My Dances
I usually write dances to meet a specific need or satisfy a particular curiosity.
In the 2020-21 pandemic, I wrote an enormous number of dances that explored the new or nuanced possibilities presented by trying to dance a fundamentally social and explicitly connected dance form while alone. A few of them make satisfying dances with other people, too!
More recently, I’ve become interested in the implicit invitation offered by modern urban contra conventions to move beyond gendered — or even binary — dance roles. I call these new-style duple minor dances ‘arky’; each dancer dances from every position in the hands-four.
Arky or otherwise, many of my contra dances have only a partner swing. In the UK this isn’t seen as a problem, but in the US it can be one.
About Contra Dance Formations
“Contra” formation is what we used to call “duple minor longways improper”. In a longways set, dancers swing their partner and end facing their neighbours — or simply line up so that when hands four are taken, everyone is holding pointy hands with their neighbour.
“Becket” is the same except you’re on the side with your partner. These days callers just announce Becket sets but when I started calling one would line up in contra formation and the caller would instruct dancers to circle left or right one place, depending on which direction the dance progressed, clockwise or anticlockwise.
“Arky” dances can be Becket or contra formation, but each time through the dance, the choreography invites every dancer to dance both sides of the swing so that after two times through the dance everyone has had the opportunity dance the whole pattern rather than just half of it. The rules of Arky dances follow the conventions of modern contra: most fundamentally, that the already-connected hand becomes the pointy hand in any given swing. (See my notes on the dance Kyriarky for more on the origins of arky formation.)
There are also some other formations here: triple minor, three-, four-, and six-facing mescolanzas, and triplets.
A Windy Morning, 2023
Contra
A1
Neighbour right shoulder ‘round once and a half
Hands four, circle left three places to end on the side of the set with your partner; your neighbour is across the set from you
A2
Balance the ring; neighbour California twirl
Nightingale hey*, starting with right shoulder
B1
Partner balance and swing
B2
Chain across by the right
Left-hand star to new neighbours
The first time I danced Andrew Shaw’s reinvention of the English dance, ‘The Tuneful Nightingale’ (Kynaston 1716), I fell in love with the hey figure he created for it, and decided to include it in a contra dance. Like most things, it took me a couple of years actually to do so.
*A Nightingale hey ends with everyone having crossed the set, facing the other direction, and it begins as a right-shoulder half hey up and down the set (in this dance, working with one’s neighbour after the California twirl, and two new people). The pattern is: two pass right shoulder as their neighbours slide right into the space they vacate; all pass left shoulder; the two who began the hey turn left and dance straight along the (other) side of the set while the others turn right shoulder round with each other to end next to their neighbour. All have swapped places with their neighbour and are facing back — to their partner.
A Windy Night, 2023
Contra
A1
Circle left three places
This ring, balance, and neighbour California twirl
A2
With the next, Nightingale hey*
To a partner swing
B1
Three-quarter hey to a neighbour swing
B2
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right
Again — end facing new neighbours
This dance has zesty, challenging timing. For a more accessible dance with a Nightingale hey, see A Windy Morning.
*A Nightingale hey is a figure invented by Andrew Shaw for his reinterpretation of the dance ‘The Tuneful Nightingale’ (Kynaston 1716). It ends with everyone having crossed the set, facing the other direction, and it begins as a right-shoulder half hey up and down the set (in this dance, working with one’s neighbour after the California twirl, and two new people — oh hey I bet one of these people is a shadow). The pattern is: two pass right shoulder as their neighbours slide right into the space they vacate; all pass left shoulder; the two who began the hey turn left and dance straight along the (other) side of the set while the others turn right shoulder round with each other to end next to their neighbour. All have swapped places with their neighbour and are facing back — to their partner.
All the Things I Left Behind, 2026
Semi-arky (dancers swap roles each time through, but not within the 32 bars) contra
A1
Circle left three places; partner swing (connected hands)
A2
Long lines, forward and back
Pass right shoulder: half a hey
B1
Right-hand revolving door (active Rh will become pointy in a:)
Neighbour swing
B2
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right
Balance again, and spin to new neighbours
An Ordinary Hat Question, 2026
Becket CW
A1
[Slide left and] circle left to a neighbour swing
A2
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right
Again
B1
Again
Pass left shoulder, hey halfway
B2
Partner, right shoulder ‘round and swing
This is a simplified version of Not An Ordinary Hat Question.
