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9: VERBS RELATING TO A SQUARED SET
Now let's talk about some common actions relating specifically to this "squared set" formation...The most important is Promenade. Promenade simply means walk, and if the caller doesn't say otherwise it means that each couple walks, as a unit, around the center of the square. Unless the caller says otherwise, they walk around the square in the same direction as the couples are numbered, with their left shoulders toward the center of the square. Alternatively, looking at the movement from above (as in the illustrations in this tutorial) this can be described as "counter-clockwise". But you can think of it or describe it in whatever way makes sense to you, just as long as you go in that direction! This direction around the square is, naturally enough, referred to as promenade direction.
Usually -- unless the caller says otherwise -- the promenade will end when each couple has reached the point where they initially "squared up". This is called their Home position. When they get there, they back out and form a squared set again.
The caller may also ask only some of the dancers to promenade. The caller does this by somehow naming the dancers, and then saying the word "Promenade". For example, Heads Promenade. This means that the head couples promenade -- and the side couples don't.
This is our first example of the most common way to combine the "nouns" and "verbs" of square dancing. (And notice that it is similar to the subject-verb order of a simple English sentence.) It is combinations like this that form the calls that the caller uses to tell the dancers what actions to do, and who should do them.
However, the fact that only the heads are being asked to Promenade doesn't mean that the side dancers don't have a part to play. This is, after all, dancing, which involves physical movement. So it is common for dancers who haven't been specifically asked to do something to also make adjustments in their physical position, to make things work out for everybody. In the case of Promenade, if only some dancers are promenading around the outside, the other dancers are expected to temporarily move inward. This allows the dancers who are promenading to get around them without walking as far.
The caller may also modify the call by adding additional words. The caller can ask the couples to only go partway around the square. For example, Heads Promenade 1/2 means that the head couples promenade, but they should go only halfway around, to the opposite side of the square, instead of going all the way around back to their home position.
Another variation is Single File Promenade. This means that the dancers walk around the center of the square individually, rather than as couples. In most cases they will be walking until they get to their home position, in which case they back out and form a couple again.
If the caller asks only the boys or only the girls to Promenade, they walk in a smaller circle, inside the others. The others just stay where they are.
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