The author of the acclaimed Contra Dance Calling turns his attention to squares! Internationally known square and contra leader Tony Parkes "pays it forward" and reveals the secrets learned over half a century of teaching and calling.
This is the first book-length treatment of traditional calling in many years. Not just a rehash of prior works, it includes many thoughts on the activity that have never appeared in print before. Every aspect of the caller's work is dealt with clearly and thoroughly, including:
- Music and dance structure
- Timing and phrasing
- Voice technique
- Calling "breaks"
- Using patter
- Planning a program
- Teaching and walkthroughs
- Working with live or recorded music
- Calling for many types of group
- Ad-libbing or "hashing" calls
- Adapting others' material
- Devising new dances
In addition, the book includes:
- A bird's eye view of square dance history
- An in-depth discussion of the basic movements
- Call charts for over 50 figures and breaks
- A section on creating new singing squares
- A glossary of over 600 dance terms
- Suggested tunes for patter and singing calls
- Recommended books and recordings, with capsule reviews