From a Wave (or other applicable 4-dancer formation).
- Slip:
- Centers Arm Turn 1/2.
- Slide:
- Ends and adjacent Centers slide nose-to-nose past one another to
exchange places.
- Swing:
- Ends and adjacent Centers Arm Turn 1/2.
- Slither:
- Centers slide nose-to-nose past one another to exchange places.
Notes:
-
Swing means 'Ends and adjacent Centers Arm Turn 1/2'.
Don't confuse Swing with the Basic call Swing (your Partner).
The Arm Turn 1/2 is done with the joined hand, which may be
either the Right or the Left hand. Therefore, do not confuse
Swing with Swing Thru, which always starts with the
Right-hand.
-
On Slide and Slither, dancers do not change their
facing direction, since they are just sliding (nose-to-nose) with the
appropriate dancer. On Slip and Swing, dancers change
their facing direction by 180°.
-
These are four separate calls that are not always given in the same order,
but are often "stacked" (called in rapid succession). For
example (from a Wave): Slip-Slide-Swing-Slither. It is the
caller's responsibility to give a combination that is potentially smooth to dance.
As such, there are two combinations that are often used: 1) Slip-Slide;
and 2) Swing-Slither. You should be able to smoothly dance both
of these combinations.
-
Dancers should be able to blend adjoining calls into a smooth movement.
For example, on a Slip-Slide, it is awkward to do a Slip (Centers
Arm Turn 1/2), pause, then do a Slide (Ends and Adjacent Centers slide
nose-to-nose). It is much smoother to blend these two calls together
as follows: start the Slip, but before finishing it, Ends start to
sidestep toward the center position, as Centers move forward out toward
the end position before completing their final turn.
-
The entire floor of dancers often verbally repeats these calls as they
are dancing. This verbalization helps everyone remember which call to do next.
-
From Mini-Wave Columns, the calls Slip and Slither are
legal, albeit gimmicky. However, the calls Swing and Slide
are not legal, since they require Ends to work with adjacent Centers.
-
Swing and Slip are illegal from Facing Dancers. The
dancers executing these calls must start from a Mini-Wave formation.
For example, it is illegal to do a Swing from an Eight Chain
Thru formation.
-
From a Wave, Slide is identical to Spread [Plus].
-
The calls Slip and Slither can also be done from a
Diamond, Single 1/4 Tag, or a "Z". The Centers in these formations are in a
Mini-Wave and can do an Arm Turn 1/2 or a slide nose-to-nose.
-
Many combinations are already calls. E.g.,
- Slip-Slide: Centers Cross Run
- Swing-Slither: Switch The Wave
- Slip-Slide-Slip: Mix
Intending to be helpful, some callers routinely say phrases such as
Centers Slip or Centers Slither when they really mean
Slip or Slither, respectively. This can be misleading
because normally the word 'Centers' identifies and activates the Center 4 dancers only.
If the (active) Centers are not in a Wave or other applicable 4-dancer
formation, then they can't do a Slip or Slither. For example,
from Parallel Waves, consider the call Centers Slip: the caller identified
the Centers, who are in a Box; but Slip from a Box makes no sense.
Also, from formations such as Twin Diamonds or a Tidal Wave, Slip
(or Slither) and Centers Slip (or Centers Slither) are
different calls!
FAQ | 
Ceder Chest Definition Books | Multilingual | administrator 
Old Calls | 
Experimentals 
Choreography for Slip | Slide | Swing | Slither
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