In an ideal world dance callers would not be necessary.  A band could play all night, never repeating a dance, and everyone on the floor would know all of the steps.  But we don’t live in an ideal world.  Scottish Dance or Ceilidh Bands are booked for weddings, conferences and dances and often guests have never done any Scottish dancing, or at best have memories of being dragged round a school gym in preparation for the Christmas dance.  Sometimes in these situations the person booking the band will request a caller to help the evening to run smoothly, and sometimes the band themselves will realise that a caller might make their lives easier on the night.

Getting to grips with dance descriptions is certainly an acquired skill, and their interpretation leaves them open to “local variation”.  No problem as long as you always dance with the same group; and if you can remember, for example, the hundreds of Scottish Country Dances then you are very lucky.  Me?  I need a CribCard before every dance – or a check with the “little Green Book” as F.L. Pilling’s Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams is commonly known.

When Speculation Becomes Fact

I have always been fascinated by the stories attached to many Scottish dances.  These stories are generally of two kinds. First we have those regarding the origin of the dance and second those who deal with the inspiration for the creation of the particular dance.  The second category is often straight forward, particularly in the case of the many Scottish Country Dances that refer to a person, place, tune, or an event such as an Anniversary or a Jubilee.