Caller (dancing)
A caller is a person who prompts dance figures in such dances as line dance, square dance, and contra dance. The caller might be one of the participating dancers, though in modern country dance this is rare.
In round dance a person who performs this function is called a cuer. Their role is fundamentally the same as a caller, in that they tell dancers what to do in a given dance, though they differ on several smaller points. In northern New England contra dancing, the caller is also known as the prompter.
Comparing callers and cuers[edit]
Callers and cuers serve slightly different functions in different types of dance. Improvisation in modern Western square dance calling distinguishes it from the calling in many other types of dance.
Callers in many dance types are expected to sing and to be entertaining, but round dance cuers do not sing and are expected to be as unobtrusive as possible.
Standardized dances such as round dance, modern western square dance, and Salsa Rueda consist of a number of defined difficulty levels. Callers and cuers are responsible for knowing all of the calls or cues (respectively), also known as figures, for the defined difficulty level at which their dancers are dancing, as well as all figures belonging to lower or easier levels.
Callers for other types of dance may be required only to know the particular dance they are calling.
Contra dance caller[edit]
Contra dance callers typically take on a role as the host of a contra dance event, stepping aside only briefly to let the organizers of the dance (who hired them and arranged logistics) make announcements (typically before the break). They are responsible for helping attendees find partners and organize themselves into contra lines, for teaching them the moves of the dance during a walkthrough, and for calling the moves during the dance until the dancers have it memorized. They also coordinate with the band to help them figure out which tunes to play and how long to play a dance for.
Round dance cuer[edit]
Round dance cuers recite rehearsed, pre-choreographed sequences of figures. Unlike callers in Salsa Rueda or modern western square dance, who invoke an execution of figures in an unexpected order that varies from one run of the dance to another, a round dance cuer only "cues", i.e., hints each subsequent figure of a predefined sequence, possibly already known to the dancers.
The cuer, rather than being expected to call out original, on-the-fly choreography, is expected to know many (sometimes lengthy) dances and lead the floor through each one by appropriately and clearly stating the name of each successive step in the dance just in time to hear it before the last step has finished. Often cuing is from cards which list the steps in abbreviated notation. Cuing each step with proper timing is often tricky, as some dance steps can have very long names ("through-side-close to sidecar" for example), and there are times when a series of quick steps have been placed together, which requires quick speech, while maintaining good diction.
Cuers are not expected (or even encouraged or suggested) to add patter. Rather, they speak more softly, and as quickly as possible to allow the dancers to enjoy as much of the song as possible. Cuers do not sing, either, except in rare occasions. Being more calm than most folk and country dances, round dance cuers are not expected to entertain; the act of dancing is the primary entertainment.
Cuers are expected to also know the steps they are cuing well enough to teach them. At most round dances, there are a few pieces that most people know, but it is a cuer's job to also introduce new dances and teach them. Especially in both very early levels and very advanced levels, it is important that cuers can teach the steps, as several dances are listed as "Phase 2 + 1", meaning that the majority of the steps are at phase two, but there is one step added in from another level.
Salsa Rueda caller[edit]
In Salsa Rueda, hand signs are used to complement voice calls; these are useful in noisy venues, where spoken calls might not be easily heard.