what is the purpose of the caller in the square dance?
A caller is a person who prompts dance figures in such dances as line dance, square dance, and contra dance. The caller might be one of the participating dancers, though in modern country dance this is rare. In round dance a person who performs this function is called a cuer. Their role is fundamentally the same as a caller, in that they tell dancers what to do in a given dance, though they differ on several smaller points. In northern New England contra dancing, the caller is also known as the prompter.
1 Square Dance Patters If you have ever been to a traditional square dance, besides the dancers being the hit of the show; another important participant is the caller who yells out instructions to the dancers. 2  The information found on this page gives examples of phrases that the caller uses at a square dance.