dances. We’ll look at new figures  and old figures being used in new ways. Each dance will be by a different choreographer as we work our way through the decades. For a more particular focus, we can dance the very first instances of new figures being used in a contemporary contra dance. 

Double progressions, double contras, double quadrilles, double crossing…

Triple minor contras, triple progression contras, squares with groups of three on each side, dances in triangle formation, triplets, three-facing-three circle dances, triplets, maybe a dance in waltz time, etc.

Although a challenging new idea in the early 1980s, the hey for four is now well established in the contra repertoire. But wait! There’s more! This workshop will showcase some of the many other varieties of this weaving figure—heys for three, six, and eight, as well as push-back / ricochet heys, diagonal heys, heys in square dances, dolphin heys… it’s an exciting list! If desired, we can also look at heys in English country dances.

Some are simple, high-energy dances that put the grin on everyone’s face; some are  more complex figures that delight experienced dancers. There’ll be older classics, singing squares, squares representing different regional traditions, and squares from the “golden age” of  the 1950s.

Texas and the American Southwest created an exciting style of square dance featuring high-energy dances set to fast tunes. Callers took figures from Southern Appalachian dance and boosted the activity level to involve more dancers moving more of the time. Some of these dances were at the heart of the square dance explosion of the 1950’s. 

Most dances on today’s programs are duple improper or Becket formation contras, plus—depending on your locale and the caller—a mix of square dances. In recent years, choreographers have used those same basic moves, and a few variations, in wildly creative ways. In this session, each dance will be in a different formation. For that matter, there are enough well-crafted examples—from simple to complex—that we could easily spend a week exploring dances in odd formations.

Triple minor dances (“Hands six”) have been an integral part of American country dance, but are unfamiliar to most of today’s dancers. We’ll explore examples from two centuries ago as well as newer compositions, including both simple and complex choreography, elegant to lively. The session could include the classic Money Musk, perhaps the most famous contra dance of all time.

Like the English language itself, contra dancing has grown by absorbing other cultures. These contras include figures that originated in such diverse traditions as English country dances, Appalachian mountain square dances and modern western square dances.

This workshop focuses less on what we are dancing (the figures) but instead concentrates on how we dance. Attention to small details can dramatically improve the experience for dancers, our partners, and our neighbors. Caution: the alternate title of the session is “David’s Pet Peeves.”

An introduction to mid-19^th century dance, including quadrilles, contras and couple dances, along with some guidelines about appropriate social etiquette for a public dance. All dances for the program are ones enjoyed by dancers at that period.

On a per capita basis, there are more folks enjoying traditional American squares and contras in Denmark than anywhere else. Out of a country of 5.5 million people, there are more than 50 working callers at any given time, and some 500 people have been trained as callers over the past 35 years. This workshop features dances written by contemporary Danish choreographers, including contras, squares, triplets, and mixers.

Contras split off from longways English country dance roughly two hundred years ago. Recent decades have seen a re-anglicization of contemporary contras, starting with the introduction of heys and gypsies in the 1970s and 1980s. More recently-composed contras include other figures borrowed back from English country dance.