a contra dance in Beckett formation by Sue Dupré
The name of this dance was prompted by the surfeit of Roberts and Bobs in the Princeton dance community and more or less after "A Band Named Bob". I wrote it to create a dance with a men's chain and to provide a chance for women to dance with leadership and assertiveness and for men to learn how to dance to another's lead.
| Tune Part | Measures | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Men allemande R 3/4; partners swing | ||
| Men's chain | ||
| Promenade (woman-led) on the L diagonal | ||
| Promenade (woman-led) across the set | ||
| Lines forward and back | ||
| Star R (hands across hold) |
A2: The men's chain is danced with the men giving left hands to each other and right hands to the women (Ask me to teach a "Men in Chains" Workshop for the full treatment of the men's and women's roles in a men's chain).
B1: During the walk-through of the diagonal promenade in B1, each couple should identify the first couple on the left diagonal, but should then look one couple further left down the opposite side. The first couple on the left diagonal is the couple you promenade past but the second couple is the couple that will end up across from you at the end of the diagonal promenade.
How to execute a woman-led promenade: Both the diagonal promenade
and the promenade across are led by the women. At the end of the men's
chain the women take the men in courtesy hold and guide the men on the
left diagonal, women passing by each other R shoulders. Each couple loops
slightly to the right after passing on the diagonal. Similarly with the
promenade straight across, women pass R shoulders and couples loop
slightly to the right to end facing straight across to that same couple.