Linda Leslie wrote:

> In large halls, another approach is to divide the hall in half
> (longways). The dancers will need to remember to keep the lines
> separate, but it does make for much shorter lines, and the chance to
> be the active couple sooner. To keep things separate, I have used
> "safety cones", which actually work pretty well!

When I started contra dancing in San Francisco in the mid-1980s, which was in a
hall  much longer than it is wide, Charlie Fenton would have us make lines
*across* the hall (10-12 couples) for chestnuts rather than along the hall (18+
couples) for contemporary equal contras.  This eliminated the need for safety
cones, or for remembering anything.  By the time I got there the crowd was used
to it so it didn't take as much explaining as it no doubt did the first time.

-- Alan


-- 
===============================================================================
 Alan Winston --- WINSTON at SSRL.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU
 Disclaimer: I speak only for myself, not SLAC or SSRL   Phone:  650/926-3056
 Paper mail to: SSRL -- SLAC BIN 99, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park CA   94025
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