--- JoLaine wrote:
I haven't even ventured into squares because I don't know how to call them and
don't know where to learn.
--- end of quote ---

Tony Parkes includes a discussion of squares in his his Contra Dance Calling
text book:

http://hands4.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=7

Calling so-called "New England squares" is much the same as calling for a contra
dance; figures fit the phrasing of a typical AABB tune. Ted Sannella's two
collections (Balance and Swing, Swing the Next) contain many examples of these
style of dances, as well as examples of his triplets, and the syllabi of the
annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, available online, are a valuable
resource for more such dances. Ted Sannella's booklet on Calling Traditional New
England Squares is available from CDSS:

http://www.cdss.org/product-details/product/calling-traditional-new-england-squa
res-bookcd.html

It deals especially with how to call breaks and gives scores of examples of
appropriate breaks for a square. As a bonus, the $17 purchase price includes a
CD of live recordings of Ted calling 15 squares, which provides you with an
excellent model from which you can learn timing from a master.

You already have the Ralph Sweet book; the singing squares in that volume
provide a ready-made script to follow. You jst sing the correct words and folks
do the dance... no need to figure out the timing, since that's already built
into the lyrics. Caution-- singing squares may take a little longer to teach,
since the dancers need to be doing the figure at the same time as you're singing
out the command. This is different from the prompting style you're used to with
contras, where the action is called out several beats before the dancers do it.

>  just reading a book doesn't give me the confidence I need to venture into
different formations

That's where a house party is a great idea. Invite some other callers and a
bunch of friends who like to dance and who are willing to be guinea pigs, roll
up the proverbial or literal rug in the living room or dance in the kitchen, and
practice.

There are also opportunities to learn more by attending dance camps: CDSS
frequently offers classes on calling squares at its camps at Pinewoods or Timber
Ridge, and Bob Dalsemer runs an intensive callers' class at the John C. Campbell
Folk School in Brasstown, NC. Finally, one can always seek out an experienced
caller to act as a mentor. Sometimes it's possible to get funding for such
apprenticeships through a state arts council, and CDSS offers support for such
projects as well.

David Millstne
Lebanon, NH