Descriptionary

look her in the eye a call to face your partner.

make an arch a call for two dancers to join and raise hands overhead to create an arch.

ocean wave four dancers facing in alternate direc­tions form a line and join hands palm to palm at shoulder height; each dancer then takes a step for­ward and a step back for an undulating effect.

pack saddle star a star in which four dancers form a hub by grabbing each other's wrists.

pass through facing couples pass through one another and end up back to back.

patter see hash calls.

peel off each dancer in a couple separates and turns back while the trailing couple squeezes between them, separates, and turns back to end up in a line facing the opposite direction.

pigeon wing clasping hands with the elbows pointed up.

promenade with hands crossed, right to right, left to left, with gents' palms facing up, couples follow each other in a circle counterclockwise.

promenade wrong way a promenade danced clockwise.

pull-by two people lightly clasp hands and swing each other through a line or formation.

rock it taking a short step forward and tapping the other foot then stepping back and tapping the other foot. Also known as balance.

sashay (chasse) a couple standing side by side move out of line and sidestep past one another.

set a square.

singing calls predetermined calls that are sung to the music, as distinguished from hash calls.

skirt work the ladies flaring their skirts to the sides.

spread it wide a call to change a hold around the waist to an outstretched handclasp position.

square the square formed by four couples.

square your sets a call to dancers to come onto the floor and form squares.

star dancers touch hands at shoulder height to form a hub, which they circle around. In singles, to grasp hands at shoulder height and rotate around one another.

swing walking around your partner while holding the waist and hands.

trade a side-by-side couple turn to face each other, then walk around each other, and end up side-by-side facing the opposite direction.

trailing following the dancer or dancers in front of you.

wrong way any movement in the opposite direction of normal.

Tap Dancing

bells a click of the heels while in midair.

brush a sweep of one foot forward, diagonally, or backward while lightly brushing the floor.

buck a move consisting of a stomp of the right foot followed by a hop left on the left foot, a slap down on the right, a slap down on the left, a step right, and then a repeat of the entire move starting on the left foot.

buffalo a leap and a landing on the right while rais­ing the left foot and shuffling it forward and back, followed by a leap and landing on the left foot and a return to the starting position.

chug sliding forward on the ball of the right foot while simultaneously dropping the heel sharply.

coffee grinder in a squatting position with the hands touching the floor, one extended leg describes the action of a coffee grinder by rotating around in a complete circle.

cossack a difficult Russian folk dance with the body in a squatting position and the arms folded at chest level while the legs kick out alternately.

cramp roll a step forward of one foot while raising the heel, followed by a step forward of the other foot with raised heel, then a drop of both heels in quick succession.

dig a step in which the arms are held aloft gracefully to the sides while each foot crosses the other alter­nately and taps the floor once.

doll hop a step followed by a hop with one leg, fol­lowed by another step and a hop with the other leg.

falling off the log a mixture of shuffles and cross steps that produce the illusion of the dancer losing his balance and falling off a log.

flap a brush with the right foot followed by a step on the right foot, producing two sounds.

heel drops moving the right foot forward with the toe pointed up and heel touching the floor, then mov­ing the foot back and repeating with the left foot while arms are placed one over the other at chest level.

heel plate an optional plate placed on the heel of a shoe for tapping.

hop a hop and landing on the same foot.

nerve taps tapping the floor in quick succession with the toe of one foot, frequently used in practice to develop speed and flexibility.

riff a toe tap and a forward slide of the foot while scuffing the heel.

scuff scuffing or scraping the floor with the heel.

shuffle a brush of one foot forward and then back, producing two sounds.

shuffle leap a shuffle followed by a leap and landing on the same foot, producing three sounds.

soft shoe any slow, soft dance with light tapping and a variety of intricate steps, originally performed with sand on the floor.