Square Dancing

Square dancing, like any specialized activity, has a language all its own.

Call:A particular move. For instance, do sa do (do-see-do), allemande left, or more advanced moves like "ping-pong circulate" and "make an ocean wave" are all different calls.

Caller:Person in charge of calling moves, playing music. Crucial to a good square dance is a good caller. he or she must orchestrate many different elements, acting as shepherd to trusting square dancers. Don Beck, the caller at Tech Squares, is superb, smoothing out intra-square troubles, filling dead time with mildly corny jokes, mixing the music with skill and aplomb.

Square:A group of eight people, four couples, arranged in a square, two people by two. The essential dancing unit.

Tip:A set of dances, usually three or four, during which the same group of eight people dance togther. For example, from the handout on square dance etiquette: "At the end of the tip thank everyone in the square."