Ocean Wave Rule

The mirror of the Facing Couples Rule: some calls are written to start from Facing Couples, and the dancers are already in a wave.

"Some calls that are defined to start from Facing Couples are also proper starting from a

Right-Hand Ocean Wave. Examples include Right and Left Thru and Square Thru. In these cases, the

dancers have already stepped forward toward the facing dancer and are ready to complete the

remaining action of the directed call."

— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.

What you do

You are in a wave, already joined. The call wants you in facing couples. Rather than a step forward, the rule asks for a step back:

"For the sake of dancer comprehension and teaching purposes, it may be necessary initially to have

the dancers back up into Facing Couples, then step back into the Wave and complete the call."

You dance the call, and you finish where the call finishes — in the wave, if the call ends in one.

When it applies

The rule is not a general licence. Two conditions from the manual:

"In order for the Ocean Wave Rule to apply, the initial dance action of the call must start with a

Box the Gnat, Pass Thru, or Right Pull By."

and:

"the call must not be defined to have a different dance action from an Ocean Wave."

That second condition has a worked example in the manual worth reading, because it is exactly the sort of thing a beginner gets caught by:

"For example, the call Circulate is defined from Eight Chain Thru and from Ocean Waves. It would be

improper to call Circulate from Ocean Waves and expect dancers to dance it as a Step Thru based on

the Ocean Wave Rule because they would naturally apply the definition of Circulate from Ocean Waves."

Calls the manual names as examples: Pass Thru, Slide Thru, Box the Gnat, and Double Pass Thru (from a Right-Hand 1/4 Tag).

It is wider than its name

"While the rule is called the Ocean Wave Rule, it is generalized to include Mini-Wave (Facing

Dancers) and Tidal Wave (Facing Lines), etc."

The adjustment changes nothing else

"The adjustment that is part of the Ocean Wave Rule does not change the effect of the call. It

neither adds nor subtracts parts or changes the use of fractions. It is as if any dancer in a

mini-wave had first stepped back into facing dancers and then all did the call."

The manual's example is a good one: from a Right-Hand Mini-Wave, "Dosado" ends in Facing Dancers, not in a Right-Hand Mini-Wave. The step back is as if you had started facing.

Timing

"Application of the Ocean Wave Rule does not change the timing of the call."

Mixed formations

Two situations the manual calls out, both of which happen in real squares:

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