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

John--it sounds to me like successive R&L Grands with a full partner allemande stuck into the middle of each. Could also be a partner 2-hand turn, either interpretation works. As Woody said, with a couple of other notes here: *Music* Talk to your band. Arrange a cut signal to go out at the end of the current phrase. Also, arrange a signal in case you are musically lost and need to know where the end of the tune is--like, patting your head is a request for them say A1/2 or B1/2 at the top of the phrase. Still, that doesn't ultimately matter until the very end. At the end of the dance, if you're lost, have the dancers circle (I don't advise promenade or R&LG, because those both have end points that require attention) and ask the band to cue you when the top/bottom of the second A or B arrives. Embrace the music style. It's easier to call cross-phrase to southern style music, less traumatic to everyone if the band has to end suddenly, and also much easier to lose your place in the music. To me, New England squares are less satisfying to this kind of music. More highly structured, New-England derived music is less-suited to western or southern style squares, but harder to lose your place in and the calling is like contra: ahead of the phrase. It is also more difficult to make dancing cross-phrase satisfying, which then becomes "off phrase." Go with dances and 8 count figures that take advantage of the more pronounced measure. *Calling* Have your squares MEMORIZED. A rhymed script will help with memorization and delivery (caveat: don't be a slave to it!) Calling from a card isn't great for contras, but for squares it is a very bad idea. You need to be able to make choreography changes on the fly, adjust timing on the fly, and watch those dancers like a hawk. You also have to keep calling and not make mistakes. If you are reading from a card you can't do any of that, because part of not making mistakes is staying with the dancers if something goes wrong. Also, it will sound wrong if you are reading. Don't ask me how, but it does. Remember that in a square, an "error" is not a problem unless you make it one! There's no strict timing, no strict choreography, and part of the fun of squares is the unpredictability. If you teach it with an extra figure thrown in, that's fine--they'll never know so long as it doesn't affect the order of couples. If it does affect the order, just do it again and the problem should resolve. If you toss in a figure they aren't expecting, it's not an error but a way of checking who is listening. Most of all: Smile and have fun! Neal Neal Schlein Youth Services Librarian, Mahomet Public Library Currently reading: *The Different Girl* by Gordon Dahlquist Currently learning: How to set up an automated email system. On Tue, Feb 7, 2017 at 10:39 AM, John Sweeney via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: