Kids Contra
Formation:  Contra Lines. Pairs of any gender combination. No more than 10-12 pairs per set. Put the fathers in the line on the prompter’s right.
Music:  “January 7th Jig” on Lloyd Shaw 318

Prompts: 
Intro or
	57-64 	- - - -; - - Forward and Back;
   	1-8 	- - - -; - - Forward and Back again;
  	9-16 	- - - -; - - Right Arm Turn;
	17-24 	- - - -; - - Left Arm Turn;
	25-32 	- - Make a Tunnel; - - Down through the tunnel;

	33-40 	- - - -; - - - -;
	41-48 	- - - -; - - - -;
	49-56 	- - - -; - - - -;
	57-64 	- - - -; - - Forward and Back;

Description:
   	1-8 	Long lines go Forward and Back.
  	9-16 	Long lines go Forward and Back again.
	17-24 	Facing partners turn by the right arm once around.
	25-32 	Same two dancers turn by the left arm once around and return to their place.

	33-40 	Everyone except the top couple makes a long tunnel by joining both hands with the opposite dancer and making an arch.
	41-64 	The top couple goes down through the tunnel and stops at the foot of the set. At the same time, all the other dancers move one place toward the head of the set. 

Note:  Once the dancers have the idea of the routine down, then start sending two and then three couples down the tunnel with a four beat pause between couples. Very soon, you will find the kids waiting at the head of the set, poised for you to say “Go!” It’s great fun and still gives you very good crowd control.

Choreography by:  Calvin Campbell, Colorado
Source: CD Journal, February 2003

Usage:  I often deal with groups of children who are attending some event with their fathers. It varies from Girl Scouts or Indian Princesses Father/Daughter banquets to camp outs and church functions. I find that it works better to keep the dance routines short and uncomplicated and to keep the children from getting too far away from the spot on the dance floor where they started the dance, until they know the routine very well. As a result of this observation, I don’t recommend doing a Cast to the Foot or a Reel in a contra dance for this age group. They are just not very successful in these environments. This tunnel routine seems to work very well.

This page from http://dances.callerlab.org (CALLERLAB Dance Resource).