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American Square Dances |
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this should be done on "call" unless the "star" has been established as the local customary manner of four dancers crossing the set at once.
In dancing a Star figure, dance directly into the Star as though you were going straight across the set, but join hands in the center as you cross over, otherwise at least two beats of music will be lost in forming the Star and you will be behind the call or have to rush to make up the lost time. In all Star figures, the gentlemen always join their hands above those of the ladies, but keep all hands together. A Four Hand Star requires eight beats of music for one complete revolution, four beats for a half-revolution. A Star of eight dancers requires twelve beats of music for a complete revolution, six beats for a half turn. A "Double Star" in which either the ladies or gentlemen form a Four Hand Star with partners on their outside arms, as in the "Texas Star," requires twelve beats of music for one complete revolution, six beats for a half revolution. In this formation, the timing is for the dancers on the outside of the Star, who have the greater distance to travel, the dancers in the center of the formation gauging their steps to conform to the movement of the dancers on the outside. Otherwise, the outer dancers will be forced to run instead of dancing smoothly and easily, especially when the ladies are on the outside of the formation.
In the back-to-back Do-si-do, or "Dos-a-dos," the dancers always pass each other by the right shoulder, regardless of whom they are dancing the movement with—Partners, Corners, Right Hand Ladies, Opposites, or between gentlemen or ladies. This differs from the Sashays in which the gentlemen always pass behind the ladies in the initial movement of any Sashay.
All Promenades are always counterclockwise. Circles are always clockwise unless otherwise directed by the call. Whenever the gentlemen wheel the ladies around, the "wheel" is always counterclockwise with the gentleman moving backward as he wheels, either as a finish to a Do-si-do, Ladies Chain, Right and Left Through, the "Inside arch, outside under," and when |
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