There are many people in our lives. Some more important than others. But, for each of us, all the people in our lives are essential. In a square dancers life there are several very essential people.
The caller is the person who directs the dancers. The caller gives directions (calls) in time to some background music. When the calls are issued in no particular order (sort of at random), it is refered to as "hash." At other times the calls will be set to a particular song. They will be worked into the lyrics. This is refered to as a "singing call". At a dance the caller will usually do a hash call followed by a singing call. Then there is a break. During the break, dancers can participate in "Round dances". Rounds are cued by a person called, strangely enough, a cuer (see next paragraph).
The cuer is in charge of Round Dancing as opposed to Square Dancing. Rounds are pattern dances using steps from traditional dances such as the Two Step, Waltz or Tango. The cuer provides advance notice about what comes next in the dance. This is good! The dancers don't need to memorize a whole bunch of dance routines. They just need to know what to do when particular "step" is cued. The cuer for our club is Pris Collins.
The
instructor is a most important person. You must learn what the square dance
calls mean. The instructor is the person who teaches you that. A person of infinite
wisdom and great patience. Many times the caller and the instructor are one
and the same person. Our club caller and instructor is Ken Jordan.