Hey Ever= yone! Just thought I would chime in with some = of my calling experiences... Well, I would say that I am a fairly i= nexperienced caller, since I have only been calling since the beginning o= f the year. I really believe that there may be no better place to l= earn to call, then Nelson, New Hampshire, and of course for a couple diff erent reasons: 1: The Nelson Contra Dance happens every= Monday night (all 56 Mondays of the year), and that simply means more ti= me to call. I usually call about 2 or 3 dances every week, sometime= s more, sometimes less, but calling every week has really allowed me to l= earn a lot. 2. Nelson Contra Dancers are great= !!! When you have experienced dancers, it really helps a new caller= . The dancers really make the caller look good, so that is always= a confidence boost when you are calling. 3. And of course Don Primrose and = Lisa Sieverts, two great callers, that I have learned a lot from and cont= inue to learn a lot from. When you have good calling mentors, it re= ally helps your growth as a caller. Everytime I call, usually at th= e end of the dance I talk with Lisa about how my calling was. Feedb= ack is such a great tool, and I would encourage new callers to seek out f= eedback. There is always something that can be better about your ca= lling... I really love calling, there is just som= ething about being up on stage, that is just really amazing, but you have= to pratice, pratice, pratice... If there is one thing that Lisa ha= s really instilled into me, it is the the two T's. Teaching and tim= ing. Teaching is so important and of the things that I do along wit= h praticing calling a dance, I also pratice the walk-through. In my= opinion, a walk-through has to be detailed, yet quick, concise, with no = wasted words. Three minutes tops and very rarely there should ever = be a need for a second walk-through. There are of course some dance= s with strange end effects that may require a second walk-through, but 9 = out of 10 times, 1 time is good enough... And of course there is timing. Fla= re and style will come after timing, as it should. Don't be late, d= on't be early. Know where the phrase ends, know when you need to st= art caling a call, and know when you need to stop calling a call. B= e right on the beat... So all and all, I really feel that I come al= ong way in a short five months of my calling career. The last coupl= es weeks, have been right on for me, so hopefully it is only up for here.= One thing that has really helped me call better is my comfort leve= l on stage. You have to have fun, when you are calling or it just i= s not worth it. Do whatever you need to, to be relaxed, comfortable= , and having fun on stage, to call a good dance. I usually will dan= ce around, jump down on the dance floor and dance with the dancers as it = is going on... Just have fun!!! See you on the dance floor or maybe the = stage... Sincerely, Jeff Petrovitch Jeffrey M. Petrovitch jeffrey.m.petrovitch(a)usa.net "Five nights of contra dancing... through 'top-notch' style and technique, with the love and passion for the dance, the title above all others was awarded. I am an 'Iron Dancer'." - J.M. Petrovitch