Concepts and modifiers
Square dancers have a small set of words that change how a call applies, without being calls themselves. These are the ones the Mainstream program uses.
Naming a subset: Split, Each, Center, Ends
| Word | Means |
|---|---|
| Split | divide the named group in two and work each half separately. Split Circulate, Split Two |
| Each Side | apply the call to the two sides of the formation separately |
| Center Four | the four dancers nearest the middle |
| Outside Four | the four dancers outside them |
| Center 6 / Outside 6 | the same for six and two |
| Very Centers / Very Ends | the two dancers nearest the middle, or the outermost two |
All 8
All 8 means everybody does this. All 8 Circulate is the common example.
The manual adds a warning worth repeating, because it is regularly taught wrongly:
"It is improper to teach that All 8 Circulate always means 'ends stay ends and centers stay
centers.' This statement is true from Ocean Waves and Two-Faced Lines, but not from Columns."
Nothing
Some calls with a qualifier can be qualified with Nothing, meaning that part is skipped. It is a caller's device for keeping dancers awake, and you will meet it sooner or later in "an Anything figure".
The Anything family
A large part of square dance calling works by substitution: the caller says a call with "anything" in it, and whatever they then say is slotted into that position.
**"Explode and Anything"** — everybody explodes, then does whatever the caller names next.
At Mainstream you meet Clover and *Anything* shapes and the Plus Anything calls; the idea is the same: a wrapper call with a slot in it.
The manual defines these by saying the dancers complete the first part, then complete the call named in the slot.
Those Who Can
"Those who can" means: if the described action is possible for you from where you are, do it; if it is not, you do nothing.
It is a way of writing a call that might or might not apply to everyone, without forcing the caller to name anybody. You will meet it in the manual's comments more than in Mainstream choreography.
Fold, Run, Trade, Circulate — families, not modifiers
Four words that behave like modifiers but are calls in their own right, because they always need to be applied to somebody:
- Fold — one dancer folds behind the other, turning to face the same way — M48
- Run — one dancer runs around the adjacent dancer — M34
- Trade — two dancers exchange places — M32
- Circulate — dancers move forward to the next position on a path — M19
Each has a family page with the ways it is named.
Next
- the rules that adapt a call to where you are → 03-rules
- the "Anything" idea at the next level → Where Mainstream leads