[Callers] Re: New Terminology Question

So, I had this worry, at first. Back when Hampshire College was experimenting with various alternatives to Arm Bands / Bare Arms, we had a spreadsheet with all sorts of qualities to get an overview on how various terms compared, even if not a firm science. One of these was "does it sound like existing dance terms", which is why things like "ports/starboards" was ruled out. (At a house party that year, I danced to someone trying that, and it was immediately confusing.) When Larks/Robins was evaluated, the assumption was that Robins would be confused with Mad Robin, so Ravens was attempted instead. When some folks were looking for alter alternatives to Ravens, a few callers were trying out Robins, again. I recall Lisa Greenleaf had done so at a Pinewoods week, probably summer 2019? That Fall, at the Downtown Amherst Contra, we had been using Larks/Ravens and were considering going over. So, as an experiment, I volunteered to try at a gig at the dance I had calling that was coming up. I called 3 Mad Robin dances that night. The first was to teach it, maybe 4th dance of the evening, and I was sure it had no moves with a "Robins" prompt. The second was early in the second half, and I specifically chose one which ought to have caused trouble - had like a Robins Chain to Mad Robin to Robins Allemande or something like that. The third was a no walk through with a Mad Robin. We had zero issues with any of them. We've been dancing with the terms Larks / Robins, since, with various callers calling Mad Robins, maybe every 2nd or 3rd dance. We've had zero issues reported, and we're a dance that specifically asks on the mic for dancers to give us feedback. What I think matters is that dancer brains are cueing from The "Mad" in Mad Robin. So I can say with a high amount of confidence that Mad Robin and Larks/Robins works perfectly well. Even if I still think Ravens are a cooler bird and a better term. ;) In dance, Julian Blechner He/Him Western Mass On Sun, Sep 17, 2023, 12:51 PM Gabrielle Taylor via Contra Callers < contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: