Arrangements and gender
Within a formation, it is not only where the dancers are that matters, but which dancer is at each spot. That pattern is the arrangement, and it is why the same call can work from one squared set and fail from another.
The three couple arrangements
| Arrangement | What it is |
|---|---|
| Normal Couple | a Boy on the left, a Girl on the right |
| Sashayed Couple (Half-Sashayed) | a Girl on the left, a Boy on the right |
| Same-Gender Couple | two Girls, or two Boys |
The manual notes that "Sashayed" is technically short for half-sashayed, and both words are in use.
Why it matters
Several Mainstream calls are defined to start only from a Normal Couple. The most important is **Courtesy Turn**, and because Right and Left Thru and Chain Down the Line both contain a Courtesy Turn, those are restricted too.
The Plus manual records exactly this when it says which Mainstream restrictions are removed at Plus:
"Courtesy Turn: In the Mainstream Program, Courtesy Turn can start only from a Normal Couple. At
Plus this restriction is removed."
This is one of the most useful facts in this book for a beginner, because it explains a whole class of "why did that go wrong?" — you were not in a Normal Couple.
Arrangement and the whole square
An arrangement is a property of the whole set, not just of one couple. In a squared set where every couple is Normal, the square is "in proper arrangement". After a few calls the couples may be mixed — one Normal, one Sashayed — and the caller chooses calls that work with what is actually there.
Gender is a role
The 2026 manual is careful about this, and so is this book:
- The Boys are the dancers who squared up on the left of each couple.
- The Girls are the dancers who squared up on the right.
Whatever the actual people in the square, those are the roles. "Men", "Gents", "Gentlemen" and "Guys" mean Boys; "Women", "Ladies" and "Gals" mean Girls. The manual also notes that callers avoid "Men" and "Women" precisely because the words are easy to mishear.
And, importantly:
"In modern teaching, choreography, and patter, most calls are defined without reference to gender.
The references to gender are mostly used to designate four active dancers."
So when a caller says "Boys Run", it does not mean "the men run". It means "the four dancers who are in the Boys' roles run". A same-gender square still dances it.
Sequence, which is different again
Arrangement is who is at which spot. Sequence is whether it is your turn — a separate idea, and a subtle one. It has its own page: Sequence and relationship.
Next
- holds that depend on the arrangement → Hands and holds
- an arrangement call in practice → Courtesy Turn