Dancing By Definition
Barry Clasper
CALLERLAB Convention 2013
Introduction
We all have had the experience of briefly observing some problem situation and having a fairly 
detailed solution pop into our mind almost immediately - without any conscious effort. This happens 
most often in situations where we have had a lot of experience and developed expertise. In fact, 
this is a primary expectation we have of experts � the ability to make a rapid assessment of a 
complex situation and determine an appropriate course of action.

Recent research in cognition tells us these flashes of inspiration come from an extremely 
sophisticated pattern matching engine in the brain which variously has been dubbed either the 
�adaptive unconscious� or, more simply, �System 1�. System 1 is constantly monitoring our 
surroundings � everything we take in through our senses � and searching for patterns. When a 
pattern is detected, System 1 delivers information to our conscious minds that may take the form of 
an assessment of what is happening, predictions about what can be expected next, or recommendations 
for appropriate actions. This activity is continuous and effortless. We do not have to think about 
it. Our conscious selves � termed �System 2� in this model of the mind � are only aware of the 
predictions, recommendations, and answers that System 1 generates, not the activity that produced 
them.

System 1's evaluations are not limited to data received through our senses. As our senses deliver 
items of information, associated memories are triggered and become part of the pattern to be 
analyzed. Indeed, memories triggered by the initial sensory input typically trigger a cascade of 
additional information from memory, so that the pattern being processed may be composed mostly of 
data from memory. For example, when you read �416-555-1212�, your eyes deliver merely a series of 
shapes. Memory tells you that the shapes represent numerals and dashes. Further memories about the 
grouping of the numbers tells you this is a telephone number. Even further, you may recognize that 
the number is an information number in area code 416, and you may even recognize where area code 
416 is located geographically.
You would not be aware of this memory cascade or the associations being made. You would consciously 
be aware only of the conclusion generated by System 1: �This is the long distance information 
number for Toronto�.

This same mechanism is at work when a square dancer decodes calls. The dancer hears a stream of 
sounds which System 1 decodes into words. System 1 interprets the words in the context of what the 
individual is doing � square dancing � and forms the conclusion that the words are the name of a 
square dance call: say, Wheel and Deal. Memories associated with the call Wheel and Deal are then 
triggered at the same time as more sensory information is processed. This additional sensory 
information will be things like how the dancer is moving right now, where other dancers are and how 
they are moving, what shapes (formations) are currently present, and the dancer's location within 
those formations. All of this information forms a pattern which, hopefully, has associated memories 
that tell the dancer what to do in order to execute the call. Given the tempo at which we typically 
dance, all of this processing takes place in considerably less than a second.

What is this information that the dancer retrieves to execute the call? Why, it's the definition, 
of course! Or more exactly, it's the definition the dancer has to work with on the floor. Every 
dancer figures out what to do by using the definition in their head and applying it to the 
situation they find themselves in. Every time. So, every dancer Dances By Definition for every 
single call. In some cases the definition in their head bears scant similarity to the written 
definition, but it is the one that really matters.

We will be exploring how the dancers' definitions are created, how they can be modified, and what 
the implications are for how we teach and workshop. To avoid confusion, I will use the term �mental 
model� to refer to the definition dancers carry in their heads.
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Dancing By Definition � cont'd


How Are Mental Models For Calls Built?
Most dancers learn calls on the dance floor. For a small minority, reading the written definition 
might be their first exposure to a call, but this is quite rare before dancers begin working on 
Challenge programs. For the vast majority of dancers, learning a call means having a caller teach 
it to them.

Whatever learning experience the caller gives them forms the framework upon which the dancer's 
mental model of the call is built. After the initial teach, the dancer begins to see the call used 
in a variety of choreographic situations. Each encounter with the call can do one of four things to 
the dancer's current understanding of the call: reinforce it, extend it, refine it, or contradict 
it. Further, dancers unconsciously maintain a set of mental statistics about how the call is 
typically used by callers: how often, what calls tend to precede it or follow it, common starting 
and ending formations, etc. Each encounter adds data to those statistics.

After a few hundred encounters with the call, the dancer has incorporated a large body of 
information
into their mental model � much more information than is contained in the written definition, and 
going far beyond what their teacher originally presented. Dancers use this mental model, and update 
it, every time they encounter the call.


What This Means For How We Teach

Clearly, since it serves as the framework upon which the dancer's future understanding of the call 
is built, the initial teaching experience is extremely important. A clear and well structured 
lesson allows the
dancer to build a robust mental model quickly, and conversely, a bad teach can dramatically slow 
the dancer's progress. In general, what attributes should that first lesson have? The following 
sections address the components of an ideal teaching session.

