Steve,

There are a number of facets to this.
e.g.
Setting the speed (and sticking to it), getting the rhythm right for each type of dance, having sufficient and appropriate repertoire, having specific tunes that the caller may require, having the skills to play English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, American, French tunes as required or specialising in a particular genre - ECeilidh, Contra etc., Playing together as a group, starting and finishing sets, getting the road map right (numbers of As and Bs and tune sequences)being practiced and professional (no twiddling or learning the tune during the walk through), using sound sytems effectively, giving value for money, specific instrument techniques - staccato playing for accordions, appropriate ornamentation for fiddlers.

There are specific skills and expectations when playing for weddings, children, ceilidhs (English, Irish or Scottish), Irish set dances, formal Scottish dances, contra (do you know how to start with 4 potatoes?), period English dances etc.

I'm teaching soon at the Stafford Music Day which is an annual event for musicians, mostly aimed at playing for dancing. The workshops this year include -

Accordion Technique
Playing for Contra dances
Tunes for the inexperienced musician
Playing in a band
Melodic variations and accompaniments
Tunes from the Village Music Project
Inspiring the Dancers!
Ragtime
Session tunes
Apted tunes
Lyrical Tunes


We usually get about 50 people for the day and include an exercise putting together a set for a dance in small groups in addition to the specific workshops.

PM me if you want to discuss.

Howard Mitchell
http://www.hgmitchell.co.uk