Anarky, 2026
Arky Becket
A1
[Slide left and] Circle left three places; neighbour swing (connected hands are pointy)
A2
Long lines, forward and back
Straight across, right and left through
B1
Right-hand chain
Right and left through
B2
Circle left all the way
Partner swing
Bags On Seats, 2023
Becket CW
A1
Slice left; right and left through
A2
Circle right three places; neighbour, see-saw
B1
Same neighbour, balance and swing
B2
Circle left three places; partner swing
‘Bags On Seats’ was written on a very full train as the conductor repeatedly asked us all not to put bags on seats.
Bounce Back, 2025
Contra
A1
Neighbour do-si-do and swing
A2
Long lines forward and back
Ricochet chain* by the right to your partner
B1
Partner allemande left halfway and corner** allemande right all the way
To a partner swing
B2
Circle left three places
Balance the ring, and pass through
*In a ricochet chain, the two people crossing the set do so as usual and then come back into the middle for a ricochet, as the other two dancers half sashay.
**A square-dancing definition of corner, meaning the person on the other side of you from your partner.
Cake and Cow, 2021/2023
Contra
A1
Right-hand star three places; partner swing on the side
A2
Balance across and square through two (stay connected); two facing in, allemande R 1.5
B1
Neighbour meltdown swing on the side
B2
Right shoulder hey for four across
This dance originated as a solo dance during the covid-19 pandemic. It was written to mark my birthday, which I celebrated with a cake from my neighbours, in the company of a toy cow made of rubber.
Carpetbaggers’ Reel, 2025
Contra ambidance: it doesn’t matter which side you’re on or if you stay there.
A1
Right-hand star; left-hand star
A2
Ones lead down past two; long cast back one place
B1
Ones, balance and swing
B2
Circle left; circle back single file to new neighbours
Sometimes I find myself in the position of needing a very accessible dance that still reads as ‘contra’ to the participants. This is clearly a barn dance and wouldn’t satisfy experienced contra dancers, but it shares enough shape with contra that the group for whom I wrote it won’t feel I’ve led them astray if they ever find themselves at an actual contra.
Closer To It Every Day, 2026
Arky contra
A1
Neighbour balance and swing (outside hands are pointy)
A2
Left-hand chain across to partner
Pass through across and single file clockwise halfway
B1
Just two (those following partner) allemande right once and a half (this active right hand will be pointy in the: )
Partner swing
B2
Left shoulder hey with a ricochet (in the middle: pass, pass, ricochet, pass)
ALT B2:
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right
Balance, and partner CA twirl
Escape Hatch, 2026
Contra
A1
Neighbour do-si-do and swing
A2
Long lines, forward and back
Chain across by the right to partner
B1
Same two, allemande right once around
And partner swing
B2
Circle left three places
Balance the ring and pass through
I wrote this for dancers at the Edinburgh contra; it probably already exists but it’s an easy, fun dance that gave us all a brain break on a warm evening.
First Thing In the Morning, 2025
Arky contra
A1
Neighbour balance and swing (outside hands are pointy)
A2
Long lines forward and back
Right-hand revolving door
B1
(Active dancer uses free left hand to catch partner’s right hand*)
Partner balance and swing (connected hands are pointy)
B2
Circle left three places
Balance the ring and partner California twirl
*Typically the choreographic convention is to use the active hand as the pointy hand, so an allemande right would lead into a swing where the right hand is pointy. The balance, however, allows dancers to break the rule without feeling jarred.
Flash a Little Light, 2025
Arky contra
A1
Neighbour, star through (inside hands) and swing (connected hands are pointy)
A2
Pass left shoulder: hey halfway, with a ricochet (for those following); you’re on the side with your partner
Circle left all the way
B1
In this ring, balance, and partner swing (connected hands are pointy)
B2
Just two, allemande left once and a half to a wave across
Balance, and walk forward to new neighbour
Flood Watch, undated
Becket CW
A1
Slice left; right and left through
A2
Hands four, balance, and spin to the right; again
B1
Chain across by the left to your neighbour; same two, pull by left and partner right-shoulder ‘round
B2
(Continue the right-shoulder ‘round into a) partner swing
From My Head to My Feet, 2026
Arky contra
A1
Neighbour balance and swing (outside hands are pointy)
A2
Long lines forward and back
Right-hand chain across
B1
Circle right halfway and balance
Partner swing (connected hand)
B2
Clockwise, Mad Robin (around partner, facing neighbour); circle left three places; CA twirl to new neighbours
It Never Rains But It Pours, 2024
Four-facing-four
A1
Hands eight, circle left halfway round
With the middles casting out around their partners while the partners lead in, cast and lead at each end. Middles end facing the other middles (their corner) across, ends facing their opposite (corner) up and down.
