Jerome Grisanti wrote:

> I would add that I've danced an Italian folk dance called Quadrille d'Aviano. 

> In that case, we learned it in private practices and performed it without prompting during public events with other Italian folk dances.

The original (early 19th century) quadrille would have been learned thoroughly in advance and danced without a prompter. Prompting or “calling” the figures was considered low-class for a long time. This may have been partly because the first callers, to the best of our knowledge, were African American. Certainly the dancing masters railed against the practice because it enabled people to do the dances without taking lessons.

Tony Parkes

Billerica, Massachusetts, USA