Address All Learning Styles
Current teaching/learning theory indicates that there are a number of different ways people prefer 
to receive information. While nobody relies solely on one learning style, everyone has a preferred 
mode. Visual learners like to see what they need to learn and benefit from demonstrations or seeing 
how the square moves through a call. Auditory learners prefer to hear descriptions of how the call 
works. Kinesthetic learners learn best by moving through the call and getting the feel of it. A 
comprehensive teaching episode will include elements of all of these to give each dancer their best 
chance at absorbing the information using their preferred mode.

Present the Optimal Amount Of Information
Presenting too little information makes it harder for the dancers to properly understand the call. 
Presenting too much, however, can be overwhelming and cause the dancers to despair about ever 
learning the call. Different calls require different amounts of information to be conveyed, but in 
general, for every call the dancer needs to know the following:

1.   The name of the call. Generally, it is important for this element to be given first because it 
forms the key for mentally storing and retrieving information regarding the call.
2.   What group of dancers they will be working with to do the call. How many there are (i.e. the 
minimum number required) and where they can be expected to be (i.e. what formations or shapes they 
might be in). This allows the dancers to focus on the people they will be working with.
3.   What parts the call has. This allows the dancers to understand when they might need to make 
decisions or find interim result setups in order to continue call execution.
4.   What roles are involved in the call. Is it defined in terms of leaders/trailers, ends/centers, 
beaus/belles? And at which points (the beginning of which parts) does the dancer need to
identify a new role? For example, the call Spin The Top requires dancers to evaluate after the 
first arm-turn whether they have become centers or ends to determine their role for the second 
part.


Barry Clasper                                                                                       
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Dancing By Definition � cont'd


5.   What actions each role performs for the upcoming part of the call, including traffic patterns, 
shoulder passes, and hand usages.
6.   How many beats of music it takes to do the call.
7.   What outcome(s) to expect when the call is complete.
8.   What defaults the call might have.

Use a Systematic and Consistent Format to Present Calls
Itemized this way, the above seems to be a daunting amount of information to impart quickly, and 
for some calls it is indeed. But for most calls this information can be quickly transmitted, 
especially after dancers have become accustomed to receiving it in a consistent and organized 
format.

As an example, let's look at a sample teaching plan for Spin The Top:

First Teaching Session:
Call Description:
� The name of the call is Spin The Top
� It is done by 4 dancers in an Ocean Wave formation.
� The first part of the call is Ends and adjacent Centers Arm Turn Half.
� The last part is New Centers Cast � while the New Ends walk forward in a � Circle to re-form an 
Ocean Wave with the New Centers.
� The whole call requires 8 beats of music.
(Note that this description provides all the information outlined in the eight points above, with 
the exception of the applicability of the Facing Couples Rule.)
Order Of Exposure:
� Heads/Sides Pass The Ocean and Swing Thru; Heads/Sides Spin The Top (�standard� position, having 
the Heads do it in the center emphasizes it is a 4-person call and allows the Sides to watch).
� Repeat with Sides.
� Heads Pass The Ocean; Heads Spin The Top (�sashayed� position, doing this early prevents 
formation of the idea there is a �boys� part and a �girls� part).
� Repeat both positions in parallel waves and tidal waves (call moves from one to the other and 
automatically reverses positions).

Second Teaching Session:
Call Description:
� Repeat initial call description.
� Add Facing Couples Rule
(If your group of 4 is Facing Couples, first Step To A Wave with them, and then proceed as you 
learned earlier. Note that this extends the original description but does not contradict any of it)
Order Of Exposure:
� Heads Square Thru 4, All RLT & Rollaway; Spin The Top (standard position for Spin The
Top). Repeat with Sides.
� Heads Square Thru 4; Spin The Top (�sashayed� position for Spin The Top). Repeat with
Sides.
� From sashayed Lines Facing.
� From normal Lines Facing.

Third Teaching Session:
Call Description:


Barry Clasper                                                                                       
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Dancing By Definition � cont'd


� Repeat initial call description, include Facing Couples Rule.
� Emphasize it is not a �handed� call. From a LH Ocean Wave the first arm-turn is by the Left. 
However, from Facing Couples, you always step to Rights UNLESS the caller SPECIFIES Left.
Order Of Exposure:
� Heads Square Thru 4, All Left Swing Thru; Spin The Top (Left does not have to be specified). 
Repeat with Sides.
� Heads Square Thru 4, All RLT & Rollaway; LEFT Spin The Top. Repeat with Sides.
� From normal Lines Facing.
� From sashayed Lines Facing.


