Cast Off Three Quarters
Starting formationMini-Wave, General Line
Starting formationMini-Wave, Line of 4.
Command examples
Cast Off 3/4
Pass The Ocean; Cast Off 3/4
Couples Circulate; Tag The Line; Put Centers In; Cast Off 3/4 -- Boys Push
Center 4, Wheel And Deal; Outsides Cast Off 3/4 (from a Tidal Line)
Veer Left; Centers Trade; Cast Off 3/4
Dance action
From a Mini-Wave, Turn 3/4.
From a General Line, each half of the line works together: those in a Mini-Wave Turn 3/4 while those
in a Couple turn, as a unit, away from the center of the line for 3/4 of a circle (270 degrees).
Dance action
From a Mini-Wave, the pivot point is the handhold between the two dancers.
Turn 3/4 around the pivot point. From a Line of 4, the pivot point is the End
of the line. Each half of the line works as a unit and turns away from the
center of the line for 3/4 of a circle (270 degrees).
Ending formations
From a Mini-Wave, a Mini-Wave. From a One-Faced Line or a Two-Faced Line,
Facing Couples. From a General Line, a General Box (centered on the same point).
Ending formations
From a Mini-Wave, Cast Off 3/4 ends in a Mini-Wave.
From a One-Faced Line or a Two-Faced Line, Cast Off 3/4 ends in Facing Couples.
A Three and One Line ends in a Box. An Inverted Line remains an Inverted Line.
Timing 6
Styling
Dancers who are partners maintain current handholds throughout the call.
From Completed Double Pass Thru, the combination Centers In, Cast Off 3/4 has often been danced
with linked elbows. This styling is discouraged because Centers In is not always followed by Cast Off3/4.
Styling
Dancers retain their current handhold (i.e. dancers in a Mini-Wave retain their
Ocean Wave handhold while dancers in a Couple retain their Couple handhold)
throughout the call. An elbow hook should NOT be used.
Teaching Tip
When teaching Cast Off from Waves, have the Dancers keep their Inactive Hand
Down until the Cast Off is complete. If the Inactive Hand comes up too soon,
New Dancers will have a tendency to re-establish the Wave prematurely with the
wrong dancers. As with Centers In, Cast Off is a stand alone call. However,
from a Completed Double Pass Thru formation Centers In and Cast Off 3/4 is a
frequently used combination and is fun for the dancers to make a little noise
while Casting Off away from the center.
© Copyright 1994, 2000-2017 by
CALLERLAB Inc.,
The International Association of Square Dance Callers.
Permission to reprint, republish, and create derivative works
without royalty is hereby granted, provided this notice appears.
Publication on the Internet of derivative works without royalty is
hereby granted provided this notice appears. Permission to quote
parts or all of this document without royalty is hereby granted,
provided this notice is included. Information contained herein shall
not be changed nor revised in any derivation or publication.
A couple on the outside of the set (e.g., after Couples Circulate 1 1/2) can be asked to Cast Off 3/4. In this case, they assume the other half of their line is towards the center of the set and do the call.
It is improper to Sweep a Quarter after Cast Off 3/4.
In the dance action from a Couple, there has been controversy about the location of the "pivot point", the center of the turning. Traditionally the end dancer was the pivot, around which the center dancer walked 3/4 of a circle, much like "pushing" open a garden gate. This was problematic in certain cases (e.g., from a Two-Faced Line), because it didn't explain why the call ended with couples facing directly. The current definition deemphasizes the pivot point; as long as dancers turn in the correct direction and end in the correct formation, they are dancing the call properly.
From a Tidal Line or Tidal Two-Faced Line, the proper dance action of Cast Off 3/4 is to work on each side, ending in an Eight Chain Thru formation. From a Tidal Line only, if the caller wants each side to work as a unit, ending in Facing Lines, "Line of 8, Cast Off 3/4" may be used, similar to "Line of 8, Bend The Line" (#20.b); this variation (or the one from a line of 6) is seldom used.
For variations of Cast Off with fractions other than 3/4, see "Part 4: Additional Detail: Commands: Extensions like Reverse Wheel Around".