Waltzing Tucker

{1961}



Introduction

Waltzing Tucker is an easy waltz mixer described by Lois Lunt in her 1961 book Mix 'Em and Match 'Em.



The Position

Partners arm-in-arm, all facing LOD.

Extra dancers of both roles in the center of the circle.


The Dance

Part I - Clapping Out (any number of bars in 4/4): Couples promenade along LOD. Extra Leads approach a Follow they want to dance with and steal her by clapping in front of her current partner, then promenading with her arm-in-arm. The Lead who has been "clapped out" now claps out the Lead behind him in the circle, who in turn claps out the Lead behind him, etc.* Extra Follows approach a Lead they want to dance with and steal him by clapping out his partner, who claps out the Follow behind her, etc.*

* While the original descriptions I've seen have the clapping happen in this orderly fashion, cascading back along LOD, the dancers we've tried this with prefer to choose who to clap out (anywhere in the circle), so we now teach their preferred chaos version.

Part II - Waltz (any number of bars in 3/4): When the music shifts to 3/4, take current partner and waltz. Those who don't have a partner when the waltz begins are now the extras in the center. There is no "clapping out" during the waltz section.

When the music shifts back to 4/4, repeat from the beginning.


The Music

The recommended music is "Waltzing Tucker," but any combination of one step and waltz will work.


Sources


© 2019 Nick Enge


For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.


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