Grant Goodyear's Dances

Hay for Poker (improper, dbl prog, 6 Aug 2006)

A1. (16) N bal & sw
A2. (16) Hey for 4, W st rt sh
B1. (4) W pass rt sh
(12) P sw
B2. (8) Cir lf 3/4
(8) dip & dive (2s arch, 1s dive; 1s arch, 2s dive)
Notes:
  1. Written in honor of Sarah Goodyear's horse, Poker
  2. Not only is there "hay", but can you find the steeplechase figure?

Elegant Whimsy (Improper, 8 May 1998)

A1. (8) 1s take near hands, promenade down center past two couples
(8) 1s separate, come up outside to place, step between 2s, face N
A2. (4) N sashay down
(4) Balance
(4) N sashay up
(4) Balance
B1. (16) N swing
B2. (8) Long lines forward and back
(8) 1s swing, end facing down
Notes:
  1. Written in honor of Fritz Barnes, who epitomizes the title
  2. This dance was written such that it could be either a contra dance (as written), or an Irish reel by dancing the "sashays" with sevens instead of a slipping step (the move is then termed a "telescope") and replacing the balances with sets.
  3. The music used for this dance really requires strong phrasing in A for the balances, which occur at the end rather than the beginning of the phrase. Two tunes that work very well are Cold Frosty Morning and Kitchen Girl.

Sarah Said Yes! (Becket, 14 Dec. 2001)

A1. (8) Long lines forward and back
(8) Left diagonal ladies chain
A2. (8) Straight across ladies chain
(8) Right and left through, end in a ring
B1. (16) Balance the ring and Petronella twirl (2x)
B2. (16) Partners balance and swing
Notes:
  1. Written for Sarah Robertson (now Goodyear) after she agreed to marry me!
  2. Partners are in different sets during the Petronella twirls, so dancers should twirl either not quite once or once and a half for the second twirl to find their partners.
  3. During the long lines in A1 dancers should make sure that they are facing a new couple. Alternatively, a reasonable variation is to replace the long lines with a circle to the left with new neighbors.

Grant's Give & Take (Becket, '99)

A1. (8) Circle left (bucksaw)
(8) L chain
A2. (16) Hey (women start passing right shoulders)
B1. (16) N swing
B2. (4-6) Give-and-take: Long lines go forward, men bring back P
(10-12) P swing
A1. (8) Left-diagonal circle left
Notes:
  1. In A1 the first time through the dance couples circle left with the couple directly across from them. After the first time through, the circle left is with the couple on the left diagonal (a bucksaw progression).
  2. In the Give-and-take the lines go forward two steps, partners take hands, the man gently pulls his partner to him while the lady ever-so-briefly resists and then acquiesces ("please don't lead me into that briar patch..."). In principle the give-and-take should only require four beats of music, allowing partners to have a 12-beat swing, but it will feel much more natural to dancers to take 6 beats instead. My view is that the issue of timing is essentially between the dancers and their partners.
  3. The give-and-take, partner swing, and bucksaw progression were liberally stolen from the Larry Jennings' variant of Ted Sanella's dance Salute to Larry Jennings, which I learned from Lisa Greenleaf. For the first four years that I called this dance it didn't have a name. I finally named it at the 2003 Buffalo Bayou dance weekend in 2003 when Lisa Greenleaf asked for the dance but refused to accept it without a name.
  4. This dance is surprisingly easy for dancers.
  5. Scollay's Reel and Balkan Reel work well.

Chasing Fire (Improper, 15 Mar. 1998)

A1. (8) Circle left
(8) N swing
A2. (4) Women cross (trade places w/ opposite lady)
(4) Men cross (trade places w/ opposite gent)
(4) P cross
(4) 1s face down/2s face up; pass through
B1. (8) 1s: w/ couple behind, lady 'round two, gent cuts through
(8) 1s: gent around two, lady cuts through
B2. (4) 1s: lady turns back over right shoulder
(12) 1s: swing P, end facing down
Notes:
  1. Written for Kelsi Snoke 1 week after her 24th birthday; revised 12 Feb. 2000.
  2. Can alternate 1s and 2s active in B

Chris & Lisa Found Each Other (Circle mixer, June 1997)

A1. (16) P swing
A2. (8) Circle left
(8) Circle right
B1. (8) Into the center and back
(8) Into the center and back, end facing P and taking right hands
B2. (16) Pull by to a single file promenade w/ men on the inside promenading ccw, women on outside promenading cw, look for a new partner
Notes:
  1. Written for the wedding of Chris Johnson and Lisa Edwards.
  2. This dance is almost as much of a game as it is a dance, since I deliberately designed this dance so that it would be common for dancers to not have a partner at the end of B2. Thus, they would have to find a new partner from the "lost-and-found" in the center.
  3. Experienced dancers have to be told up-front that the pull-by in B2 does not start a grand right and left.
  4. I frequently use this dance with beginners because it's easy, lots of fun, and it sneakily gets across the idea that when something goes "wrong" in a dance, the dancers can fix it.

