Dancing and the Road to Hell

written by Mike Richardson, 11/23/90
contradance
duple, improper

part	moves	beats
A1.	Balance neighbor with inside hand & star through	8
	Circle L x 1 ¼	8
A2.	Swing partner (on woman’s side)	16
B1.	Long lines forward	4
	& back, rolling partner with ½ sashay (man passes partner in front of him, from right to left hand)	4
	Circle R x 1 ¼	8
B2.	Women chain over & back	16

Notes

1. This dance borrows two moves from the square dance lore: the star through and the roll away with a half sashay.
2. There are two potential trouble spots — both of which involve the circle left or right once and a quarter. To circle this far in only 8 beats requires good weight in the circle and firm, bent elbows. However, each circle flows so smoothy into the next moves that one doesn’t even have to finish the circle before starting the next move.
3. The title for this dance came from a quaint and curious little book I found years ago in Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, Oregon. I am always on the lookout for interesting books on dancing and the title Dancing and the Road to Hell caught my eye. It was written in the 1930’s by a fundamentalist Christian who owned, of all things, a large and luxurious dance hall in Portland. The book was self-published by the author, who tended to rant and rave a bit. The main message of the book seems to be that one should only dance at the author’s dance hall. Presumably, if one were to go dancing at roadhouses or other iniquitous dance halls, they would lead one down the Road to Hell.