I'll cheerfully plug my own dance, which I've been using to introduce the hey for some years now. You'd think that the fact that it's often the first Becket dance of the evening would complicate matters, but the progression in this dance is amazingly forgiving. (It helps that the give-and-take + swing sets of that left-diagonal circle to be just barely on the left diagonal.) Grant's Give & Take (Becket, '99) --------------------------------- ==== ======== ======= A1. \(8) Circle left (bucksaw) .. \(8) L chain A2. \(16) Hey (women start passing right shoulders) B1. \(16) N swing B2. \(4) Give-and-take: Long lines go forward, men bring back P .. \(12) P swing A1. \(8) Left-diagonal circle left ==== ======== ======= Notes: 1. In A1 the first time through the dance couples circle left with the couple directly across from them. After the first time through, the circle left is with the couple on the *left diagonal* (a *bucksaw* progression). 2. In the Give-and-take the lines go forward two steps, partners take hands, the man gently pulls his partner to him while the lady ever-so-briefly resists and then acquiesces ("please don't lead me into that briar patch..."). In principle the give-and-take should only require four beats of music, allowing partners to have a 12-beat swing, but it rarely works out that way. My view is that the issue of timing is essentially between the dancers and their partners. -Grant- On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 4:36 PM, Bob Green wrote: > I like Chart Gutherie's *Hay in the Barn* for the introductory half hey. > Gene Hubert's *Butter* for the full hey. > > Bob > > On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 3:03 PM, Rickey Holt wrote: > > > Hey all, > > Can you think of other dances that meet all or most of the criteria that > > have been listed in this thread, including Dan's, and that are generally > > good dances for beginners? > > Thanks for your suggestions, > > Rickey Holt, > > Fremont, NH > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: callers-bounces@sharedweight.net > > [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Dan Pearl > > Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 3:21 PM > > To: callers@sharedweight.net > > Subject: Re: [Callers] Heys for new dancers > > > > Yes, Flirtation Reel is a lovely dance, but there are a few things about > it > > which make it a bit less than ideal for dancers' first exposure to heys. > > > > First, the transition from the up-the-center to the hey provides no > > momentum/flow guidance about which shoulder to pass to start the hey. > For > > the first hey dance, I'd prefer one with stronger flow at the moment of > > initiation. > > > > Second, the series of passes (NR, 2's L, Same sex R, 1's L, etc.) is not > > only different from most heys (which have same-sex in the center [because > > they are equal dances]), but the series of passes seems to be a bit > harder > > to grasp in the same way that the differing roles of unequal dances bumps > > up > > the complexity of the sequence a bit. > > > > For my money, a hey dance that satisfies my requirements is a modified > > "Roll > > in the Hey". The original is: > > > > A1 circle left; swing neighbour > > A2 circle left three quarters; swing partner > > B1 long lines go forward and back; half ladies chain across > > B2 hey for four, ladies pass right to start Lately, I have been calling > it > > A1 Dosido neighbor; swing neighbor. This is much more forgiving than > the > > Hey/Circle (full) left combination. > > This dance features a Ladies Chain immediately before the hey, and the > > women's track is essentially the same as the hey. I use this similarity > > when > > I walk through the dance. > > > > Dan > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > Callers@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > Callers@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > -- Grant Goodyear web: http://www.grantgoodyear.org e-mail: grant@grantgoodyear.org _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers@sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers