Fiddlers call

Posted by Smokey Stover on August 08, 2009 at 04:05

In Reply to: Fiddlers call posted by Brian from Shawnee on July 27, 2009 at 18:19:

: : Could someone please tell me what a fiddlers call is? It would appear to relate to a late and spur of the moment invitation to an event party etc.

:
: In square dancing, as I understand it, couples are invited onto the dance floor and are instructed which steps to do (alaman left, dosido, etc.) by a "caller". There is also a fiddler and other musicians, and I suppose if you're on a budget the fiddler also calls the dance.

I have never been at a square dance where the caller was also the fiddler, but I have no knowledge that this doesn't happen. I've looked at many of the square dance sites listed by my search engine, and if any of them offer any information about calls, it's in the books that they are anxious to sell.

However, a few terms did turn up, such as Allemande left. Do-see-do appears to have been replaced by the more accurate dosado. It would be more accurate still if it were spelled dos-à-dos, as this is exactly what the dancers do. They circle each other back-to-back.
SS