Tough situation, particularly for programmers, holding the balance between an excellent dance with skilled talent and fostering the future of the dance through new callers and musicians. I know that I benefited from taking it slowly: I sought out training and called over a full year of guest spots at others' dances before even attempting a half-dance. These experienced callers offered gentle but pointed feedback, and the dancers offered encouragement since it was only one dance, after all. Even after beginning to call whole eves, I still sought out half-dances for another few months (and still will, actually, since that allows me to dance too - the best of both worlds!) Adina Gordon is an example of someone who successfully jumped in fast with both feet, but the slow apprenticeship model seems to work well for us ordinary mortals; plus it spares the dance community too much torment while we "raise" new callers who will hold and further the tradition. Buon Fortuna -- Tina