Brown Eyed Mary is an easy mixer described in Jimmy Clossin and Carl Hertzog's West Texas Cowboy Square Dances (1948).
Couples in a circle, all facing counterclockwise, with the Follow on the right, in crossed hand promenade position, right hands cross over left hands.
Half Allemande Right with Your Partner (4 counts): Dropping left hands, Leads walk four steps clockwise around partner to face your corner (Leads looking against LOD to see their corner Follows, and Follows looking along LOD to see their corner Leads).
Half Allemande Left with Your Corner (4 counts): Dropping right hands with partner, take left hands with your corner and walk four steps counterclockwise around them to face your partner again.
Allemande Right Your Partner (8 counts): Dropping left hands with your corner, take right hands with your partner and walk eight steps clockwise around them to end up facing a third person (Leads looking along LOD to see the right-hand Follow, and Follows looking against LOD to see the left-hand Lead).
Allemande Left New Partner (8 counts): Dropping right hands with your partner, take left hands with this new partner and walk eight steps counterclockwise around them, ending up next to each other facing LOD, and taking left hands under right.
Promenade New Partner (8 counts): Promenade eight steps along LOD with this new partner.
"Goodbye My Lover Goodbye" or "Little Bo Peep" are the recommended tunes, but any square dance tune will do.
© 2020 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.
For full-length teaching videos, visit: University of Dance.
For help crafting a life you love, visit: Project Quartz.
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