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The following information is published with ROUNDALAB's permission from the ROUNDALAB Reference Manual compiled by Richard & Jo Ann Lawson, 1987.

Hints for Good Cueing

Bill and Carol Goss

Getting Started

  1. Tape the cues of a cuer that you think is good.
  2. Listen to the cues for cue words, positions, directions, rhythm, and inflection.
  3. Learn the dance to the cues as you start to use the cue words along with the cuer.
  4. Practice cueing without the cuer.
  5. Tape yourself cueing and then listen to yourself, dancing to the cues.
  6. Compare the ease of dancing to your cues and the other cuer's cues.
  7. Practice the dance often, refining your timing.
  8. Develop a library of a dozen or so dances by this method.
  9. Learn to cue them all without cue cards.
  10. Type a cue card only as a reference card for a later time, when you might not be using the dance often and you need a quick review.

On Your Own

  1. Break the cue sheet down and teach yourself the dance by cueing it out loud as you dance it.
  2. Dance it over and over again looking away from the cue sheet more and more.
  3. Approach the task as if you were learning the words of a song to be performed without looking at the score.
  4. Use the right number of cue words for level dancer that you are cueing for.
  5. Do not sing cues, but cue to a definite beat. The rhythm of your voice will help the rhythm of the dancers.
  6. Use a normal talking voice that has natural inflections. A monotone or a consistent raising and lowering at the end of a phrase can be annoying.
  7. Balance the music and the voice so that the voice is just slightly more dominant than the music.
  8. When sight cueing, watch the couple least likely to make an error until you are more confident. Then look around to see if others need a little more help with an added cue.