Re: [Callers] ACK! First time calling night of *squares* -- any last minute advice?

Amy, Could you say more about the group you'll be calling for? By a "... local community dance" do you mean that it's a regular (e.g., monthly or weekly) series where most of the attendees will be repeat dancers, thus somewhat experienced at whatever kind of dancing the series features? Or is it a one-time (or maybe annual) event with a preponderance of of first-time or very infrequent dancers? If it's a regular series, what's the usual program like? * all squares (except maybe a last waltz and another couple dance or two)? * squares plus stuff like whole set dances (e.g., Virginia Reel?), circle mixers, and such? * squares and contras? * almost all contras (but for some reason they've decide to have an evening of squares and inexplicably picked a mainly-contra caller to lead it)? Assuming it's a regular series where squares are the usual bulk of the program and if you haven't attended it at least occasionally, you might want to contact other callers who've called there and/or the organizers and find out a little about the usual repertoire and the likely dancer skill mix. Are the dancers used to phrased New-England-style squares or to more of a southern and/or trad. western repertoire? Are there certain dances that get done fairly often and would be familiar to many of the dancers (e.g., "Texas Star", "Forward Six" [Right Hand High, Left Hand Low], particular singing squares, particular visiting couple figures, ...). How familiar are the regular dancers with various things that come up in different kinds of squares? For example: * If you do a partner-changing figure and use grand right and left as part of a break, will they know that "meet your partner and promenade" refers to the partner they had at the start of the grand right and left (who may not be their original partner)? * Suppose you teach a dance where heads go out to the right, circle half with the sides, and head gents break to make lines of four at the sides of the set. If you then switch to having sides go out to the right, etc., will the experienced 90% of the dancers know that the lines of four should now form at the heads (and get new 10% to follow along)? Or are there likely to be squares where the lines have again formed at the sides (and with goodness knows who at the left end)? And so on. Or you could describe some dances you're thinking of calling and ask your informant(s) whether the dancers are familiar with those dances or ones like them. In sum (and at the risk of prattling on about what you already know), whether a particular figure or transition or pattern seems easy or difficult can depend immensely on whether it's already familiar to the majority of dancers present. The more you know about the dancers' skills--and also the more you know about their expectations--the better you can plan your program to suit them while also not getting too far out of your own comfort zone as a caller. --Jim On Feb 4, 2017, at 9:26 AM, Amy Cann via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: