Re: [Callers] What makes a caller a great caller?

Cooperation. Creativity. Clarity. -Barb's right, the band will be the arbiter of how well the dance turns out. Grant's replly might be flippant, but it's largely true. But the question is what makes the caller great... -Talking to the band ahead of time. I've worked with bands that want my program 10 days before the show so they can work through tunes. But at least have a pre-show discussion about your needs and your program, and needs from their end. Also, talk to the dance organizers early about their group, needs, quirks, dance hall, etc. You're working for them. -Creativity includes the idea of improvisation. Make a good program. Don't make a program that only has the moves you like. Mix it up with different stuff. You're there to serve the dancers, not the other way around. Give them an evening filled with nice little surprises. And have your planned/hoped-for program ready, as well as at least a half- program of easier dances and 3-4 additional harder dances than what your program features. -I've learned a lot about calling from Joseph Pimentel, and perhaps his best message is to teach using as few syllables as you possibly can. To do that, you have to practice calling, and choosing just the right words to use, and the most effective order to say them in. Less words from the caller forces dancers to pay better attention. -Mac is right with the latter part of his criteria... A good caller is "into it"--following and enjoying the band, watching the dancers and enjoying their fun (while still calling when needed!), and staying in the moment yourself and enjoying everything around you. If the crowd can see you with them in their enjoyment, it adds a level of fun for everyone... Jokes are not a requirement, sincere happiness is. -Greg is right, some criteria are level-dependent. I'd judge someone calling a ONS more on how accessibly they design their program, in order to keep everyone dancing.... At a dance weekend I'm watching for a better variety of dances. Re: your question on hiring. I'm currently a booker here in central TX. Even with a fairly active dance scene in the four big TX towns, our dance planning for dances on every-other-weekend fall all too often to "are you available on this date?" I do an initial screening by not sending invites to people I know are not impressive to Austin dancers, or to callers who don't meet a certain level of quality. That level is determined, by, me, using the criteria I talk about above.... We don't have nearly the number of callers (or bands) that you find on the coasts, so our options are somewhat limited. Keith Tuxhorn Austin