Box the Gnat
Starting formations
Facing Dancers, one man and one woman
Starting formations
Facing Dancers (man and lady only).
Command examples
Box The Gnat
Tag The Line, Face In; Box The Gnat; Right And Left Thru
Right And Left Grand; Box The Gnat; Wrong Way Grand
Right And Left Grand; Box The Gnat; Pull By; Left Allemande
Box The Gnat, Change Hands; Allemande Left
Heads Slide Thru and Box The Gnat; All Double Pass Thru
Swing thru, Box the Gnat, Right and Left Thru
Dance action
Dancers join and raise their right hands to make an arch; these hands remain
connected throughout the call. In one smooth motion dancers Pass Thru and turn around:
- The woman turns left and goes under the arch.
- The man turns right and walks forward around the woman.
At the end of the call, each dancer will be standing in the other’s original
position and they will again be facing.
Dance action
Dancers step forward, join and then raise their right hands.
The lady steps forward and does a left-face U-Turn Back under the raised
joined hands, as the man walks forward and around the lady while doing a
right-face U-Turn Back. Each dancer ends in the other’s starting position.
Ending formationFacing Dancers
Ending formation
Facing Dancers with right hands joined in a handshake position.
Timing4
Timing4 steps from point of contact.
Styling
The initial handhold in this call is like a handshake but less connected
than palm-to-palm. Throughout the call the dancers smoothly adjust this
connection so that they end with the same handhold. Hands should slide
over one another easily while still providing some degree of security and stabilization.
Styling
Start with a handshake position. The joined fingers must be held so that the
man's fingers may turn over the lady's fingers easily while still providing
some degree of security or stabilization.
Teaching Tip
Action begins with a very slight pull, release the tension and reconnect at the end.
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The right hands are still joined at the completion of the action, and often the next call will begin with the joined right hands.
The Ocean Wave Rule applies to this call. From a Mini-Wave, dancers smoothly adjust handholds into the one described above. Depending on the handhold used in waves (which can vary regionally), this may require dancers initially to back up slightly.