One of the lessons I learned in a Bruce Hamilton workshop was that the caller's attitude is a tool and it must be kept sharp. He mentioned the example of Bob Dalsemer always projecting a strong sense of well-being, everything is going just fine. 

I realized that while my stage presence often did this, too often I also projected the tension of my worries about the dance -- whether I would be able to teach something, whether the dancers would "get" it, whether I could fix a problem if it developed.

So I became more intentional, identifying callers who projected well-being and trying to copy some of those things they did. I realized it is about awareness, and about decision-making, and about preparation (knowing the dances, knowing the music, the band, the crowd...).

Fast forward to yesterday. I was calling an English dance, the music was going, the room was quiet except for the band (glorious!) and the movement of the dancers, when a baby -- the several-months-old grandchild of one of our dancers, began babbling. Not crying, just making noises over the music. And the part of me that saw it as an interruption was itself interrupted by the part of me that said, "hey, he's in the right key." So I said that. And maybe it was only for me, but it made everything OK.

Thank you Bruce and the many others who teach this lesson.

--Jerome