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Tom Fromm writes:
34. SLIP THE CLUTCH: Starting formation -thar or wrong way thar. Dancers in the center of the thar stop and, while retaining the star, release armholds with the dancers beside them. Everyone then moves forward within the circle in which he was traveling while in the thar.

STYLING: Despite the change of moving direction, you can make the switch flowing and comfortable if the armhold is released effortlessly and that same hand is held ready to turn the next person as directed. TIMING: 2 steps.

I will not teach this call the same week as I do Thars. I also want a week between the Shoot The Star lesson. I don't want to form a pattern. Once they are comfortable with thars & Shoot The Star, we go on to this move.
I will get them into a Thar, and have them stop moving the star. I will say that we are going to learn a new move, and that it works with Thars. I will read them the definition.
Then I will point out that they are going to drop hands with the outside person, and do as I say. (This is the best time to point out to keep the star in the middle. This way they won't be getting lost when we pass 1 or 2 or 3.) I will first have them Slip The Clutch, and do an allemande left. Later I will introduce pass by (?) and do something else. I will use it from a WW Thar also, but maybe not much the first week.
This was easy for them to understand, and I didn't make it complicated for them. Later when we have the "workshop" type lesson, we will really investigate this move. I don't feel that it is "legal" to call from parallel waves, so will not use that set-up. Keeping in mind that this IS an entry level, (program) I want to show them a LOT of variety, but not beat up on them.

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