Dancer Identification

3.1: BEAUS AND BELLES

The dancer whose right hand is joined to form the couple is called the Beau. The dancer whose left hand is joined to form the couple is called the Belle. Another way of looking at this is that the Beau is the dancer "on the left" and the Belle is the dancer "on the right".

The "left" and "right" are from the perspective of the dancers. The direction that the whole couple is facing doesn't change this.

Another way of looking at it -- and the origin of the terms -- is that the Beau is the dancer standing where the Boy would be in a "normal couple", and the Belle is the dancer standing where the Girl would be in a "normal couple". But Beau and Belle do not mean the same thing as Boy and Girl. Beau and Belle are terms for identifying the dancers in a couple independent of whether they are Boys or Girls.

"Beau" and "Belle" only have meaning in relation to a particular couple. If there are more than two dancers standing in a line, there may be more than one way to group them into couples of two. For example in facing lines of four, each Center forms a couple with one of the Ends.

But in the same formation the Centers also form couples with each other. In that context, different dancers will be Beaus and Belles.

Here are some more formations in which there are couples and, therefore, Beaus and Belles.

Note: The terms "Beau" and "Belle" are not included in CALLERLAB programs below Advanced, although these ideas are in fact present in the definitions of some Basic, Mainstream, and Plus calls. As a result, at Mainstream and Plus callers typically resort to alternative phrasing when describing how to dance these calls. For example, in a Half Sashay the "dancer on the right" slides in front. You may wish to think of the term "Belle" as simply a more compact way to express the same thing.

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