M44 — Centers In
Teaching unit M44 of the CALLERLAB (New) Mainstream Suggested Teaching Order, effective
1 September 2026. Prerequisites: Centers and Ends,
Centers In
At a glance
| Starting formation | Completed Double Pass Thru or Eight Chain Thru; more generally, a Couple with their backs to the centre, each centre dancer looking straight at an outside dancer |
| Ending formation | Lines Facing Out from a Completed Double Pass Thru; Inverted Lines with Ends Facing from an Eight Chain Thru |
| Timing | 2 beats |
| Unit | M44 of 50 |
Animation
▶ Play this call — pause, step and scrub it: Watching the animations.
Dance action
"Without changing facing direction, the outside dancers step away from each other to make room for
the center dancers, who step forward to end between them."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
What you do
- Work out which you are. The centre dancers are the couple whose backs are to the middle of the set. The outside dancers are the ones each centre dancer is looking at.
- Nobody turns. This is the thing to hold on to: your facing direction never changes.
- If you are an outside dancer, step sideways, away from your partner, to open a gap between you.
- If you are a centre dancer, walk straight forward and stop in that gap.
The outsiders slide apart and the centres step between them. You finish as two lines of four, with the former centres on the inside facing out.
Timing
2 beats — one bar of music. It is short because only half the set moves, and they move in a straight line.
Styling
"As center dancers step between the outside dancers they take hands with them, as appropriate
(Couple handhold if facing the same direction or Ocean Wave styling if facing opposite directions)."
— CALLERLAB, Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026.
Take the hand as you arrive, not before. If you are facing the same way as the dancer beside you, that is an ordinary couple handhold; if you are facing the opposite way, it is the wave-style Hands Up hold.
Common faults
| What happens | Why | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| The centre dancers turn as they step in | Expecting to end facing the other way | Do not turn. Only your feet move |
| The outsiders stay put and get bumped | Forgetting they have a job | Outsiders step apart first — they make the room |
| You end up in a line facing in | Stepping too far and turning | Straight forward, one step, facing out as you already were |
| The two lines are too wide and the next call will not fit | The outsiders stepped too far | The outsiders step apart just enough for one dancer |
Where you meet it
Centers In nearly always appears in the phrase "Centers In, Cast Off Three-Quarters", which turns a Completed Double Pass Thru into facing couples. It is taught with the Cast Off Three-Quarters unit for that reason. See the course overview.
Related calls
- Cast Off Three-Quarters — the call that almost always follows. See M45.
- Double Pass Thru — the call that leaves you in the right formation to do this. See M24.
- Centers Trade — another call where only the centre pair moves. See M32.
- Split Two — the outsides moving apart so the centres can pass between them. See M22.
Also called / formerly
You may hear "Put Centers In", which is exactly the same call.
Manual source: Mainstream Dance Program Definitions, revised 29 March 2026, page 22. Reproduced under the permission in sources and attribution.