Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century

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 structureTiming and phrasingVoice techniqueCalling "breaks"Using patterPlanning a programTeaching and walkthroughsWorking with live or recorded musicCalling for many types of groupAd-libbing or "hashing" callsAdapting others' materialDevising new dancesIn addition, the book includes: A bird's eye view of square dance historyAn in-depth discussion of the basic movementsCall charts for over 50 figures and breaksA section on creating new singing squaresA glossary of over 600 dance termsSuggested tunes for patter and singing callsRecommended books and recordings, with capsule reviews Read more