Square dance tip

In Modern Western square dance each dance round, called a tip, typically consists of two dances. The first dance part is known as a hash call and the second one is a singing call. In between there's a short break, while the caller prepares for the next song.

During a tip, a dancer will have the same original partner and stay in the same square, i.e. dance with the same group of people. Also, the relative positions between the dancers will be restored when the tip is over. Exceptions to these rules may take place in so called square games.

The duration time of a tip may vary, but is usually between ten and twenty minutes. Between tips, dancers are generally encouraged to find other dance partners and form new squares for the next tip.

inging call

The singing call is the second and last dance part of a square dance tip. The dance instructions are sunged as well as the lyrics during the long duration calls. The music are often popular songs and the calls should be timed to fit. During a singing call the female dancers temporarily switch partners in a counter-clockwise order around the square until they return to their original partners. That makes the choreography more structured than a typical hash call. At the end of a singing call, the caller must restore the original order of the square.

Hash call

A hash call is the first dance part of a square dance tip. It's characterized by its unstructured and often puzzling dance choreography. The music is usually instrumental and the calls are typically not sunged, but rather rhythmically spoken. At the end of a hash call, the caller must restore the original order of the square. At this time, it's possible for the caller to "stir the bucket", i.e. turn the whole square a quarter rotation counter-clockwise. It still means that the relative positions between the dancers are restored. However, in the next dance the caller must then initially refer to the couples as "new heads" and "new sides".