Note that these teaching sessions might not be successive tips. They could be separated across 
weeks depending on the capabilities of the group. While repetition is an important element of 
solidly implanting the call, it is important to find the right balance between enough repetition to 
achieve competence and so much repetition from favored setups that dancers are rendered unable to 
do it from anywhere else. The aim is to provide the simplest possible mental model that works from 
the largest variety of situations. As each variation is introduced, it is imperative that the 
dancers be kept aware that the mechanics of the call have not changed, only their starting 
position. Whenever possible, develop a way of cuing the call that is consistent for all variations. 
Ideally, after a while whenever the dancers are doing the call they will hear your voice in their 
heads cuing the call for them.


The Teaching We Do Unconsciously

The above lesson plan shows a teaching plan thought through ahead of time. We must be careful to 
remember, however, that dancers are always learning from what we do, whether or not we are 
consciously trying to teach them something. Dancers continuously monitor the choreography we use 
and unconsciously add details to their storehouse of data about how calls are used. Each encounter 
with a call will have one of the following effects on the dancer's understanding of the call:

1.   Reinforce It: The encounter is entirely consistent with the dancer's understanding of how the 
call works.

2.   Extend It: Either the encounter shows a new situation in which the dancer's understanding of 
the call works correctly: perhaps a new starting position or formation; or, the encounter shows the 
dancer there were aspects of the call not previously understood and which must be added (i.e. new 
rules. An example might be the first time a dancer who has learned Spin The Top from waves comes 
across the facing couples version.)

3.   Refine It: The encounter illustrates to the dancer that some of the information they have for 
the call is extraneous. For example, dancers whose first several exposures to Pass The Ocean are
from normal facing lines often form the idea that they must be in lines � even if the caller has 
specifically stated it is a group of 4 call done from facing couples. When they first see it from 
an Eight Chain, their first instinct is �it can't be done from here� until they are reminded of the 
formation they should actually be looking for: facing couples. The nugget of information delivered 
once when the call is first introduced � it's a 4-person call done from facing couples � is easily 
overbalanced by a few repetitions of the call from facing lines that subliminally convey the 
impression that it is done from lines of 4. The more exposures the dancer sees from lines before 
encountering it from somewhere else, the harder it is for them to �re-wire� their concept of the 
call.

4.   Contradict It: The encounter does not at all conform to the dancer's understanding of the 
call.
For example, dancers who only experience Scoot Back from right handed setups the first few times 
they see it often form the idea that it is a �right-handed� call � those going inward always take 
right hands. When we introduce left handed setups, we often see the trailers cross to right


Barry Clasper                                                                                       
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Dancing By Definition � cont'd


hands for the turn even after being warned the setup is left-handed and they use their inside
hand which is their left hand. In this situation, when something they thought they knew turns out 
not to work, dancers usually feel significant frustration.

As teachers, we should strive to provide the simplest possible definition that works from the most 
possible situations. Then, we should strive to expose our dancers to those situations repetitively 
so that their mental models become robust and comprehensive. We should strive to ensure the dancers 
we teach organize their mental models efficiently, that is:

1.   They know how many dancers the call requires and where to look for them - what formations they 
might be in.
2.   They know what roles are involved in the call � ends/centers, leaders/trailers, beaus/belles 
�, what actions each role has to execute, how many beats they get to do it, and what parts the call 
has � particularly those parts where they might have to re-evaluate their role.
3.   They know how to figure out what role they are playing.
4.   They know how to form the resulting setup.



Working With Their Mental Model At A Dance
When we call to dancers we see regularly, we know what their mental models are like. Therefore, we 
know what they will find easy, what will seem unusual but achievable, and what they will struggle 
with. For the purposes of the following discussion, we are assuming that the context is a single 
dance with dancers we do not know very well, and during which workshopping is not expected.

In that case, we need to discover what their mental models are like � and quickly! At several 
recent CALLERLAB Conventions, there were presentations titled �Sussing The Floor� discussing 
techniques for �reading� the floor and getting a sense of how robust the dancers' mental models 
are. The handouts for those sessions are available in the Members Corner of the CALLERLAB website.


Adjusting Your Choreography To Their Mental Models

Once we have gained an idea what their mental models are like, we can use that information to 
control our choreography. As stated earlier, there are 4 ways we can affect their mental models: 
reinforce them, extend them, refine them, or contradict them. We would hope never to do the last 
one: contradict their mental model. That would imply the dancers' mental model is actually wrong in 
at least some respects (that assumes, of course, that our own is correct). Finding a whole floor 
with an incorrect mental model
is always disappointing because it indicates inadequate teaching. It also presents the knotty 
problem of what to do about it � correct their understanding, which is hard to do without 
highlighting the shortcomings of how they were taught, or just avoid it altogether, which maintains 
the dancers' state of ignorance.

Ideally, we would like to have our dance be some mixture of the first two effects: reinforce or 
extend
their mental models. Choreography that reinforces their mental models is easy. Dancers will find 
they can dance it without much mental effort. Choreography that extends a mental model has higher 
difficulty, but is achievable by the dancer without overt teaching or walkthrus. It is our job as 
callers to present a mixture of these two that the dancers find enjoyable. If all our choreography 
is reinforcing, then the dance will start to seem bland or boring. It needs to be leavened with 
extension choreography to provide spice. But, as with cooking, the amount of spice is a matter of 
judgment.

Most of us who regularly call BMS and Plus are aware of the Standard Applications documented in the 
CALLERLAB documents by that name. These books describe the call usages that have a high probability 
of success on almost any floor. For many calls they also describe applications which will be mildly 
surprising, yet successful. In effect, they tacitly document the nature of the mental models the 
�average� dancer of those programs carries in their head.



Barry Clasper                                                                                       
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Dancing By Definition � cont'd
Adjusting Their Mental Models To Your Choreography

By what they omit, these books also point to applications that will stretch the mental model of the 
average dancer. This can be a starting point for offering choreography that gently extends the 
mental model � the definition of the call � that the dancers keep in their heads.

As an example of this sort of gentle extension, let's look at the call Slide Thru. Despite being a 
2-person call with an extremely simple definition, the majority of dancers at MS and Plus form very 
strong but false impressions of what result formations are possible. In general, if the resulting 
all-8 formation is not facing lines or an 8-Chain, many dancers will �fix� it. This happens because 
dancers unconsciously incorporate irrelevant formation cues into their mental models. They should 
be focused exclusively on the one other person they are doing the call with, but they also notice 
where other dancers start and end the call. It takes very few repetitions resulting in either 
normal facing lines or a normal 8-Chain for dancers to infer these are the only permissible 
results.

If we were starting from scratch, how might we teach Slide Thru to minimize the formation of these 
false impressions? Here are some thoughts:

Teach it first from groups of 2.
Quickly show them results where they are all facing out. Quickly expose them to same sex versions.
For example:
� From a SS: Face Partner, Slide Thru, Boys Run Right (to Alamo), AL
� From a SS: Sides RLT, 4 Ladies Chain, Heads Rollaway, Circle Left, All Face Same Sex, Slide Thru 
(leaves some facing in, some facing out), Girls Run Right, Swing Original Partner, Prom Home
How would the mental models of dancers whose first Slide Thru encounter looked like the above 
differ from those whose first encounter was more traditional: From SS, Heads Square Thru 4, Slide 
Thru? How can we stretch those restricted mental models, without causing undue stress?

Paradoxically, the best way to reduce firmly embedded restrictions is to use the call in a 
relatively bizarre situation, in a way they are unlikely to have experienced before. That serves to 
neutralize the preconceptions dancers have formed about the call and open their minds to receiving 
new information. Using the call from a situation that is different, but not strikingly so, can lead 
to frustration because the dancers do not recognize the situation is not the norm. For example, 
using Slide Thru from a sashayed 8- Chain causes confusion because few dancers will recognize the 
sashayed starting setup and accept they should finish facing out. It is better to use a �bizarre� 
situation such as the example above because it removes most of the subliminal cues the dancers 
normally react to.

Additional information on approaches for designing that sort of choreography is available in my 
handout for the session at this convention titled Different But Not Destructive.


Summary
For the most part dancers are unaware of the written word of CALLERLAB definitions. They operate 
according to the mental models of calls that they carry in their heads. The skeleton of these 
models is
first implanted by overt teaching, but mental models are fluid. Each encounter on the dance floor 
conveys unconsciously acquired conceptions about the call. The CALLERLAB Standard Applications 
books are intended to document the mental models that have become ubiquitous. Since mental models 
are fluid, however, callers may adjust or extend these Standard Applications by carefully exposing 
dancers to situations that extend but do not contradict their model of the call.
Barry Clasper                                                                                       
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