Aahz Maruch said, "I learned recently from square dancing: what we call a Mad Robin is also properly called a sashay." Well, yes and no... In Modern Western Square Dancing the definitions are provided by CALLERLAB - http://www.callerlab.org/ - see the "Basic and Mainstream Definitions". The Half Sashay is fully defined and includes: "Styling: Dancers use a normal couple handhold, pulling slightly toward each other as they initiate the sashay movement. As the dancers complete the call, they catch hands to end in a couple handhold..." In contra dancing a Mad Robin can start and finish with or without a hand hold - I suspect "without" is more common. But that is only half a Mad Robin. The Sashay itself has been deprecated. CALLERLAB says, "The terms "Full Sashay" or "Sashay All The Way Around" are not part of any dance program. This is improper language and should not be used." (So, definitely not "properly called a sashay"!) Of course square dancers outside the MWSD world (and many of the clubs within the MWSD world!) do what they want anyway :-) The other challenge is that "Sashay" means lots of different things to different people: Dictionary definition: to walk or glide in an ostentatious way. Sashay down the hall: take two hands with your partner and go side-together-side-together down the hall (we normally say "Gallop" in England). In a waltz-time dance: take ballroom hold and step sideways (1 & 2 instead of 1,2,3) (we normally say "chassé" in England). And indeed, in the dance world, "sashay" is derived from the word "chassé" and has lots more variations - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sashay So, I think I would stick to calling it a Mad Robin :-) Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent