(This page is a part of the contradance pages maintained by Kiran Wagle)
Katie's Trip to Starbase Twelve
A duple improper contra written in September 1992.
Merilee writes, "Katie is my eleven year old niece, and a Star Trek fan.
She really may go to Starbase 12 someday. Think about it."
"I am flattered that people like it so much. It's probably the best
dance I've ever written, and surprisingly easy for beginners."
A1
- Gypsy 1-1/2 below
- Long lines forward & back
A2
- Circle left 3/4
- Swing partner on the side
B1
- Swinging star (an "inside basket swing.") (16)
(See note below!
)
- Make a right hand wrist-grip star, then take a left handshake grip
with the same-sex person diagonally opposite in the same star.
- Turn the star (for the remainder of the 16 beats) with a buzz-step. End in the same position as you began the
star, with actives in the women's line.
B1
- Release right hands to leave a left hands-across star,
turn it once around (8)
- Circle left 3/4 and pass through to progress.
Merilee notes, "This is a good dance for beginners. When I teach it, I
emphasize spinning the stars only as fast as the slowest person wants to go.
You can really make this sucker move.
And dancers should
not lean back when spinning, because there are other heads
in the next star moving very fast in the opposite direction.
Also note that this dance would work well for a gender-free night, with the
A2 partner swing turned into a dosido once and a half."
Merilee also wrote "Roll me Over in the Clover" and "The Left Hand,"
which won the Ann Arbor Dawn Dance's Bad Contra Contest in 1994.
You can email her at
<merilee@teleport.com>
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Last updated on October 27, 1995 by
entropy@io.com (Kiran Wagle)