Choreography
Duple minor contra/Becket formations
Barking Mad, 2022, derived from "Barker's Maggot" as called by Andrew Shaw
Duple minor contra
A1 Circle left three places, into a partner swing: end facing down
A2 Lines of four, down the hall; turn alone, come back and gate (drop hands early so ends become middles of a new line, above)
B1 New middles, gate up and around; half figure eight up
B2 Ones (on a diagonal) allemande right once and a half, into a neighbour swing
Cat Nap, 2025, to the tune 'Roy's Dream' by Will Allen
duple minor
A1 Intersecting heys for three on the sides:
Ones lead down and cast back WHILE twos dance up the outside and lead down
Ones lead up and cast back WHILE twos dance down the outside and lead up
A2 Ones cross down, twos dance up the outside: full double figure eight across. End facing neighbour: take two hands
B1 2h turn halfway, and with a setting step, petronella one place to your own right to end in a line of four across
Hey Lsh halfway; take two hands with N in the implied line across
B2 2h turn halfway, and with a setting step, petronella one place to reform the set
Starting with neighbour, two slow changes of rights and lefts
Cup of Tea, 2022
Duple minor contra: step into a line of four, Rsh to N Rsh, and ends face in to begin
A1 In the middle, allemande left once and a half; pass partner right for half a hey
A2 Partner balance and swing
B1 Pass through across and twirl to face in; long lines forward and back
B2 Right-hand star three places; neighbour do-si-do once and a half
Don't Look Back, 2022
Duple minor contra
A1 In a ring, balance and spin to the LEFT; balance again, and spin to the left
A2 Chain by the left to a partner swing (no courtesy turn)
B1 In a ring, balance, and spin to the left; balance again, and spin to the left
B2 (Others) chain by the left; partner LEFT-hand balance and square through two
Flood Watch, undated
Becket
A1 Long lines, slice left; straight across, right and left through
A2 Hands four balance and spin to the right; again
B1 Left-hand chain across and back
B2 Butterfly whirl into a swing
I've a Right to Be Left-Handed, ca. 2018
Duple minor contra
A1 Neighbour allemande left once around; chain by the right (this may not be who you expect)
A2 Circle right three places; balance and roll N right to left (NO half-sashay; those moving through the middle change places with one another on the diagonal)
B1 Partner balance and swing
B2 Chain by the left (same dancers cross as in A1 chain); right-hand star to new neighbours
Jane's Right Knee, written with Anna Spearing-Ewyn for Jane Curry, 2022
Duple minor contra
A1 With your neighbour, see-saw and anti-clockwise swing (handhold remains the same, although it might feel surprising)
A2 Face across: chain by the right; same two start half a hey
B1 Left shoulder into a meltdown (anticlockwise) swing
B2 In a ring, balance and partner roll away with a half sashay (doesn't matter who goes through the middle); right-hand star to new neighbours
Kyriarky, 2025
Arky Becket (partners swap sides each time through)
The 'swing rule' in this dance is that your pointy hand is the one already connected to the person you're about to swing.
A1 [Slide left and] Circle left three places to a neighbour swing
A2 Right and left through across; chain (by the right) to partner
B1 Circle right all the way; in a ring, balance, and spin to the right one place
B2 Circle left three places to a partner swing
Kyriarky was written thanks to Andrew Swaine's prompt for the dance competition at May Heydays ('write a dance that lends itself to being called gender-free'), and Heather McAslan's suggestion that we create a dance for Contra Camp that swapped people over each time through. I decided against submitting it to Andrew's competition because I worried it wouldn't meet the brief of being accessible to the (relatively conservative, gender-wise) dance club audience that constitutes the majority of that weekend's attendees. Coincidentally, though, Sam Tetley Smith -- clearly more of an optimist than me! -- did submit a dance to the competition with the same structure and it came in third place. (As I feared, dancers who only dance one role struggled with both the concept and the phenomenology of swapping pointy hands.) Several dancers at Contra Camp particularly enjoyed it, and one suggested it struck them as the formation of the future. I like it because it essentially mandates positional calling and dancing, as keeping up with which 'role' you are is far too much effort!
And a note about the title of the dance: 'kyriarchy' is an umbrella term for the intersecting structures that create oppression (like, for instance, gendered calling!), and 'arky' is a square dance term that was also used by contra dancers in the late 20th century to describe a dance or a figure in which gendered dancers 'swap' roles to dance on the other side. I've been told it originated in the 1950s, derived from a variant on the square 'Texas Star' called 'Arkansas Star', in which couples do the Texas Star figure from a half-sashayed position.
