American Square Dances of The West
& Southwest - online instruction book

With Calls, instructions, diagrams, steps & sheet music

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	58	American Square Dances
	are directed to Sashay with, following the rule that the gentle­men always dance behind the ladies on the first movement of any Sashay call. There are four Western Sashay movements. "Sashay Partners halfway around" means for Partners to exchange places by the gentlemen dancing to the right behind the ladies who dance to their left in front of the gentlemen in four beats of music, three steps. "Re-sashay" means for the dancers to retrace their steps over the same path taken in the preceding Sashay, back to original places. "Sashay aU the way around" means for the dancers to encircle their Partners completely, the gentlemen first dancing behind the ladies they are Sashaying (the ladies move counter), then con­tinuing the movement by dancing in front of the ladies back to place while the ladies dance behind the gentlemen back to place. The time required is eight beats of music. There is no hard and fast rule or custom as to the way the dancers face in the above Sashay movements. They may dance facing the center, facing each other, or pass back to back, using whatever individual varia­tion they may desire as long as the general movement and definite time is observed. "All around your Left Hand Lady" is the fourth variety of the Sashay. In this movement the gentlemen only encircle their Corner Ladies, passing back to back with them, then facing center and dancing in front of them back to place, keeping their backs to the ladies as they encircle them. As die gentlemen dance around the ladies, the ladies dance two steps forward and pause until the gentlemen have "cleared" them and then dance two steps backward to place as the gentlemen complete their encircling movement around the ladies. The figure requires eight beats of music and is danced between Corners. It is usually followed by the same movement danced between Farmers to the call of "See-saw your pretty little Taw," or, "Sashay 'round your pretty Baby," in which the gentlemen continue their movement after