Contra for Linda (Improper)

A1. (8) N dosido
(8) Circle left
A2. (16) N swing, end facing down
B1. (16) 4-in-line go down the hall, turn as couples, return, bend the line
B2. (8) Star right
(8) Star left
Notes:
  1. I wrote this dance in honor of Linda Leslie, the caller who first taught me to dance. The stars in B2 are there because Linda calls "Star" so wonderfully.
  2. I intended this dance to be a relatively straight-forward gender-free dance. In fact, I frequently call this dance by requesting that the dancers find partners of the same gender (thanks to Lisa Greenleaf for giving me that idea), and asking each "couple" to decide who will play the gent's role, and who will play the lady's role. With some dancers there can be a lot of initial resistance to the idea, but they invariably have a lot of fun once the dance actually starts. (From a sneaky-caller perspective, this trick is also a great way for a caller to emphasize some of the finer details about the swing to the more experienced dancers who tend to tune out the caller when swings are described to beginners.)
  3. This dance is such a simple glossary dance that I'm sure that many people must have written and used this dance before me, but I don't recall seeing it anywhere.

Playing With Fire (Becket, 6 Sept. 2000)

A1. (8) Circle left (bucksaw; on lft diag after 1st time thru)
(8) P gypsy, once and a bit
A2. (8) M allemand left 1 1/2
(8) N swing
B1. (8) 1/2 hey to the other side
(2) W pass rt shoulders (really a 5/8 hey)
(6) P gypsy
B2. (16) P swing
Notes:
  1. Written for Kelsi Snoke
  2. Meant to be flirtatious between partners until the eventual swing in B2.

Dawn's Gypsy Dance (Improper, 17 Dec. 1999)

A1. (16) Neighbors gypsy and swing
A2. (6) Circle left 3/4
(10) Partners swing
B1. (8) Long lines forward and back
(8) Ladies chain
B2. (16) Ladies start a hey for four (end w/ 1s facing down, 2s facing up)
Notes:
  1. Written for Dawn Castner
  2. I often use this dance as a no-walkthrough last dance of the evening. The story-line is strong enough that I can call it a few times, and then dance it myself.

Sarah's Dance (Becket, Apr. 2001)

A1. (8) Circle left (bucksaw: on left diagonal after first time through)
(8) Ladies chain across
A2. (4) Ladies allemande right
(12) N swing
B1. (6) Promenade across
(10) Right-hand star 1 1/4
B2. (16) Ladies turn back over right shoulder, Partners gypsy and swing
Notes:
  1. Written for Sarah Robertson (now Goodyear).
  2. Dancers need to start the star in B1 a bit early, but that's rarely a problem since dancers tend to rush a promenade across anyway.

Sarah's Starry Becket (Becket, 11 July 2001)

A1. (8) Hands-across star right
(8) Men drop out, women allemande right 1 1/2 (end with each woman's
back to her neighbor, facing her partner if she could only
see through the woman standing in front of her)
A2. (16) Women pull by to start a hey
B1. (16) Women pass by right shoulders, P swing (on home side of the set)
B2. (8) Left diagonal right and left through
(8) Straight across right and left through
Notes:
  1. Written for Sarah Robertson (now Goodyear).
  2. The end of A1 seems to cause difficulties; not sure if it's a timing issue or my poor teaching.

Joe & Jeni's Wedding (Improper, 24 Mar. 2001)

A1. (16) N balance & swing
A2. (6) Circle left 3/4
(10) P swing
B1. (16) 4-in-line down hall, turn as cpls, return, bend the line
B2. (8) Ladies chain
(8) Left-hand star
Notes:
  1. Written for the wedding of Joseph Burks and Jennifer Pedersen
  2. This glossary dance is so simple that probably everybody has written it at one time or another. I don't seem to have a published version, however.

Wave to Bob (Improper, Jun. 1997)

A1. (8) N dosido
(8) N swing
A2. (8) Women allemande right 1 1/2
(8) P swing
B1. (8) Long lines forward and back
(8) Circle left 3/4, step to a rt-hand wave (women in middle)
B2. (8) Balance the wave (right and left), roll right as in Rory O'More
(8) Balance the wave (left and right), roll left as in Rory O'More
Notes:
  1. Written for Bob O'Brien, who gave me my start in calling.
  2. At the end of B2 dancers just walk forward to find new neighbors for the dosido.

To and Fro (Proper, 1 Aug.1997)

A1. (8) Shuttles: Actives sashay as a couple down center below 2s
and then push away, while 2s sashay up alone on the outside and come
together, then 2s sashay down center as a couple while 1s sashay up
the outside alone
(8) Repeat shuttles
A2. (4) Actives enthusiastically pull by and face down
(12) N swing
B1. (8) Women dosido 1 1/2
(8) P swing
B2. (8) Circle left 3/4, pass through
(8) Actives half figure 8 below

Note: Based on the English Country Dance Picking of Sticks.

Contra 101 (Improper, 17 Jan 1998)

A1. (8) Circle left w/ a strong connection
(8) N swing, end facing down
A2. (16) 4-in-line down hall, turn as couples, return, bend the line
B1. (16) Ladies chain over and back
B2. (8) Long lines forward and back
(8) 1s swing, end facing down or 2s swing, end facing up
Notes:
  1. I wrote this dance as a way to easily teach basic dance moves, but I generally use it just for assessment.
  2. If you know your dancers, you might want to consider alternating 1s swinging and 2s swinging in B2 throughout the dance.
  3. Another variation is to replace B1 with (8) right and left through across followed by a butterfly whirl, and (8) promenade back.