Lazy Sunday, 2022
Duple minor contra; starts in line of 4 (swing N and end facing down)
No partner swing
A1 Four in line, go down the hall; turn alone and come on back
A2 Bend the line to a new line (ends are now in the middle) and go down the hall; turn alone and come back
B1 Face across; hey for four (start passing Rsh)
B2 Left-hand star; new neighbor swing
A Minor Adjustment, ca. 2019
Becket
A1 In a ring, balance and spin to the right; neighbour do-si-do once and a half
A2 New neighbour balance and box the gnat; right-hand star (3 places) into a long wave (all are on home side)
B1 Rory O'More with partner
B2 With your partner, balance and swing
Quaker Hymn, 2020
Duple minor contra; begins progressed (swing N and face across)*
A1 Chain by the left into a partner swing (be intentional about the transition from a courtesy turn into a swing)
A2 Serpentine: single file clockwise three places (notice one of you is in the lead); with your next neighbours, single file anticlockwise three places
(You're on the side with your partner, across from new neighbours; one of you is still in the lead)
B1 Pass Rsh: half a hey; ricochet and partner gate
B2 Catch Rh in the middle: revolving doors (star promenade 1/2, drop off partner and continue 1/2) to a neighbour swing
*at the ends, stand out on the "wrong" side (swing and end facing away from the dancers)
The Reminder, 2019, revised 2021
Duple minor contra
A1 Neighbour right-hand balance and allemande halfway; left-hand chain across the set
A2 Same two pass left: hey all the way
B1 With your partner, meltdown swing
B2 Long lines forward and back; on the diagonal (same two who chained and began the hey), see-saw once and a half to a new neighbour
Sick Leave, 2021, based on Steve Zakon-Anderson's "With Thanks to the Dean"
Duple minor contra, double progression
A1 Neighbour allemande left once and a half; chain across by the right
A2 Same two, allemande right to a partner swing
B1 Circle left three places and pass through; circle right all the way
B2 With this neighbour, see-saw; then allemande right once and a half
Spin to the Left, 2022
Duple minor contra; 48-bar tune
A1 (In long waves, N in Rh) Rory O'More
A2 N balance and swing
B1 Chain by the right; pass R for half a hey
B2 In a ring, balance and spin to the LEFT; again
C1 With your partner, balance and swing
C2 Chain by the right; left-hand star to long waves, new N in Rh
There and Back, 2022
Becket
A1 In a ring, balance and spin to the right; gate clockwise on the side (fill the music!)
A2 In a ring, balance and spin to the left; gate anticlockwise on the side
B1 Chain across by the right (end slightly inside the set and look right); with the next, right shoulder 'round 1.5
B2 With your partner, balance and swing
Sicilian circle formations
Spindle, 2018
Sicilian circle
A1 Hands four, circle left three places; partner do-si-do once and a quarter (into a hands-free wavy line of four)
A2 Face your partner: pass Rsh for a hey (ending back in the hands-free wavy line of four)
B1 Partner Rh balance and swing through (R halfway; in the middle L halfway); neighbour swing
B2 Balance the ring and pass through (pass N Rsh) into a partner swing (end facing new neighbours)
Three-facing-three formations
The Mixing Bowl, 2022
3-facing-3, longways or Sicilian circle
A1 Middles Rh balance and box the gnat; At each end, left-hand star
A2 Middles Rh balance and box the gnat; Pull by into a basket swing (with those in the Lh star; end with middles in the center of a line of three facing across)
B1 Lines at the sides, go forward and back; With your opposite, do-si-do
B2 Middles, Rh balance and box the gnat; With your partners, left-hand star (to new neighbors; turn the star as far as you like if you want to put a new person in the middle)
Swing to the Stars, 2022
3-facing-3, longways or Sicilian circle
A1 Lines of three, forward and back; middles allemande left once and a quarter (into Rh stars at each end)
A2 Starry O’More (a cross between a Rory O’More and a Petronella spin: balance the star in and out, then spin individually one place to the right and take left hands in a star. Balance in and out, and spin to the left to end where you started. No overtaking!)
B1 Middles Lh balance and swat the flea; Partners, circle left into a line at home (in any order)
B2 Hands six, circle left halfway; Partners (basket) swing (end facing new neighbors)
Vibrant Matter, 2022
3-facing-3, longways or Sicilian circle
A1 On the right diagonal, left-hand chain; Ends, do-si-do your opposite
A2 On the left diagonal, right and left through; Ends, do-si-do your opposite
B1 (Starting with opposite) All Rh balance and pull by two (straight across by the right, then left on the left diagonal if you have one); (End couples face in; middles stay out of it) Chain by the right
B2 Same two back in: allemande R to a partner (basket) swing (end facing new neighbors)
All the dances listed below originated as solo dances during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.