A2
All fall back: grand square (this is a usual grand square starting from an unusual position)
B1
Reverse!
B2
All end facing their corner: Corner allemande left to a partner swing
I wrote this dance at the NVS Summer Camp, where I was calling a week of English dances. The theme for the week was ‘weather’, and I was enjoying joining in the square dancing when I wasn’t calling.
I've a Right to Be Left-Handed, ca. 2018
Contra
A1
Neighbour allemande left once around; chain by the right (this may not be who you expect)
A2
Circle right three places; balance and roll N right to left (NO half-sashay; those moving through the middle change places with one another on the diagonal)
B1
Partner balance and swing
B2
Chain by the left (same dancers cross as in A1 chain); right-hand star to new neighbours
I’m a lefty, as is my father. Unlike him, I was enthusiastically encouraged growing up — including both of us having matching t-shirts that read, “I’ve a right to be left-handed”.
Joliet Drive, 2023
Contra
A1
Neighbour balance and swing
A2
Just two, allemande left once and a half
Partner swing
B1
Long lines forward and back
Right and left through
B2
Just two chain back by the right
Left-hand star to new neighbours
This dance is based on Bob Isaacs’ ‘Easy Street’.
Kyriarky, 2025
Arky Becket
The 'swing rule' in this dance is that your pointy hand is the one already connected to the person you're about to swing.
A1
[Slide left and] Circle left three places to a neighbour swing
A2
Right and left through across; chain (by the right) to partner
B1
Circle right all the way; in a ring, balance, and spin to the right one place
B2
Circle left three places to a partner swing
Kyriarky is the first Arky dance that I wrote. It was written thanks to Andrew Swaine's prompt for the dance competition at May Heydays ('write a dance that lends itself to being called gender-free'), and Heather McAslan's suggestion that we create a dance for Contra Camp that swapped people over each time through. I decided against submitting it to Andrew's competition because I worried it wouldn't meet the brief of being accessible to the (relatively conservative, gender-wise) dance club audience that constitutes the majority of that weekend's attendees. Coincidentally, though, Sam Tetley Smith — clearly more of an optimist than me! — did submit a dance to the competition with the same structure and it came in third place. (As I feared, dancers who only dance one role struggled with both the concept and the phenomenology of swapping pointy hands.) Several dancers at Contra Camp particularly enjoyed it, and one suggested it struck them as the formation of the future. I like it because it essentially mandates positional calling and dancing, as keeping up with which 'role' you are is far too much effort!
And a note about the title of the dance: 'kyriarchy' is an umbrella term for the intersecting structures that create oppression (like, for instance, gendered calling!), and 'arky' is a square dance term that was also used by contra dancers in the late 20th century to describe a dance or a figure in which gendered dancers 'swap' roles to dance on the other side. I've been told it originated in the 1950s, derived from a variant on the square 'Texas Star' called 'Arkansas Star', in which couples do the Texas Star figure from a half-sashayed position.
Last Thing At Night, 2026
Arky contra, triple progression
A1
Neighbour do-si-do once and a half
Swing the next (outside hands are pointy)
A2
Right-hand chain to partner
Left diagonal, slice
B1
With partner, pass through across and California twirl to a swing (connected hands are pointy)
B2
Circle left three places
Balance, and California twirl to new neighbours
Lena’s Rescue, 2026
Contra
A1
Neighbour balance and swing
A2
Right and left through
And back
B1
Just two step in for an allemande right once and a half
Partner swing
B2
Circle left three places
Balance the ring, and ones cast down
This dance was written as part of an elaborate set-up for Money Musk — which I’d been asked to call in honour of (Inter-)National Money Musk Moment. In the event we had a lot of first-time contra dancers, so I was trying to scaffold in every element of Money Musk in the preceding dances. This dance was reinforcing the right and left through and introducing the cast.
Louise’s Triplet #14: Broadstairs Triplet, 2025
Ambidance contra triplet; dancers are across the set from their partner
A1
Ones dance round two, but the follow cuts through
With the twos, ones circle left all the way
A2
In this ring, balance, and pass through
With the threes, ones circle left all the way
B1
Ones dance round two, but the follow cuts through
Circle left six just halfway
B2
Partner do-si-do and swing
This dance is based on ‘David’s Triplet #7’, and was written for a contra workshop that had a small number of attendees, none of whom had much contra dance experience. The title is a joke; I have not written 13 other triplets.
