[Callers] sometimes not the caller's fault!

Regarding J L Korr's message observing that it's not always the caller's fault, he is completely correct. The point Greg and I were trying to make is that the caller is sort of like the conductor in an orchestra, the person who is ultimately responsible for making everything go smoothly and happen on time. Things don't always go smoothly, of course. Where I call we often have a group consisting of more than 50% newcomers, and when I tell them that any mistakes in the dance are always the caller's fault, it's my way of putting the newcomers at ease and making them feel welcome. Some people that show up have never done any kind of dancing before, in their entire lives (these are usually guys), and the prospect of community dancing can be quite intimidating. Based on my own experience when I first started contra dancing, I try to make it clear to the novices that we're a very non-judgmental group, so even the most catastrophic missteps on their part are ultimately my responsibility. That said, at almost every dance I've called I have found myself rolling my eyes at the sight of, for example, some dancer who has been showing up regularly for /years/, and still has no sense of timing (again, usually a guy), or the group of young, inexperienced dancers who insist on dancing exclusively with each other, disrupting the entire line because they seem to think contra is somewhat like break dancing. There are plenty of times when incompetent dancers screw things up, and during post-dance conversations with our other caller I will rant about them unmercifully. But at the dance the best thing I can do is try to project an air of confidence and let people know everything's going to be fine, and fun. It's very similar to the attitude I tried to project when I was raising teenage children. One final comment: I sometimes find myself dancing in a venue where the caller is very experienced and is obviously experimenting with new and challenging dances, at a level that is clearly incompatible with the experience level of most of the dancers in the hall. I think this is very self-indulgent. We all need to grow as callers, but the best callers can gauge the experience level of the group and call appropriately. Some of my best calling experiences have involved calling a dance that I've labeled "painfully easy", and afterward having a new dancer come up to thank me for my calling and tell me what a wonderful time they've had. That's really what it's all about. -Lewis Land