On Sat, Jun 13, 2015, Neal Schlein via Callers wrote: > > Interesting note: Star Thru is one of the few figures in modern > squares which by definition CANNOT be done by two facing people > dancing the same gender role. Box the Gnat is another, and possibly > California Twirl depending on the exact definition. The > gender-neutral replacements are Slide Thru and Partner Trade.
The flip side of Slide Thru and Partner Trade is that because they are no-hands, they change hand availability significantly and body flow somewhat. Some MWSD callers argue that we should drop California Twirl, Box the Gnat, and Star Thru because we have the no-hands versions, but those of us who have field-tested that discovered that the hands versions really work better for a lot of choreography. (The gender-neutral sequence for Box the Gnat is Touch 1/4 and Roll, which does have hands but significantly different body flow.) NOTE CAREFULLY: Slide Thru is not gender-neutral because it has specific turning instructions based on gender; it's just the no-hands version of Star Thru that allows same-gender operation (i.e. same-gender ends up facing opposite directions instead of same direction). However, Partner Trade is a genuinely gender-neutral dance figure. -- Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/ <*> <*> <*> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