Malarky, 2026
Arky Becket (CW)
A1
[Slide left and] Circle left three places to a neighbour swing (connected hand is pointy!)
A2
Chain across by the left, and follow the momentum of the courtesy turn to
Wrong-way promenade across (head left, passing Rsh)
B1
Partner do-si-do
Partner right-hand balance and box the gnat
B2
Those who can, allemande left in the middle, once around (note that this active left hand is now your pointy hand)
Partner swing
This dance was written to commemorate my experience at LCFD’s Spring Camp, at which (among other things) I called the arky dance Anarky. I happened to mention that I’d found myself running out of words that ended in ‘arky’ quite quickly, and after the workshop someone suggested ‘malarkey’, which I thought was fantastic. The other suggestion I can remember was ‘archaeopteryx’ which clearly also deserves a dance…
First called at Boston Open Contras on 12 July 2026.
Not An Ordinary Hat Question, 2025
Becket ACW
Your partner is on one side of you, your shadow on the other.
A1
Circle left three places
Balance the ring, and partner California twirl
A2
In a new ring, balance, and spin to the right (petronella)
Again — and with these neighbours,
B1
Left-hand star three places — and look for your shadow
With the next, right-hand star (your partner is not in this star, but your shadow is)
B2
Back to your partner, balance and swing
Written at Stegastomp dance weekend in 2025, via a game I call, “What Comes Next?” in which I offer dancers a formation — Becket, in this instance — and the first figure — here, circle left three places — and then ask them what comes next. I keep asking until the dance progresses, and then I proceed to call the dance as written. Not all dances created this way are worth dancing again — but some are! The game originated from my workshops on positional dancing, and helps intermediate dancers understand that their bodies have already internalised conventions of contra choreography that favour flow and momentum.
Peer Pressure, 2026
Triple minor contra (ones face down, twos and threes face up)
A1
Ones and twos take hands four: balance, and neighbour swing (threes can swing each other)
A2
Hands six, circle left; and back to the right
B1
Identify people on the ones’ left diagonal (their second corners). Ones loop left and pass corner right into a hey for four
B2
Ones balance and swing
This dance was written as an accessible introduction to the structure of a triple minor dance.
The Reminder, revised 2023
Contra
Identify your next neighbour, then with this neighbour take right hands as though you’re going to allemande
A1
Neighbour right-hand balance and allemande halfway, into a
Left-hand chain across
A2
Same two pass left, hey all the way
B1
Partner, right shoulder ‘round and swing
B2
Long lines, forward and back
(Same two who chained, started the hey) On the diagonal, see-saw once and a half
Ricochet Chain, 2025
Becket CW
A1
[Slide left and] Circle left three places; neighbour swing
A2
Long lines forward and back
Ricochet chain* to your partner (they half sashay during the ricochet, and then:)
B1
Pass right shoulder, hey all the way
B2
With your partner, balance and swing
*In a ricochet chain, the two people crossing the set do so as usual and then come back into the middle for a ricochet, as the other two dancers half sashay.
This dance was the first one I wrote using the ricochet chain, which was my response to dancers’ tendency to arrive too soon out of courtesy turns.
Safety First, 2025
Contra
A1
Neighbour do-si-do and swing
A2
Left-hand revolving door, into a wave across, partner in right hand
Balance the wave, and partner allemande right halfway, into a:
B1
Hey halfway, passing left shoulder to begin
Partner swing
B2
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right
Balance again and California twirl
This dance is a modification of Mark Elvins’s dance, ‘Dangerous Figures’, which was written in 2024.
Sarah Thorne’s Reel, 2025
Contra ambidance: it doesn’t matter which side you’re on or if you stay there.
Identify ones and twos.
A1
Twos split the ones: mirror neighbour do-si-do
Ones, swing in the middle, ending in the middle of a line of four facing down
A2
Four in line, go down the hall
Turn alone and come back
B1
Bend your line and circle left…
…and back to the right
B2
Long lines, forward and back
Twos, swing in the middle
I wrote this dance for a contra workshop I ran at Broadstairs Folk Week which was attended mostly by people who had never done contra before. The Sarah Thorne Theatre was our venue.
