Northern Lights is on the website of the Lloyd Shaw Foundation:
     http://www.lloydshaw.org/northernlights.htm

I especially love one part of the directions: "Make it look and feel quite
barbaric."

The Weevil is by Richard Mason, and you can find it on his website:
     http://mysite.freeserve.com/rjmason

Hot Tubb Rag (aka Cottontail Rag) is by Steve Schnur. It's for five people in a
ring. One source of directions on the web is here:
     http://www.thomas-green.ndtilda.co.uk/BarnDances/FunDances.html

[Other dances on this page that I've called successfully are his Suicide Square
and A Year in the Life of a Penguin. Caution: do not use these two dances with
what Ralph Page referred to as pickle-faced dancers! These are from the English
ceilidh scene, high on energy, and lower on complexity and precision than is the
preference of many in the current contra scene.]

 I'd differ with Thomas Green's rating for Hot Tub (he gives it a 1, which is
his simplest category), not that it matters a great deal. To do it well--
meaning, to actually get into the basket in the time allotted-- isn't all that
easy, which is why groups usually send up a big cheer when they get it right. 

There's a variation that I sometimes call, which I'll put below-- I think I got
this wrinkle from Bob Dalsemer-- and you can compare this with the one on Thomas
Green's site to see the differences. It eliminates the 2 face 3, fd and back.
This variation gives folks more time to make the basket, which is by far the
hardest part.

A1: All five do left-hand star for 8 steps; then Jack/Jill promenades back round
the other way while the rest continue to star left.
A2: Jack/Jill balance and swing someone - anyone, same or different sex for 8
beats while the remaining three people form into a line.. (_ _ _ _ Find someone
and balance now!) Jack and the swung person end the swing in a line of two
facing the line of three. (8) The line of two do-si-do with the one in the
middle (of the line of three, who becomes the new Jack/Jill
	B1: "Jack face out and form a ring." All make a circle, with all facing in
except Jack, who faces out crossing his or her arms. With her high hand, Jack
makes an arch, with the low hand she pulls two people into the center of the
circle. As those two individuals come under the high arm, they begin to raise
their leading arm, and once those two have come under, they lower their arms and
presto! there's a basket. (There's no need to drop hands, and it does feel like
magic to have this basket appear.) 
B2: Basket swing. End with breaking the basket to form the left hand star at the
start. 

What I love about this dance is that it almost always breaks down at some
point-- great for a caller to admit, huh?-- even with good dancers. Everyone
inevitably ends up laughing before regrouping to try it again. Sometimes we can
get too serious about the dancing, I think. Besides, most folks like the energy
of a basket swing, and when your set gets it right, it feels wonderful! (Don't
run it too long-- maybe 10x at the most. Ask your musicians if they have any
rags in their repertoire-- they provide the right feel for this one.)

Side note: One of the joys of squares or triplets or other set dances as opposed
to contra long lines is that you have a smaller group of people with whom you're
working. When you finish, you feel a close connection to them. Of course, the
long lines have other special qualities...

David
----------------------------------------------------

Millstone later post:

The dance I know that clearly is a relative of the one Emily references is below. It has built into the structure of the dance a way of identify each
successive Jack/Jill person. I call it an Equal Opportunity for Failure dance, putting experienced dancers and beginners alike in the position of
making mistakes. The dance usually leads to laughter as groups trying to make the basket mess up and form weird pretzel-shaped clumps, and cheers when
they nail it. I teach the dance, then typically give groups several minutes to work on the hard part, making the basket, giving different members of
each group an opportunity to try out that role. And yes, if you have a band that can play a rag, it does provide a lively musical accompaniment for
this particular dance.

David Millstone
Lebanon, NH

Hot Tub Rag (also known as the Cottontail Rag) 
Formation: 5-person circle by Steve Schnur
At start of dance, choose one person to be "Jack" 

A1- Left-hand star for 5 people 
"Jack" turn back over R shoulder to go round the outside (others continue star) 

A2- "Jack" balance and swing anyone from the star, end 2-facing-3 

B1- Forward and back 
Two (acting as a unit) do-si-do one (the new "Jack," , who is the dancer in the center of the line-of-3); the new "Jack" ends facing out with arms
crossed in front, and all form a ring like this with the others facing in and joining hands

B2- "Jack" lifts upper arm and pulls with other to pull two dancers under, all face in to form a basket [as the two dancers come under the arch, they
raise leading arm to make it easier to get into the basket]
Basket swing for five

DHM Note: You can call the Forward and Back as the second part of A2; this moves everything else farther up in the music and gives dancers more time
to make the basket and swing around.