Bouquet Waltz

Richard G. Kraus, Square Dances of Today: And How to Teach and Call Them, New York (NY): A. S. Barnes & Co., 1950.

p 37

Far from being the stately waltz that its name suggests, this is a spirited dance that can sometimes resemble a tug of war. Don’t let the dancers get carried away!!

First lady out to the couple on the right,

Circle three hands round in the middle of the night.

Lady go on and the first gent follow,

Three by three across the floor.

Three by three with a bouquet waltz.

Lady go on and the partner follow,

Three by three across the floor,

Three by three with a bouquet waltz.

Now the gent join three and couple two follow,

Four by four across the floor,

Four by four with a bouquet waltz.

Now everybody home and everybody swing!

The first lady leads to the couple on her right (second couple) and circles three (left) with them once around. She moves on to the next couple (third couple) while her partner picks up the two she left. Both circle three (left) and as they circle, the two circles of three move around each other in an anti-clockwise direction until they are back in their starting places. Then the first lady moves on to the next couple (fourth couple) while the first gent follows to the couple she left (third couple) and the new threes circle left and at the same time move in an anti-clockwise direction around the other circle of three, full around until both circles have returned to their starting places. Then, the first man moves to couple four with his partner, making a circle of four there while the second couple leads to the right to make a circle of four with couple three. Both circles now circle to the left and at the same time, move in an anti-clockwise direction around each other, once around, until they have both returned to their starting places, whereupon all couples swing, drifting home while swinging. The “Bouquet” action of moving both circles around each other requires the dancers to maintain proper tension in their arms to keep the circles firm and moving properly. As the dancers circle, they will notice that they move faster while on the outside (away from the other circle) and slower when they approach the other circle while moving ‘round them. There is a certain excitement generated by this speed up and slow down process as well as just missing the other circle while in the center.