[Callers] Greetings from a new caller and some random questions about calling

Greetings to all of you! My name is Richard Green and I have decided to come out of the lurking closet and announce my intention of learning how to call. I discovered this wonderful discussion list about a month ago and avidly read through the multiple years of postings. Now, alas, I am up to date and finding it hard to adjust to having only an occasional new post to read. I live in Maine, and my calling interest began in January when I attended John McIntire's calling workshops. At the time I thought it would be nice to learn some calling skills because my wife and I have had some opportunities to play music for some barn and family dances in the area, and on one occasion the caller was not present and we didn't know how to proceed.(He did eventually show up). At the end of the caller's workshop we were given the opportunity to call at a live contradance, and despite a rather anxious time spent worrying about the fiasco that was sure to occur, it went quite well and I really had a good time. It was a breakthrough moment for me, and it was then and there that I decided I would like to pursue calling more seriously. I am grateful to John for giving me that chance. Since then I have doubled my calling experience by calling a mixer at a recent family dance that we played at. John has also scheduled another dance next month with guest callers which I will be one of. Other than that I have spent time preparing by transcribing several dances that I have found online,(several on this list), donning my mp3 player and practicing calling as I jog around the neighborhood. It is a pretty good way to become familiar with the timing of the calls, but doesn't really do much for the stage fright that I will still have to deal with, although I suppose that running around the streets shouting contradance calls in cadence does make me an object of attention. Despite my lack of experience I now have several gigs lined up to call. They are all for family type and special dances that we have been asked to play at. Since it is not very likely that much of this dancing is going to be done to the phrasing of the music it takes a little pressure off the need to be precise with timing, but in general I think that calling these types of dances is actually more difficult in some ways because teaching, as well as just maintaining the dance, can be a challenge. I would like to say that I will be satisfied with calling these family dances, but I really harbor a secret desire to make it to the big time and call a "real" dance. I have always been pretty impressed by how the callers could stand up there and make a dance happen, and now that I know more about what goes into it I am even more in awe of you all. Since it is too late to avoid being long-winded, I would like to add a few random questions which I will throw out to see if they generate any discussion: Timing issues- I think that I have a pretty good handle on the eight and sixteen beat figures, but how do you keep track of others? For example, the petronella balance & spin are 4 & 4, I think. Do you call them together, like a balance and swing, or try to separate the call a little? And for that matter, for a balance and swing call, is it better to call that all at once, or would it be good to call balance......and swing, with a separation. And what about these dances that have other timing. Sometimes I see timing of 7 or 9, or other odd numbers. Does the timing of the calls have to change to reflect this? Calling and Playing - Does anyone call and play an instrument at the same time? Are you able to call and play simultaneously or do you do some calling and then join the band when the calling is no longer needed. Any hints on how to share these tasks? Ending the Dance - Do most callers change the call at the end of the dance so that you swing your partner or something to close the dance? I know Bill Olson does, but I can't really remember if it is the common thing to do. If so, do you have some special ending already prepared or do you just develop something on the fly or with experience. In transcribing dances and I have not included anything like that. Varying your Calls - Is it a good thing to vary the words that you use when calling a dance or is it better to use the exact same words each time through? It seems like it would be a nice to avoid repetition, but on the other hand it also seems like it would be easier to be consistently understood if you stick to the same phrases. Also, should you always call using the same phrases from dance to dance? It seems like the dancers would get used to hearing things in the same way and understand them better, but I wonder if it would make you seem limited or boring as a caller. Judging the Dancer's Level - Any tips on how to judge the ability of the dancers in order to introduce more complex dances? Is this something that is obvious or does it take some special skills to observe, or is it something that you develop over time? Thanks in advance for your help. Richard