Hi, I'm new to the list - met Chris at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend and he told me about this list (gave me the card he made for the site). I have to echo much of what's been said about the RPDLW. Besides being a lot of fun, the weekend is a real resource for callers who are learning the art. Since I've started calling, I don't get to dance as much. At RPDLW I get to dance with people who really know and love dancing. I always enjoy the variety of dances - easy to complex, old favorites to new compositions, not to mention the variety of forms (duples, triples, squares, circles - and almost always a few for odd numbers of couples). I get to hear a whole variety of callers. I get to go to really informative calling workshops. I get to talk with other callers - both new and experienced. And one real treat is that they put out a syllabus including all the dances (as called) and the names of the tunes that were played with them - so I don't have to miss out on getting a partner for the next dance because I'm busy scribbling something down that I liked that we just finished dancing. I took the opportunity to call at the open mic last year. Since the dances I normally call for have a high percentage of beginners, I took the opportunity to call a dance that I love but is more complex than I would dare to call at my home dances. Afterwards I got some really good encouragements and tips for improvement from David Millstone (my calling was a little late in a few places I hadn't even noticed! I notice it more easily now). I look forward to participating in this list discussion. -cynthia