Erik Hoffman
Old Time Music and Dance
Dance Calls
Missing Duck
A Becket formation contra progressing clockwise.
I've been sworn to secrecy about the origins of the title, so don't bother to ask! However, The Duck Returns is related.
A1
- Circle left 3/4 and pass thru (to progress)
- New women allemande left halfway
- Allemande partner right to a long wavy line (along the set) with men facing out; the person in one's left hand is a shadow
A2
- Balance as in Rory O'More:
- Balance towards partner and away (4) [balance right, then left]
- Slide past partner nose to nose and reform the wave (with partner and a second shadow)
- Balance towards partner and away (4) [balance left, then right!]
- Slide past partner nose to nose and take partner's right hand to pull women into a
B1
- Hey for four; women start passing left shoulders
B2
- Balance & swing partner, end facing across.
The allemandes in A1 are snappy and potentially confusing, especially for the women. When I want to simplify the dance, I use the original version of A1:
- Slide to left and circle left once with new couple
- Allemande partner 1-1/2 to a long wave with men facing out
You can find many of the dances I've written along with many essays on dancing in my book Contra Comments.