Shetland Lace, 2026
Contra, then all cross over (eg ‘indecent’). If you forget to do this, everyone will end the first walkthrough crossed over, and as long as they understand it doesn’t matter, they can continue from there successfully.
Identify ones and twos. Notice your neighbour. The dance begins with the ones dancing two heys for three, interrupted by allemandes right.
A1
Ones allemande right once around (and pause; one of you is looking at your neighbour); those two neighbours pass left shoulder to dance a hey for three (English dancers will recognise that this is on the first diagonal)
A2
Ones allemande right once and a half (approximately; until the other two neighbours are facing); left shoulder hey for three (the two who started the hey pass each other three times, ending the third time with the active ‘two’ crossing to meet their stationary partner on the other side of the set)
B1
Partner balance and swing
B2
Circle left three places
Ones lead up and cast back
Written for a workshop on heys at Chippenham Folk Festival.
Simple Sixes She Says, 2026
Six-facing-six
A1
Those who can, on the right diagonal, right and left through up and down
Just the ends (four couples), right and left through up and down
A2
Hands twelve, balance, and spin to the right one place
Again
B1
Partner right-hand balance and (with your travel buddies) hey halfway
B2
Meet your partner, balance and swing (end facing new neighbours)
This dance was written by accident when I misinterpreted Luke Danforth’s dance, ‘Simple Sixes He Says’.
Sophie, 2025
Becket CW
A1
[Slide left and] Circle left three places
This neighbour, allemande right once and a half into long waves
A2
Balance, and slide right (as in Rory O’More)
Balance again, and slide left
B1
This neighbour, balance and swing
B2
Circle left three places
Partner swing
This dance is based on Melanie Alex-Lute’s dance, ‘Cats and More Cats’. Sophie is my sister’s cat.
Starry O’More, 2022
3-facing-3 contra (no swings), longways or sicilian circle mixer. Note that no one retains their position or partners in this dance, so it’s challenging! Think of everyone as a neighbour rather than anyone as a partner.
A1
Opposites, do-si-do
Lines of three, forward and back
A2
Middles go right: right-hand star with the two end dancers
Balance the star, and slide/spin one place around the star to the right, catching left hands in a star
B1
Left hand balance and spin/slide one place around the star to the left
Middles swap stars; right-hand star at the other end 2/3; middles lead their stars out into a line of three facing up/down to these same neighbours
B2
Opposites, do-si-do
Balance your line; twirl the line to face new neighbours
This dance was inspired by the starry o’more figure in A2/B1, which we invented when we were a bubble of three dancers during the pandemic, participating in zoom dances designed for couples.
Swing to the Stars, 2022
3-facing-3 contra
A1
Lines of three, forward and back
Middles allemande left once and a quarter, into three-hand stars at each end
A2
Balance the star, and slide/spin one place around the star to the right, catching left hands in a star
Left hand balance and spin/slide one place around the star to the left
B1
Middles left-hand balance and swat the flea
Partners, circle left into a line (order doesn’t particularly matter, here)
B2
Hands six, circle left halfway
Partners (basket) swing and face new neighbours
This dance is a more accessible, non-mixer version of the rather bonkers mixer above, Starry O’More.
The Tapsell Gate, 2024-25
Becket CW
End effects: stand out on the wrong side of the set
A1
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right (petronella)
Neighbour gate CW and the two moving forward change places with a halfway right-shoulder ‘round
A2
Circle left three places and pass through up and down
New neighbour, swing on the side
B1
In a ring, balance, and spin to the left (retronella)
Partner gate ACW and the two moving forward change with a left shoulder
B2
Same two allemande left once and a half
Partner swing
A tapsell gate, named after its designer, is a type of gate found in Sussex that turns around a central pivot point. All good dance gates should be tapsell gates! This dance is challenging.
There and Back, 2022
Becket CW
A1
In a ring, balance, and spin to the right
Neighbour, gate clockwise
A2
In a ring, balance, and spin to the left
Partner, gate anticlockwise
B1
Chain across by the right — and those same two take a slight step forward and look on the right diagonal:
In the middle, right shoulder ‘round once and a half (partners shift slightly to align as new neighbours)
B2
Partner balance and swing
An easier version of the ideas in The Tapsell Gate.
We’re Halfway There, 2026
Arky contra
A1
Neighbour do-si-do and swing
A2
Right-hand chain across
Pass through across and California twirl
B1
Circle halfway to a partner swing
B2
Long lines, forward and back
Left-hand star three places to new neighbours