Square Dance Quick Tutorial

Chain Reaction

Quick Tutorial Series
Acey Deucey
Alamo Rings
All 8 Circulate
All 8 Spin the Top
Allemande Left
Any Hand
As Couples
Backtrack
Bend the Line
Box Circulate
Box Counter Rotate
Box the Gnat
Brace Thru
California Twirl
Cast a Shadow
Cast Off 3/4
Centers In
Chain Down the Line
Chain Reaction
Chase Right
Circle
Clover and ...
Cloverleaf
Column Circulate
Coordinate
Couple Numbers
Couples Circulate
Couples Hinge
Couples Trade
Courtesy Turn
Cross Over Circulate
Cross Run
Cross Trail Thru
Cut the Diamond
Cut the Hourglass
Cycle and Wheel
Diamond Circulate
Dixie Grand
Dixie Style to a Wave
Dosado
Dosado to a Wave
Double Pass Thru
Double Star Thru
Ends Bend
Explode and ...
Explode the Line
Explode the Wave
Fan the Top
Ferris Wheel
Flip the Diamond
Flip the Hourglass
Flutterwheel
Fold (and Cross Fold)
Follow Your Neighbor
fractional Tops
Grand Square
Grand Swing Thru
Half Sashay
Half Tag
Hinge
Hourglass Circulate
Horseshoe Turn
In Roll Circulate
Ladies Chain
Ladies In Men Sashay
Lead
Left Swing Thru
Linear Cycle
Load the Boat
Lockit
Mix
Out Roll Circulate
Pair Off
Partner Hinge
Partner Tag
Partner Trade
Pass and Roll
Pass In
Pass the Ocean
Pass the Sea
Pass Thru
Pass to the Center
Peel Off
Peel the Top
Ping Pong Circulate
Promenade
Quarter In
Quarter Thru
Recycle (from a wave)
Recycle (from facing couples)
Remake
Right and Left Thru
Right Roll to a Wave
Roll
Rollaway
Run
Scoot and Dodge
Scoot Back
Separate
Single Circle to a Wave
Single Wheel
Six by Two Acey Deucey
Slide Thru
Spin Chain & Exch. the Gears
Spin Chain the Gears
Spin Chain Thru
Spin the Top
Split Circulate
Split Counter Rotate
Split Square Thru
Spread
Square Chain Thru
Square Thru
Star Thru
Step and Slide
Step to a Wave
Swap Around
Sweep 1/4
Swing and Mix
Swing Thru
Tag the Line
Three Quarter Tag
Touch 1/4
Track 2
Trade
Trade By
Trade Circulate
Trade the Wave
Transfer the Column
Triple Scoot
Triple Star Thru
Triple Trade
Turn and Deal
Turn Thru
U-Turn-Back
Veer
Walk and Dodge
Weave the Ring
Wheel and Deal
Wheel Around
Wheel Thru
Zoom
Tutorials Home
  This "quick tutorial" introduces the general idea of a call and explains the most common cases. It does not explain or illustrate all cases. For additional details and/or examples, refer to the links in the "MORE INFO" box.

MORE INFO
CEDER.NET
TAMINATIONS
Chain Reaction is a complex call, in which each dancer needs to know how to do his/her own part without depending on help from the other dancers. We'll start with a description of how the whole thing works, with all the dancers working together.

Chain Reaction starts in a formation like this. Notice that one dancer in the center line is directly facing a dancer on the outside.

Those two dancers Pass Thru. The dancer from the center line meets the other outside dancer, and those dancers do a Hinge. Meanwhile, the dancers at the end of the center line walk forward 1/4 of the way around the outside of the set, to meet one of the dancers that did a Hinge.

As a result of these actions, there will be a center star of four dancers and two pairs of outside dancers. The dancers in the star move forward 1/4 (one position) in the star, while the outside pairs Trade.

At this point, one of the outside dancers will be meeting one of the dancers from the star. Those dancers take hands and Cast Off 3/4, to become the centers of new parallel lines. The other four dancers "move up" to become ends of the lines, in the same way as four dancers move up to become ends of lines in a Coordinate.

Of course all of these actions take place immediately following each other. The dancers don't stop at each position.

This isn't actually as complicated as it may sound, because each dancer isn't doing all of these things. You may find it helpful to review the action in this example from the perspective of the dancers in each of the four starting positions. You can use the animation to follow each starting position in turn.

  • The dancer who starts on the outside, directly facing one of the dancers in the very center: passes thru with that dancer, without turning, becomes part of the star and moves forward one position in the star, meets a dancer with the other hand and does a 3/4 turn.
  • The other dancer who starts on the outside, not facing somebody in the center: waits until a dancer comes out of the center, does a hinge with that person to become part of the star, moves forward one position in the star, and veers outward to become an end of the new line.
  • The dancer who starts in the very center: passes thru with a dancer on the outside, does a hinge with the other outside person to meet somebody walking around the outside of the set, trades with that person, and then continues walking forward while turning to become the trailing end of a new line.
  • The dancer who starts as the end of the center line: walks around the outside of the set, meets one of the dancers who has just done a hinge, trades with that person, and then turns 3/4 with one of the dancers from the star.

Note that when Chain Reaction is done from a right-handed 1/4 tag, the hinge will be by the left, the star will be right-handed and the trades will be right-handed, the cast off 3/4 at the end will be left-handed, and the resulting waves will be right-handed.

If Chain Reaction is done from a left-handed 1/4 tag, the initial pass thru is still done passing right shoulders, but everything else will be reversed. The hinge will be right-handed, the star and trades will be left-handed, the cast off 3/4 will be right-handed, and the resulting waves will be left-handed. It is especially important in this case for the dancer on the outside to wait and actually do the hinge with the person coming from the center -- if they aren't both very familiar with this case, and don't actually do the hinge with each other, there is a good chance that one or both of them will end up in the wrong position.

Another common problem that beginners have with Chain Reaction is the distance to move in the star. Each person only moves 1/4 (90 degrees). This is a very short distance. Until you become accustomed to the path, you may want to take this part very slowly and deliberately, to make sure you don't overshoot.