Knowing where you are  

Some dancers can understand the pattern of a dance just from reading the instructions — callers tend to get good at this.  Some benefit from seeing another set dancing it; some find this no help at all.  Some have to walk it through, and can then do their own part, but haven't a clue what the other members of the set are doing.  For instance, how many men can dance the lady's part in a ladies chain or a swing?  It's much better to get the full picture — or you end up as one of those people who can only dance “Newcastle” from head positions.  Some callers can get like this — especially Display Team (Performance Group) leaders!  If you want to shake up a group of dancers who think they're good, try calling “Levi Jackson Rag” (Pat Shaw — Pinewoods Collection) and then do it the second time with everyone improper.  You'll be amazed at the ensuing chaos!  Most men haven't a clue where they're going, even if you tell the women to be really firm with them.  Some have a fixed idea that when you're dancing woman you rotate the other way in a swing, and most are incapable of finishing the swing on the right-hand side.  But they'll all have a great time (remember what I keep saying about enjoyment?) and it may make the men look at things differently.  Men expect women to be able to dance the man's part at the drop of a hat, and have no idea how confusing it is.  I remember dancing an American Square as a woman while calling — I was fine until my partner twirled me at the end of a promenade, then I went to pieces!  But I'm more experienced now and I think I would cope with it.  If you're a male caller, you need to dance the woman's part some of the time.  You'll discover that (presumably because most dances are written by men) the women have most of the awkward moves.

Many dances are full of “zero-movement” figures — they get you back where you started.  Right-hand star, left-hand star.  Ladies chain over and back.  But “Circle left ¾, pass through” — suddenly you're unsure of yourself.  You have to trust the caller (assuming he's trustworthy) and not automatically drift back into a standard formation.  If you're in lines and the caller says “pass through”, English dancers (in England at any rate) automatically about turn to face into the set.  But that's not what a pass through is.  And if there's a lady on your left, gentlemen, and the caller says “two-hand turn” — what's the betting that she'll finish the turn on your right?  You'll see that in the Playford dance “Fain I Would” — it's a square, so she should be on my right.  I've seen men do the movement correctly, then panic and shuffle back to the left side because surely that's a safe place to be.  Not always!

Most dances have points of repose, at which you're in a standard formation, before zooming off somewhere else.  Look for these in the walkthrough; they'll help you when the music starts.  Above all, don't panic, and don't just stand rooted to the spot; that's usually wrong.  If a woman is pushable I can do all sorts of things with her.  I mean — get her into all sorts of interesting positions — no, I mean get her through all sorts of dances.