Cast Off Three Quarters

Starting formationMini-Wave, General Line
Command examples

Cast Off 3/4

Pass The Ocean; Cast Off 3/4

Couples Circulate; Tag The Line; Put Centers In; Cast Off 3/4 -- Boys Push

Center 4, Wheel And Deal; Outsides Cast Off 3/4 (from a Tidal Line)

Veer Left; Centers Trade; Cast Off 3/4

Dance action

From a Mini-Wave, Turn 3/4.

From a General Line, each half of the line works together: those in a Mini-Wave Turn 3/4 while those in a Couple turn, as a unit, away from the center of the line for 3/4 of a circle (270 degrees).

Ending formations From a Mini-Wave, a Mini-Wave. From a One-Faced Line or a Two-Faced Line, Facing Couples. From a General Line, a General Box (centered on the same point).
Timing 6
Styling

Dancers who are partners maintain current handholds throughout the call.

From Completed Double Pass Thru, the combination Centers In, Cast Off 3/4 has often been danced with linked elbows. This styling is discouraged because Centers In is not always followed by Cast Off 3/4.

Comments

A couple on the outside of the set (e.g., after Couples Circulate 1 1/2) can be asked to Cast Off 3/4. In this case, they assume the other half of their line is towards the center of the set and do the call.

It is improper to Sweep a Quarter after Cast Off 3/4.

In the dance action from a Couple, there has been controversy about the location of the "pivot point", the center of the turning. Traditionally the end dancer was the pivot, around which the center dancer walked 3/4 of a circle, much like "pushing" open a garden gate. This was problematic in certain cases (e.g., from a Two-Faced Line), because it didn't explain why the call ended with couples facing directly. The current definition deemphasizes the pivot point; as long as dancers turn in the correct direction and end in the correct formation, they are dancing the call properly.

From a Tidal Line or Tidal Two-Faced Line, the proper dance action of Cast Off 3/4 is to work on each side, ending in an Eight Chain Thru formation. From a Tidal Line only, if the caller wants each side to work as a unit, ending in Facing Lines, "Line of 8, Cast Off 3/4" may be used, similar to "Line of 8, Bend The Line" (#20.b); this variation (or the one from a line of 6) is seldom used.

For variations of Cast Off with fractions other than 3/4, see "Part 4: Additional Detail: Commands: Extensions like Reverse Wheel Around".