Brightest Hopes
Tune: Once I Loved a Maiden Fair (Alchemy, Turning of the Hour)
Duple minor; progression also crosses the set so you alternate advancing/retiring in A part
A 1-4 First corners retire/advance while 2nd corners advance/retire
5-8 Double mad robin (first corners through the middle to start)
B 1-4 First corners cast (counterclockwise) halfway round the minor set; partners follow
5-8 Partners, left shoulder 'round
The Butterfly, 2021, to the tune "The Butterfly"
3-couple longways set
A 1-4 All set facing across; twos gate the ones down while the threes two-hand turn once around
5-8 Ones cross and go below (twos move up); ones half-figure eight down, ending in middle place on their home side
B 1-4 All right shoulder turn single into a circle left halfway around
5-8 Ones (in middle place) long back-to-back while the twos and threes (at the ends) right shoulder 'round all the way
C 1-4 Ones (still in the middle) right-hand balance and pull by right across; to their own left, change by the left; ends with ones on long second diagonal)
5-6 Chevron(ish): ones cross diagonally to middle place and stay facing out while the two in middle place cast left, back into long second corners
7-8 Ones fall back across the set (passing right shoulders with partner) while twos and threes (on the ends) Hole-in-the-Wall change
Cake and Cow, 2021
Duple minor improper contra
A1 Right-hand star three places; partner swing on the side
A2 Balance across and square through two (stay connected); two facing in, allemande R 1.5
B1 Neighbor meltdown swing on the side
B2 Right shoulder hey for four across
Claire at the Sea (tune by Matt Turino of the Mean Lids; recorded on Prairie Summer)
Duple minor longways
A1 1-4 Star balance, and spin to the right (as in Petronella)
5-8 Star balance again and grapevine right
A2 1-8 Star balance, and spin to the right; star balance; grapevine right (all are home)
B1 1-8 Twos cross up, ones cast: full double figure eight
B2 1-4 Ones cast down, twos lead up; all set (facing new neighbors)
5-8 With that new neighbor, back-to-back
Evidence of Absence
Duple minor improper contra
A1 1-4 Ones through the middle: handy-hand allemande once around
5-8 Face across: mirror Mad Robin (ones through the middle to start)
A2 1-8 Facing hey for three (twos act as a unit, first corners passing Rsh to start -- as though it's a clockwise poussette for the twos); twos separate to end above
B1 1-8 Neighbor balance and swing
B2 1-4 Long lines forward and back
5-8 Ones swing; end facing down
Hey, I'm Going a Little Nuts in Here, 2021, to the tune "Le Tourment"
Triple minor longways
A1 1-4 Ones pass right shoulder and loop left to cross down (end facing out of the set between the twos and threes)
5-8 Ones do half a mirror hey, dancing down around the threes and up outside the twos, to home
A2 1-4 All forward a double and back
5-8 Ones half-figure eight down
B1 1-8 Ones splits the twos for a mirror hey
B2 1-4 At the top, two changes of a circular hey
5-8 All set (advancing) and turn single
I Would But I Dare Not, to the tune "Midnight on the Water"
Duple minor longways
A1 1-4 First corners, back-to-back
5-8 Those two, set and Hole-in-the-Wall change
A2 1-4 Second corners, set and Hole-in-the-Wall change
5-8 Those two, back-to-back (all are progressed and improper)
B1 1-4 All right-hand star all the way; keep hands
5-8 Star balance in and out; first corners box the gnat WHILE second corners left-shoulder turn single
9-12 Left-hand star all the way
13-16 Balance; second corners swat the flea WHILE first corners right-shoulder turn single
B2 1-4 In a ring of four, moving one place to the right, balance in on the diagonal and back out; circle left halfway
5-12 Repeat twice more
13-16 Partner back-to-back
Miller of Drohan, 2020, to the tune "Miller D'Rowan" by the Mean Lids (aka "Miller of Droghan", played AB)
Three-couple longways set
A1 1-4 Across the set, right shoulder 'round
5-8 Single file circle left (clockwise) halfway (around the whole set)
A2 1-4 Face across: right-shoulder siding
5-8 Ones cross and go above one place WHILE twos and threes do two changes of rights and lefts (threes, at the top, moving all the way to the bottom on the second change)
B1 1-4 Cross by the right and loop right three quarters of the way around to face anti-clockwise
5-8 Single file circle anti-clockwise (right) halfway (around the whole set)
B2 1-4 Left shoulder 'round
5-8 Left-shoulder siding
Omahambo (tune by the Ladies at Play; recorded on Once Upon a Waltz)
Duple minor longways
A1 1-4 Balance forward and back; circle left halfway
5-8 (Triple-time) grapevine right and left (along the sides)
A2 1-8 Balance forward and back; circle left halfway all are home
B1 1-4 Across the set, (long) back-to-back
5-8 Cloverleaf turn single; two changes of a circular hey
B2 1-4 Across the set, (long) back-to-back
5-8 Cloverleaf turn single; partner right-shoulder change (as in Hole in the Wall)
Once or Twice
Duple minor, to any square jig
A1 1-4 All left shoulder 'round
5-8 Ones cross (by the left) and go below WHILE twos cross up (letting momentum guide who goes first) and cloverleaf t.s. to face up, staying wide
A2 1-4 Twos fall back down the outside and cloverleaf t.s. WHILE ones cross up (on the diagonal) and cloverleaf turn single out, ending close, facing up
5-8 Ones fall back (down the inside) and cloverleaf turn single WHILE twos Rsh cross and go above
B1 1-8 Double full figure of eight (twos cast down, ones cross up)
B2 1-4 Neighbor mirror back-to-back (ones up the middle)
5-8 Partner back-to-back