M26 — Wheel and Deal
Teaching unit M26 of the CALLERLAB (New) Mainstream Suggested Teaching Order, effective
1 September 2026. Prerequisites: Two-Faced Line,
Wheel and Deal
At a glance
| Starting formation | Two-Faced Line or One-Faced Line |
| Ending formation | Facing Couples from a Two-Faced Line; Tandem Couples from a One-Faced Line |
| Timing | 4 beats |
| Unit | M26 of 50 |
Animation
▶ Play this call — pause, step and scrub it: Watching the animations.
Dance action
"From a Two-Faced Line: Each Couple steps forward and then wheels 180 degrees toward the center of
the Line, with the original Center dancers acting as the pivots about which the Couples turn.
Couples end facing each other."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
What you do
You are standing in a line of four — two couples, shoulder to shoulder — with your partner beside you.
- Check which line you are in. A Two-Faced Line is one where the two dancers in the middle are facing out (away from each other) and the two on the ends are facing in. That is the common case.
- Take an ordinary couple handhold.
- Step forward once, as a couple.
- Wheel. Both dancers turn as one unit through half a circle, turning towards the middle of the line. The two dancers who started in the middle are the pivots; the two who started on the ends walk around the outside of the turn.
- Stop facing each other. From a Two-Faced Line you finish as two couples facing each other. That is Wheel and Deal.
The whole thing is one smooth motion, even though the manual breaks it into "step forward" and "wheel" to explain it. Two things are worth remembering: you turn towards the centre of the line (the same direction as Bend the Line, and the opposite of Wheel Around, which is always to the left); and every couple ends facing the way it was not facing before.
Timing
4 beats — two bars, the same length as Bend the Line and Double Pass Thru. It is short and it is usually the hinge of a longer figure: "Wheel and Deal, Centers Pass Thru", "Ferris Wheel; Centers Wheel and Deal".
Styling
"Use Couple handholds. Original center dancers should use the joined handhold to guide the original
end dancers to circle around them."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
The manual adds a practical note for the One-Faced Line version: the couple that started on the right ends in front of the other couple, and their accurate action is to step forward after the turn. It also warns that from Lines Facing In, square breathing makes that extra step more pronounced, and from Lines Facing Out it is unnecessary.
Common faults
| What happens | Why | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| The couple wheels the wrong way, away from the middle | Confusing Wheel and Deal with Wheel Around | Wheel and Deal always turns towards the middle of the line. Wheel Around always turns left |
| You and your partner turn different amounts | Losing the handhold | Hold hands and turn as one unit. The inside dancer pivots, the outside dancer walks round |
| You finish side by side with your partner | Turning as an individual instead of as a couple | The couple is the unit that turns, not the dancer |
| The two couples end up half a step out of line | Nobody stepped forward before wheeling | Step forward first, then wheel |
Where you meet it
Wheel and Deal is taught in Class 7, with Double Pass Thru and California Twirl. It is one of the great workhorses of Mainstream: half the calls that produce lines can be followed by Wheel and Deal, and there is an eight-dancer version — Ferris Wheel — built on exactly the same idea.
Related calls
- Bend the Line — turns towards the middle too, but without the extra step forward. See M20.
- Wheel Around — the same kind of couple turn, always to the left. See M8.
- Ferris Wheel — Wheel and Deal for two lines at once. See M40.
- Double Pass Thru — the other way out of a two-faced line. See M24.
Also called / formerly
Wheel and Deal has always been called Wheel and Deal, and the manual gives no other name for it. Take care, though: the very similar-sounding Wheel Around is a different call with a different starting formation and a fixed left-hand turn, and the two are not interchangeable. Older material says "Men and Women" where this book says Boys and Girls.
Manual source: Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026, page 65. Reproduced under the permission in sources and attribution.