And they're off! (but you knew that)

Last Sunday, Bob and Kay and I got our feet wet as contradance callers. Bob had called a couple of times before, so he was our expert. We got together over dinner and, after dinner, roped in one of our dinner companions to make a fourth for testing out contra dances. Bob called a dance he had written, which worked great in the living room - then he realized that the partner swing was up and down the line, not on the side, so he rewrote it on the spot.

Kay and I got together one more time after that to practice calling to the music. Well, they say that if you have a bad dress rehearsal, the performance will be good...I think we each practiced in our back yards a couple of times, but by Sunday we were good and nervous about it. It seemed to go off okay, though. The fans were forgiving and supportive, and I only made one truly glaring error, easily corrected by the dancers, and Kay claims she lost track of where the music was, but you couldn't prove it by me. I was sitting on stage behind the curtain keeping track Just In Case, but finally left the stage when I realized she just wasn't going to get lost.

So we all managed it. I missed Bob's calling, but he was still smiling when I saw him, so that's a good sign. For me, it was my first time calling (unless you count the time I had Becky Hill by my side, feeding the words in my ear and giving me a nudge every time I was supposed to call), so just surviving was good news. It was Kay's first time calling contra, though I hear tell she's called English before... She was a natural.