Tech Squares: the square and round dance club of MIT

Call of the Month: July, 1994

Boot, Scoot, and Boogie

by Barry Leiba

Last year, the callers Todd Fellegy and Ross Howell co-wrote a call with a rather topical name: BOOT, SCOOT, AND BOOGIE. I'd like to use this month's column to talk about that call, since I like the call and I like the name. So I will. (There are a number of other calls whose names date them. The C2 calls HERE COME THE JUDGE and SOCK IT TO ME come to mind. Their names will be familiar to fans of the old Rowan and Martin's Laugh In TV show.)

First, note that the name has three parts. Not coincidentally, so does the call. And besides that, the parts' names are appropriate to the definitions (well, at least the first two are). The call was written on the way to a C2 weekend, so the definition uses C2 terms, but it can easily be explained in Plus terms as well. The call starts in any general line (including waves), and here's the definition:

  • Part 1 (BOOT): Centers KICKOFF (centers RUN AND ROLL while the ends PARTNER TAG) and the new centers TOUCH. Ends in ¼ tag formation.
  • Part 2 (SCOOT): All SCOOT BACK. Ends in ¾ tag.
  • Part 3 (BOOGIE): Centers FAN THE TOP while the ends REVERSE SINGLE ROTATE ¼ (turn your right shoulder in and single-file promenade ¼). Ends in right-handed diamonds.

The diagram shows the positions after each part. [Diagram: BOOT, SCOOT, AND BOOGIE from RH waves] Note that each part is separate and can be done separately, allowing combinations such as ¾ TAG THE LINE AND BOOGIE, BOOT AND EXTEND and (at C1) BOOT, SCOOT, AND RAMBLE. If you like the call, maybe we can get Todd to teach it to the Plus dancers the next time he calls at club night.

While the basic call and some of the combinations provide good material for Plus, some variations will give plenty of challenge to a C2 floor. For instance, starting in waves SWITCH TO A DIAMOND AND BOOGIE will test whether you can really do the REVERSE SINGLE ROTATE ¼ correctly to end in a ¼ line formation (OK, so the body flow isn't so great for two of the dancers—start in an hourglass and try CUT THE DIAMOND AND BOOGIE instead). On the other hand, I personally think that BOOGIE CHAIN THRU, cute though it may sound, is a bit much (5/4 turn the for very centers) and is too easy, to boot!

[Diagram: BOOT, SCOOT, AND BOOGIE get-out]

We can also vary it by making things left-handed—LEFT BOOT would have the new centers do a LEFT TOUCH, making a left-handed wave in the middle, and LEFT BOOGIE would have the ends do a SINGLE ROTATE ¼ (not reverse, so they'd put left shoulders in). So how about LEFT BOOT AND CHAIN REACTION to give the Advanced dancers practice at left-handed CHAIN REACTION?

And finally, we can use the call in a get-out. From the starting position in the diagram, let's BOOT, SCOOT, AND RIGHT-AND-LEFT GRAND!

(Printable Version)

The columns are copyright ©1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994 by Barry Leiba; for permission to reprint them, please contact the author. No request has been refused yet. Of course, you may print a copy for personal use without specific permission. You may contact the author by e-mail at "leiba@watson.ibm.com".

These columns were originally sponsored on the web by the IAGSDC on space provided by Glyphic Technology. In 2006, Tech Squares took over hosting. Some information in the articles might be out-of-date: remember that Callerlab continues to tweak the program lists and definitions.