Starting formations
Facing Dancers, Mini-Wave
Command examples
- Left Arm Turn 3/4
- Walk Around Your Corner; Turn Partner By The Left; 4 Ladies Chain
- Slip The Clutch; Turn By The Left 3/4, Check An Alamo Ring
- All Arm Turn Half
- Centers Arm Turn 3/4
- Men Star Left 3/4; Turn Corner Right Arm Turn; Do Paso
- Allemande Left, Turn partner by the right once around; Men star left 1/2, turn opposite by the right 3/4 to an alamo ring, …
- Turn A Right Hand Half
- Alamo Ring: Swing Thru; Turn Your Partner By The Right; Allemande Left
Dance action
Dancers join indicated forearms and walk forward around each other. The amount of turn can be specified as a fraction (e.g., Half (180 degrees), 3/4 (270 degrees), Full (360 degrees) or implicitly by the next call (e.g., Turn Partner By the Left; 4 Ladies Chain).
Ending formation
Usually a Mini-wave, or no formation as the dancers prepare to let go of the arm turn and step forward to do the next call.
Timing
1/2: 4, 3/4: 4 to 6, Full: 6 to 8
Styling
Forearm hold
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Comments
From a Mini-Wave the distance to turn may be specified by a fraction (e.g., Arm Turn 1/2).
From Facing Dancers the distance to turn must be specified by a relative position (e.g., To A Thar, or To Your Corner) or the next call (e.g., Turn Corner By The Right; Do Paso). It is improper to specify a fraction.
The Mini-Wave formation does not imply a specific handhold. The styling for Arm Turns and calls defined with Arm Turns is a Forearm hold. See the section “Dance Action: Defining Calls with Arm Turns”.