Hi Folks,

I wanted to report in as some of you gave some alternative B1/B2 parts to Anne's Dream and I was able to workshop a few this weekend to some really great success.

(I would have tried others but I'm thinking about the context of my local dance community and what might work best here given their familiarity.  I really appreciate everyone who chimed in though.)

The first we tried was Lisa Sieverts' version:
B1: 1s with #3 neighbor, balance and allemande right 1 1/2, 1s with #2 neighbor, balance and allemande left 1 1/2
B2: 1s cast to bottom. All step up and 2H turn or swing to their original side.
I’m tempted by a mirror allemande in B1, which I think would leave both 1s facing out at the end of the second allemande, but fear that would be too complicated.

When we tested this, we quickly found that there wasn't enough time to balance and do the Allemands + cast/swing.  What we ended up doing is
B1: 1&3s Neighbour Allemand R 1.5 -->  1&2s Neighbour Allemand L 1.5
B2: Kept the same.
The dancers really liked this version. They did point out that the cast should be prompted as the 1s forget what to do at the top.  Folks also really liked the idea of the mirror Allemande but we didn't test that.  Trickiest part is the 1s turn around to start Als right after popping thru.

The second we tried was Jacob Bloom's version:
B1 Take hands in a ring, top couple (original #2 couple) make an arch, 1s duck through the arch and separate, pulling couples 3 and 2 under the arch as they cast back to place
B2 All swing partners in their new place
Folks really liked this!  There seemed to be too much music for the amount of dance plus the end of A2 is a bit disorienting for the 1s.  One dancer suggested we do a Bal at the top of the B1 before the rip and snort as well as a Bal at the top of the B2 before the P sw.  That worked really well.

Anyway... just wanted to share in the thought that a few others might enjoy trying these!

Thanks again to all those who chimed in to share ideas.
:) Emily in Ottawa