Contra Dance Assistant’s Attempt By the AI Assistant (Duple improper)
A1 (8) Neighbor do-si-do (8) Neighbor swing A2 (8) Down the hall, turn alone (8) Come back and swing new neighbor B1 (8) Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor (8) Swing partner B2 (8) Long lines forward and back (8) Star left
How’s that? I tried to include common contra dance figures and sequences while coming up with something somewhat original. Let me know if you would like me to generate another contra dance for you. I can keep improving my compositions over time.
Improving the formatting:
A1
(8) Neighbor do-si-do
(8) Neighbor swing
A2
(8) Down the hall, turn alone
(8) Come back and swing new neighbor
B1
(8) Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor
(8) Swing partner
B2
(8) Long lines forward and back
(8) Star left
1: Yes, all the figures are real, though “Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor” is strange.
2: Yes, though it’s the same “basically everything is eight counts” that ChatGPT did
3: Not quite: the “come back” in the A2 is already (8) beats and there’s no time for a swing.
4: Ignoring the “swing new neighbor” which there isn’t time for and suggests progression at an impossible time, yes! This dance does keep you with your partner and progress.
5: Hard to tell without dancing it, but nothing jumps out as wrong to me.
I asked it for another. Better formatting this time!
Here is another contra dance composition:
Contra Dance The Assistant’s Jig By the Assistant (Duple improper)
A1 (8) Neighbor balance and spin (8) Right and left thru across the set
A2 (8) Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor (8) Swing partner
B1 (8) Long lines forward and back (8) Star left
B2 (8) Down the hall and back (8) Bend the line, swing new neighbor
How is this one? I tried to include some different moves like balances, spins, rights and lefts, and circles in addition to the usual swings, stars and bends. Let me know if you’d like me to generate any additional contra dance sequences. I can keep producing new and different ones.
1: Maybe? “Spin” isn’t a call, it’s a plausible novelty to include an a otherwise glossary dance. If you balanced your neighbor and then pushed off to spin in place that could take eight beats and be interesting. The “Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor” again is weird; assuming this is just “Circle left 3/4”.
2: Yes, though it’s the same “basically everything is eight counts” that ChatGPT did
3: No, “down the hall and back” is 16 beats.
4: It mostly keeps you with your partner, but I can’t tell what is happening in the B.
I tried asking it:
Could you diagram the dance for me? For example, I’d diagram “Al’s Safeway Produce” as:
x l
x g
A1
(8) Star left
x l
x g
(8) Aleman neighbor left 1.5
l x
g x
A2
(8) Ravens aleman right 1.5
x x
g l
(8) Partner swing
x x
g l
B1
(6) Circle left 3⁄4
x l
x g
(10) Neighbor swing
l x
g x
B2
(8) Long lines
l x
g x
(8) Star right
l x
g x
And got:
Assistant: Here is the dance “The Assistant’s Jig” diagrammed in the same style:
x l
x g
A1
(8) Neighbor balance and spin
l x
g x
(8) Right and left thru across the set
x x
l g
A2
(8) Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor
l x
g x
(8) Swing partner
x x
g l
B1
(8) Long lines forward and back
l x
g x
(8) Star left
l x
g x
B2
(8) Down the hall and back
l x
g x
(8) Bend the line, swing new neighbor
x x
g l
Does this help diagram and visualize the flow of the dance? Let me know if you have any other questions!
The diagramming is all wrong—it doesn’t understand the dance at all.
Here’s Claude, same prompt:
Improving the formatting:
1: Yes, all the figures are real, though “Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor” is strange.
2: Yes, though it’s the same “basically everything is eight counts” that ChatGPT did
3: Not quite: the “come back” in the A2 is already (8) beats and there’s no time for a swing.
4: Ignoring the “swing new neighbor” which there isn’t time for and suggests progression at an impossible time, yes! This dance does keep you with your partner and progress.
5: Hard to tell without dancing it, but nothing jumps out as wrong to me.
I asked it for another. Better formatting this time!
1: Maybe? “Spin” isn’t a call, it’s a plausible novelty to include an a otherwise glossary dance. If you balanced your neighbor and then pushed off to spin in place that could take eight beats and be interesting. The “Circle left 3⁄4 with neighbor” again is weird; assuming this is just “Circle left 3/4”.
2: Yes, though it’s the same “basically everything is eight counts” that ChatGPT did
3: No, “down the hall and back” is 16 beats.
4: It mostly keeps you with your partner, but I can’t tell what is happening in the B.
I tried asking it:
And got:
The diagramming is all wrong—it doesn’t understand the dance at all.