Ted and Lynn

By Rick Mohr; September 2009

Contra, Duple Improper Caller's Box

Level: Intermediate

A1:

Balance neighbor (4)

Pull by neighbor with right hand (2)

Pull by neighbor #2 with left hand (2)

Swing neighbor #3 (8)

A2:

Cross trail through (6)

Swing neighbor #2 (10)

B1:

1/4 Hey (gents pass left shoulders to start) (4)

Ladies push off (2)

Swing partner (10)

B2:

Circle left 3/4 (8)

Dosido neighbor (8)

This dance has three swings, each with a slight surprise—first with a neighbor you haven't seen yet, second with a neighbor you thought you were finished with, and finally with your partner in an unexpected way.

Dancers may not be familiar with the cross trail through in A2, but it's easy if you think about who you're passing. Pass right shoulder with your partner to cross the set, then pass left shoulder with the neighbor you just swung (#3) to meet the neighbor you passed earlier (#2).

Then in B1, after the gents pass left and partners pass right, the ladies meet and push off each other with both hands. The next transition is quite fine if the ladies back directly into their partner's extended right arm and smoothly into the swing.

For a simpler B1 without the push-off (as in this video) try:

B1: Gents cross, passing left shoulders (2)
Gypsy and swing partner (14)

For Ted Hodapp and Lynn Baumeister, good friends and exceptional dancers, on the occasion of their wedding.

Video: Susan Petrick & Notorious at Dance Flurry 2012, Saratoga NY (posted by Doug Heacock):