M23 — Grand Square
Teaching unit M23 of the CALLERLAB (New) Mainstream Suggested Teaching Order, effective
1 September 2026. Prerequisites: Static Square,
Grand Square
At a glance
| Starting formation | Static Square, after the caller names who faces |
| Ending formation | Static Square |
| Timing | 32 beats — eight phrases of four |
| Unit | M23 of 50 |
Animation
▶ Play this call — pause, step and scrub it: Watching the animations.
Dance action
"On "Step (1), Step (2), Step (3), Step (4)" dancers who are facing nose-to-nose take 4 steps
backwards away from each other. Dancers who are facing across the square take 4 steps forward until
they are nose-to nose."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
The manual adds that on the fourth step "dancers turn in place 90 degrees during the step to face another dancer nose-to-nose or across the square", and that this same group of four steps then repeats.
What you do
Grand Square is the longest call in the programme and the one beginners find hardest — not because any single step is difficult, but because it runs for 32 beats without the caller saying anything more. Do it by counting.
- Listen for who faces. The caller says "Sides Face, Grand Square" or "Heads Face, Grand Square". If you are named, turn where you stand to face your partner. If you are not named, keep facing across the square, towards the dancer opposite you.
- Dance eight phrases of four counts. Each phrase is the same: step (1), step (2), step (3), step and turn a quarter turn in place (4).
- Know which way you travel. If you are nose to nose with someone, those four steps go backwards, away from each other. If you are facing across the square, they go forwards until you are nose to nose.
- On count 4, turn a quarter turn in place. You are now facing the next dancer, either nose to nose or across the square. Who is nose to nose swaps over each phrase.
- On count 16, do not turn. You step and pause. That is exactly halfway, and the caller may say "Reverse". From here you retrace the whole thing backwards.
- On count 32 you are home. The dancers who faced at the start turn back in to make the square again; the others take their last step and stand still.
The manual is emphatic about one thing: "these are square dancing steps and NOT just walking". Three steps and a turn, in time, for eight phrases. If you walk it, you will be out of position long before the end. See Timing and music.
Timing
32 beats, and it must not be rushed: one Step and one Step-Turn In per beat of music, so that everybody arrives home on the same beat. The manual also asks callers to start Grand Square on beat 1 of an 8-beat phrase, preferably beat 1 of a 32-beat phrase, so the eight four-count phrases line up with the music.
Styling
"Men's arms in natural dance position; women may work skirts with natural swinging action. Adjacent
dancers who walk forward or backward together should use a Couple handhold."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
The dancers moving together down a side of the square hold an ordinary couple handhold. Grand Square attracts embellishments — twirls and extra turns — and the manual notes you may meet "a wide variety". None of them are required, and none of them are worth missing a beat for.
Restrictions
The manual is explicit about how Grand Square may be started:
"From a Static Square, the caller must designate who faces for Grand Square. It is improper to call
"Grand Square" and expect "Sides Face, Grand Square.""
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
So the call on its own is incomplete: somebody has to be told to face. The manual adds a second condition that dancers can check for themselves — "At all times during Grand Square, every dancer is facing another dancer either nose-to-nose or across the square" — and notes that the relaxed versions ("Girls turn and face your partner, Everyone Grand Square") may need workshopping. See Mainstream restrictions.
Common faults
| What happens | Why | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| You are half a beat behind by count 16 | Walking the sides instead of dancing them | Step on every count. Step, step, step, and turn on the fourth |
| You turn on count 16 and end up facing the wrong way | The pause is easy to miss | Count 16 is a Step and a pause, not a turn. That is how the reverse works |
| You walk forwards when you should back up | Losing track of whether you are nose to nose or across | Look at the dancer in front of you. Nose to nose means back up; across the square means come forward |
| You and your partner drift apart | Dropping the handhold and moving at different speeds | Take a couple handhold whenever you and the adjacent dancer move together |
Where you meet it
Grand Square is taught in Class 6. At first the caller will talk you through it, and in a class you may well dance it in small pieces; by the time you have it, it is one of the most satisfying calls in the programme, and it appears in singing calls regularly. Callers may also shorten it — "Grand Square, 6 Steps" — so listen for a number.
Related calls
- Bend the Line — the other call where the whole square turns as one. See M20.
- Wheel and Deal — couples wheeling as a unit. See M26.
- Allemande Left — what often follows, once everyone is home. See M4.
- Promenade — the other figure that runs a long way round the square. See M3.
Also called / formerly
Grand Square has always been called Grand Square. What changes is the words in front of it: "Sides Face, Grand Square", "Heads Face, Grand Square", or a named couple. Halfway through you may hear "Reverse" — that is the caller reminding you of the count-16 pause, not a new call. Older material and many callers say "Men and Women" or "Gents and Ladies" where this book says Boys and Girls.
Manual source: Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026, page 36. Reproduced under the permission in sources and attribution.