Billy wrote: > I was just talking to another contra dancer from Palisade, Colorado, who described a shocking experience while dancing. During a circle mixer while everyone's hands were joined, an electric jolt went through the group. He described it as an "intense shock" that went through his back and arms. The floor was wood, and had been recently varnished. > > Has anyone heard of anything like this happening? Hope this is not too off-topic, I just found it fascinating! Yes. Especially during the winter when the air is very dry. A couple of years ago at Terpsichore's Holiday in West Virginia this was a big issue with a lot of static electricity causing shocks. Andrew Stout wrote a dance to commemorate/take advantage of this called "Electric Swing". [I suggested he should call it "So Many Dynamos." ;-) ] I don't think he would mind sharing it so here are the figures. Notice there is no contact until you swing your partner. This is intended to allow plenty of time and movement for everyone to build up a charge and then everyone gets zapped when they swing their partners ;-) Electric Swing Andrew Stout duple improper 1-2 Neighbors gypsy and swing 3-4 Hey for 4 (gents start passing left shoulder, ladies only go 3/4 of the way) 5 - Ladies gypsy left shoulder 1 1/2 while gents orbit half way CW (ladies start the gypsy when they meet for the 2nd time in the hey) 6 - Swing partners (on the ladies' original side) 7 - Ladies do-si-do in the center 8 - Gents do-si-do 1 1/2 in the center to progress Jonathan ----- Jonathan Sivier Beckman Institute Flight Simulation Lab jsivier AT illinois DOT edu Home Page: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jsivier/www/ ----- Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? A: It depends on what dance you call. ------------------------------------ The Traditional Dance Callers List: Subscribe by sending a blank e-mail message (no subject, no message) to: trad-dance-callers-subscribe@yahoogroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/trad-dance-callers/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/trad-dance-callers/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:trad-dance-callers-digest@yahoogroups.com mailto:trad-dance-callers-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: trad-dance-callers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/