Re: [Callers] Square through vs Cross-trail

One key aspect of a Square Through (as opposed to n changes of right & left, cross trails, circular heys, etc.) that hasn't been mentioned, is that after the last Pull By of a Square Through you do NOT turn. The initial Pull Bys all have a quarter turn after the Pull By, but the last one leaves you back to back with the last person you passed, facing in the opposite direction to them. Square Throughs or changes of rights & lefts, in ECD, take as many beats as there is music. Some dances require you to make each change in two beats, some are more leisurely and allow you four beats for each one. Contra dancers don't want to use four steps to pull past someone when they can do it in two steps. Hence the Balanced Square Through: four beats to balance forward & back; four beats for two changes - making a total of eight beats - just right for a contra dance figure. As has been mentioned the "Cross-Trail" found in modern contra dancers is not really a cross trail; it is much more like two changes of a circular hey or two changes of rights & lefts, without hands. Happy dancing, John Sweeney