Texas Star
Author: Traditional AmericanFormation: Square
Difficulty: 1
Style: American
| Girls to the centre and back to the bar; | |
| Four gents in with a right-hand star. | |
| Now back with a left-hand star. | |
| Pass your partner, pick up the next: star promenade. | |
| The gents swing out and the girls swing in, | |
| Turn one and a half, and the ladies in: star promenade. | |
| Everybody swing. | |
| Promenade to the man's place. |
The dance isn't phrased to the music - just watch the dancers and call to them. For the star promenade, the men keep hold of the left-hand star, put their arm round the waist of the next woman to form a double star, and continue to turn it around. On the call "The gents swing out and the girls swing in", drop the star and wheel as a couple 1½ times so that the ladies can put their right hands in for a star promenade in the opposite direction.
Each time the men pick up the next lady round the square, so the fourth time it's their partner. If you like rhyming patter, some possibilities are:
"Pass your partner by, pick up the next one on the sly."
"Now pass the one that you just had; pick up the next - she's just as bad."
and for the final turn:
"Oh brother, pick up mother."
This was published in "Old Square Dances of America" by Neva L. Boyd & Tressie M. Dunlavy, Chicago, 1925, so it's been around a long time.
Music: Unphrased (not too tuneful) American reels. Bernie Chalk used "Ragtime Annie"
- here's one version of the tune - though he got confused if bands played the C-music.Thumbnail: In and out, stars, star promenade, wheel 1½, star promenade, swing.