User:Eitch/contra

Form of a contra dance

Formations

Standard

Contra dances are arranged in long paired lines of couples. A pair of lines is called a set. Sets are generally arranged so they run the length of the hall, with the top or head of the set being the end closest to the band and caller. Correspondingly, the bottom or foot of the set is the end furthest from the caller.

Couples consist of one lead (also gentleman, or simply gent) and one follow (or lady). By custom, leads are male, and follows are female, though this need not be the case.

Couples interact primarily with an adjacent couple for each round of the dance. Each sub-group of two interacting couples is known to choreographers as a minor set and to dancers as a foursome. (Not all dances are done in two-couple minor sets - see "Formations, Less common," below.) Couples in the same minor set are neighbors. The couple at the top of each minor set are 1's (or actives); the other couple are 2's (or inactives). 1's are said to be above their neighboring 2's; 2's are below. Minor sets originate at the head of the set, so that at the start of the dance the topmost dancers are 1's - if there is an uneven number of couples dancing, the bottom-most couple will wait out the first time through the dance (see "Progression," below).

There are three common ways of arranging dancers in the minor sets: proper formation, improper formation, and Becket formation (see illustrations below).

In proper dances all the gents are in one line, and all the ladies are in the other; dancers are across (on opposite sides of) the set from their partners.
In improper dances the 1's cross over, switching places with their partners. The result is "lady-gent-lady-gent" lines.
Becket dances are essentially improper dances in which each minor set has been rotated 1/4 turn clockwise - lines are "lady-gent-lady-gent", which dancers standing next to (on the same side of the set as) their partners and across from their neighbors. (This formation is named after "Becket Reel" by Herbie Gaudreau, probably the first contra dance to use this formation. The dance itself is named after the town of Becket, Massachusetts.)

Common set layouts

Proper
L1 L2 L1 L2 L1 L2 L1 L2...
G1 G2 G1 G2 G1 G2 G1 G2...
Improper
G1 L2 G1 L2 G1 L2 G1 L2...
L1 G2 L1 G2 L1 G2 L1 G2...
Becket
L1 G1 L1 G1 L1 G1 L1 G1...
G2 L2 G2 L2 G2 L2 G2 L2...
Key: band is to the left; L=lady, G=gent, 1s=1's, 2s=2's
Note: As there is no limit on set length for these dances (other than the number of people the venue will accommodate), the "..." can represent any number of couples.

Traditional dance choreography left the actives doing much more than the inactives. Modern choreographers typically want everyone to be active, so the roles have been renamed "1" and "2". At the same time, improper and Becket dances have become more common than proper ones as choreographers and dancers have come to desire greater neighbor interaction.

Less common

There are four additional forms a contra dance may take: triple minor, triplet, indecent (all illustrated below), and whole-set.

In whole-set dances, such as the Virginia Reel (dance), only the head couple is active. After once through the dance, this couple is left at the foot of the set. Whole-set dances are now almost only seen in dances for children.
Triple minor dances, or triples, are based on sixsomes or three-couple minor sets, as opposed to the duple minor dances based on foursomes. Triple minor dances are rare.
Triplet, which are "triple major" dances - the entire (major) set is three couples - are also rare. The triplet form was invented by Ted Sanella, and in his lifetime they were quite common.
Indecent dances are duple-minor contras in which each couple is crossed over with respect to an improper dance.

In triple minors and triplets, 1's are called actives and both 2's and 3's are inactives.

Less common set layouts

Proper Triple Minor
L1 L2 L3 L1 L2 L3 L1 L2 L3...
G1 G2 G3 G1 G2 G3 G1 G2 G3...
Improper Triple Minor
G1 L2 L3 G1 L2 L3 G1 L2 L3...
L1 G2 G3 L1 G2 G3 L1 G2 G3...
Proper Triplet
L1 L2 L3.
G1 G2 G3.
Improper Triplet
G1 L2 L3.
L1 G2 G3.
Indecent
L1 G2 L1 G2 L1 G2 L1 G2...
G1 L2 G1 L2 G1 L2 G1 L2...
Key: band is to the left; L=lady, G=gent, 1s=1's, 2s=2's, 3s=3's
Note: As there is no limit on set length for triples or indecent dances (other than the number of people the venue will accommodate), the "..." can represent any number of couples.

Progression

In standard formations

A fundamental aspect of contra dancing is that the same dance, one time through which lasts roughly 30 seconds, is repeated over and over - but each time you dance with new neighbors. This change is effected by progressing the 1's down the set and the progressing 2's up (also up the hall and down the hall; see illustrations, below). In non-Becket dances this is done by moving the 1's to the bottom of their minor set and moving the 2's to the top of it: the 1's now have a different pair of 2's below them. In Becket dances, 1's progress by moving to the place formerly occupied by the 1's below them; similarly, 2's move to the place formerly occupied by the 2's above. (see "Formations", above, for definitions of terminology)

A dance will typically run at least long enough for every couple to dance with every other couple both as a 1 and a 2 (though extremely long sets may require shorter dances).

