[Callers] Re: Gentlespoons/Ladles (from Rompin' Stompin')

On Feb 10, 2023, at 1:51 PM, Winston, Alan P. <winston(a)slac.stanford.edu> wrote: Jeff Spero wrote: -------------- But… as dancing resumed, there seemed to be a shortage of callers here and I ended up being asked to call the first dance since the beginning of the pandemic. I was not thrilled about calling ladies/gents, nor was I prepared to call larks/ravens. So I tackled positional calling, and there were no complaints. None. Just compliments. I’ve called since then and have been experimenting with ECD terminology of first corners / second corners, and that seemed to work quite nicely - and it has the added benefit of helping bridge the gap between dancers who only dance in one of those communities. Hopefully, it will catch on with other local callers here, as that’s where I’m headed. ----------------- That this is working is fantastic! I've certainly found "corners" incredibly useful in calling ECD geographically. Do you use first corners as quondam role names - that is, the people who started out on the first corners, wherever they are now - or instantaneously positional? What do you about Becket dances? (In duple minor improper first corners = robins; in Becket, same corners with respect to the stage = larks.). DId you have enough English dancers on the contra floor that this was an easy sell? (In my community there's not a huge overlap in the two groups.). —Alan