Becoming a Square Dance Caller

User Quotes

"I wish there had been a book like this when I started 25 years ago."
Glenn Wilson, Queensland, Australia

"Clear and helpful! I would recommend to especially new callers like myself!"
Connie Graham, Stanberry, Missouri

"Thanks so very much for your book. As a new caller this book has made all the difference for me. I especially appreciate the chapter 'Easy calls resolve'."
Helen Tronstad, Bålsta Square Dancers, Stockholm, Sweden

"Firstly I want to say that I enjoyed your book and the "New Caller" market lacks this type of approach, so thank you… Keep up the good work, and I love the way you approach the exercises."
Steve Turner, Accredited Caller Coach, Western Australia, Australia

"The caller school sent us a large document in preparation for the school. I have been reading that too and find myself going back to your manual over and over to understand what they have said. Yeah for your manual!!"
Bobbi Nichol, Pensacola, Florida

“Thank you for your "Easy Calls Resolve". I really appreciate your additions to the book. Like you, I have often been in a situation where I found it very difficult or maybe even impossible to get the dancers home because of the very limited number of calls they had learned. So I found this addition to your book very interesting.”
Jan Wigh Nielsen, Hjoerring, Denmark

"Every time I took a caller seminar, the information was great and every caller was willing to share their knowledge; but I always felt like I was starting in the middle. I’d leave the class frustrated and seriously doubting I would continue. When I bought Becoming and began digesting the material, it gave me a starting place, laying out a background that I think is often assumed by an experienced caller. It allowed me to take what I’d been hearing in the classes I’d attended and connect the dots. Becoming is more than a resource book. It organizes not only the calls, but every aspect of calling, so a foundation can be laid out and built upon. Becoming allows you to turn the pages frontward and often backwards in order to chew on the concepts. Until there is order, not mush. Becoming encouraged me and helped me change my attitude from "I don't think I can do this" to "I think I can do this!" Thank you, Bruce, for your foresight and your insights."
Judy Wong-Zaleske, West Dundee, Illinois

“Becoming A Square Dance Caller is an excellent instructional book and a very useful reference. Bruce Holmes has done a superb job explaining in clear, concise language the fundamentals of square dance calling, and he provides various techniques to incorporate interesting get-in’s and “surprise” resolves. Whether used as a “textbook” or a handy reference tool, this book is a must for any caller.”
James Cha, Glenview, Illinois

"Traditional thinking would have us believe that becoming a caller can only happen after years of hard work, sweat and tears and mistakes. After all, how can one really understand why doing something one way, (action A), is better than another way, (action B)? It is, traditionally, the only way to truly understand why one method works best. But we can do better than that.
We are now understanding that it is better to document the alternative ways of doing something, by breaking each part into specific learning outcomes, and explaining why it how and it works. In other words, a user guide or manual so that the newer practitioner can better understand the tools and techniques, without suffering through all the mistakes. We need more new callers now. Competent callers who may not know everything yet, but have the drive to help square dancing. Those new callers need help NOW, not later. It is better for square dancing that these new callers have resources that help them at the start of their career/hobby.
This is what Bruce has created in his book "Becoming A Square Dance Caller" Is the work totally complete? No, not really, but it is a start. It is actually a living and breathing document that can be a great start. It is still evolving and being added to. Maybe you can help Bruce evolve it more for the betterment of square dance callers and the square dance movement. And at a time when the movement is rebuilding itself after COVID19, we are going to need callers who can't wait to train for many years. We need a complete guide that helps them quickly. This book is also not only for newbies, it is useful for callers who have 5, 10, 20, 40 or more years’ experience."
Jeffrey Garbutt, Western Australia

“Thanks! I am going through your “Becoming a Caller” book for the second time now. It’s the best guide for a beginner caller that I’ve seen. Good stuff!”
Eric Arthurton, Apple Valley, California