Progression in common set layouts

Proper progression
L1L2 L3L4...  -->  L2 L1L4 L3L6...  --> etc
G1G2 G3G4...  -->  G2 G1G4 L3L6...  --> etc
Improper progression
G1L2 G3L4...  -->  L2 G1L4 G3L6...  --> etc
L1G2 L3G4...  -->  G2 L1G4 L3L6...  --> etc
Becket progression
L1G1 L3G3...  -->       L1G1 L3G3...  --> etc
G2L2 G4L4...  -->  G2L2 G4L4 G6L6...  --> etc
Key: band is to the left; the first time through the dance is depicted on the left and the second time through is on the right; odd-numbered couples are 1's, even-numbered couples are 2's; couples in the same minor set are not separated by spaces.
Notes:

In practice, all couples are evenly spaced; the groupings are just to clarify relations.

As there is no limit on set length for these dances (other than the number of people the venue will accommodate), the "..." can represent any number of couples.

Progression leaves a pair of 2's out at the head with no 1's above them to dance with; if there is an even number of couples in the set, a pair of 1's is also left out at the foot. This is not a problem: the couple waits out one time through the dance and then comes back in, now heading in the opposite direction. A couple re-entering at the head of the set (formerly 2's) re-enter as 1's, and vice versa.

Note that

in improper dances partners must trade places while waiting out (in the illustration above, G2 and L2 are switched with respect to where G1 and L1 where before progression)
individual Becket dances have their own ways of moving couples into progressed position, and couples waiting out must take this into account when choosing how to place themselves;
"waiting" out does not necessarily mean being uninvolved: many modern dances include figures which use the waiting dancers for a moment and then return them to where they were.

In less common formations

Progression looks a little different in triple minor dances and triplets (see illustrations, below; "Formations, Less common," above, for definitions of these dance types).

Triple minors look complicated on paper. Features of the progression in a triple minor dance:

1's move down one place each time through the dance, as usual;
this results in the inactives (2's and 3's) switching position each time through the dance: 2's become 3's become 2's become 3's (e.g. couple #5 in the illustration);
when out at the top, dancers wait until they have a full sixsome (write it out to see the problems which can develop otherwise)
when out at the foot, dancers wait until they have a foursome, and then dance with an imaginary third couple - if they don't, the bottom couple will never re-enter the dance (write it out to see).

Triplets, on the other hand, are very simple: The roles of 1's, 2's, and 3's are reassigned each time through the dance, so that at the start of each time through the dance the head couple is the 1's. Progression may move the 1's to the foot of the set or the 3's to the head of the set.

Progression in less common set layouts

Proper Triple Minor progression
L1L2L3 L4L5L6..........LXLYLZ  -->
G1G2G3 G4G5G6..........GXGYGZ  -->

L2 L1L3L5 L4L6L8...LULWLY LXLZ  -->
G2 G1G3G5 G4G6G8...GUGWGY GXGZ  -->

L2 L3 L1L5L6..........LULZLZ LX  -->
G2 G3 G1G5G6..........GUGZGZ GX  -->

L2L3L5...................LULZLX  -->  etc
G2G3G5...................GUGZGX  -->  etc
Proper Triplet progression
L1L2L3.  -->  L2L3L1.  -->  L3L1L2.  -->  etc.
G1G2G3.  -->  G2G3G1.  -->  G3G1G2.  -->  etc.

or

L1L2L3. --> L3L1L2. --> L2L3L1. --> etc.
G1G2G3. --> G3G1G2. --> G2G3G1. --> etc.
Key: band is to the left; for the triple, the first time through the dance is depicted at the top and the second time through is below it (and the third below that, etc), while for the triplet the first time in depicted on the left, the second to the right of that, etc; couples 1 and 4 are 1's, 2 and 5 are 2's, 3 and 6 are 3's.
Notes:

Improper triple minor and improper triplet progression, differing from their proper counterparts only in the 1's being crossed over, are not depicted.

As there is no limit on set length for triples (other than the number of people the venue will accommodate), the "..." can represent any number of couples.

Terminology

Formation terminology:

set
Orientation in the set: top/head, bottom/foot, side; above, below; across, next to
Dancers: lead/gentleman/gent, follow/lady
Intra-set organization: minor set, major set; foursome, sixsome
Common formations: proper, improper, Becket
Less common: whole-set, duple minor, triple minor, triplet, indecent
Couples' relations: neighbors; 1's/actives, 2's/inactives
Non-proper dances: cross over

Progression terminology:

progression, progressing
(waiting) out
Directions of movement: down/down the hall, up/up the hall