[Callers] Calling to a square dance crowd

[Joseph Erhard-Hudson via Callers]

Hi Everyone,

I've been pretty low-key on calling for several years now, just a few local
dances a year. Years ago I did close to one gig a month at home and around
my local region, but cut back due to busy life. Now I've accepted an
invitation for a regular gig that's going to be a bit different, so I'm
back on this email list, and I seek your advice.

A few people from the nearby Western Square Dance group came to one of our
local contra dances where I was calling, and had such a fun time they have
invited me, and the band from that evening, to come and do a monthly series
in their hall, promoted and sponsored by them. The band and I decided we'd
give it a shot.

I've had barely any exposure to Western Square Dance, but I know their
education system is formalized, calling is improvised, and the music is
mostly recorded; whereas in contra dancing the education is more by
assimilation, the calling is mostly fixed within a given dance, and the
music is live and improvised. I anticipate we may feel like strange cousins
to each other. Do any of you have any experiences or thoughts about
crossing over into this parallel universe of traditional dancers? I'm
particularly concerned about how I can best help them feel comfortable with
the way Contra Dance is done, and how I can be a gracious presence in their
space.

Bonus question: they want to know how to split the gate, since they don't
have experience paying bands. Your thoughts?

Best regards,
Joseph
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