M9 — Courtesy Turn
Teaching unit M9 of the CALLERLAB (New) Mainstream Suggested Teaching Order, effective
1 September 2026. Prerequisites: Couple,
Courtesy Turn
At a glance
| Starting formation | A Couple, or a Boy and a Girl facing each other |
| Ending formation | Couple facing in — towards their group of four or the centre of the set |
| Timing | 4 beats |
| Unit | M9 of 50 |
Animation
▶ Play this call — pause, step and scrub it: Watching the animations.
Dance action
"A Couple works as a unit and turns around with the left-side dancer backing up and right-side
dancer walking forward. The turning point is halfway between the dancers. Facing dancers blend into
a Normal Couple as they perform this action."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
What you do
You are side by side with your partner in a normal couple — Boy on the left, Girl on the right — and you are going to turn around to face the middle.
- Join left hands in front of you. The Girl's left hand goes palm down on the Boy's left palm, which is palm up. That joined pair of left hands is what drives the turn.
- The Girl puts her right hand behind her right hip, palm out. The Boy puts his right hand in hers without grasping it — a light resting contact, so both right hands stay free for the next call. If the Girl would rather hold her skirt with her right hand, the Boy instead rests his right hand in the middle of her back.
- Turn as one unit, left-side dancer backing up, right-side dancer walking forward. The pivot is halfway between you, so neither of you is the centre of the turn.
- Finish facing in — towards the middle of your group of four, or the centre of the set.
- Drop to a couple handhold and wait for the next call.
If you start from Facing Dancers — for instance after "Pass Thru, Boys reach out and Courtesy Turn this Girl" — you join into a couple first and then turn, all in one smooth movement.
Timing
4 beats. It is a half turn for the whole pair, so it takes about the same time as a Wheel Around.
Styling
"The Woman's left hand (palm down) and Man's left hand (palm up) are joined. Right hands are placed
according to the Woman's choice."
Keep the joined left hands close to your bodies, at about waist height, with soft elbows. The turn is gentle: nobody is thrown, and nobody lets go early. The right hands are a steadying contact, not a grip.
Restrictions
At Mainstream the Courtesy Turn is a Boy turning a Girl, and the starting formation must be a Normal Couple — a couple with a Boy on the left and a Girl on the right. That restriction is why Right and Left Thru and Chain Down the Line have limits of their own: a caller cannot use a Courtesy Turn to turn two Boys, or two Girls.
Common faults
| What happens | Why | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| The turn has a wobbly centre | Arms stretched apart | Left hands together and close. The turning point is halfway between you, so keep the pair compact |
| The Girl is pulled round | Boy rotating his arm | The Boy steadies, the Girl walks her own half. Lead with the left hands only |
| Right hands grab and hold | Treating the contact as a handshake | Boy's right hand rests in hers without closing. Both right hands must be free afterwards |
| You finish facing the wrong way | Not checking where "in" is | A Courtesy Turn finishes facing the centre of your group of four, or the middle of the set |
Where you meet it
Class 3. It is mostly met inside other calls: Right and Left Thru, Ladies Chain, and Chain Down the Line all end with a Courtesy Turn. Occasionally a caller uses it on its own to turn a couple around.
Related calls
- Right and Left Thru — a Right Pull By followed by a Courtesy Turn. See M10.
- Ladies Chain — the Ladies cross and are Courtesy Turned home. See M12.
- Wheel Around — another half turn for a couple, with no hand change. See M8.
- California Twirl — the arch-and-turn version. See M27.
Also called / formerly
You will hear "Gents Courtesy Turn your Girl", "Four Gents Courtesy Turn", and, from older callers, "turn her round" as patter. The call name has not changed.
Manual source: Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026, page 29. Reproduced under the permission in sources and attribution.