Sorry, late answer, just noticed this while looking for something else.

Playford dances.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dancing_Master

English country dances, like the Playford dances, each dance is done
to a specific pattern.  Each dance is built from a tool box of basic
movements.  Everybody learns the basic movements, and then learns the
patterns for specific dances.  Knowing the pattern for a particular
dance is a social marker.  Someone may be calling instructions as the
dance goes along, but that's a memory aid for the pattern of that
dance, not improvisation.  There is some improvisation in how you
execute each movement, but no improvisation overall in the pattern of
the dance.

Most modern dances, improvisation happens with each couple.  You learn
the basic pattern (foxtrot, tango, waltz, etc.) and then you learn a
toolbox of additional moves for that pattern.  When you dance, you
improvise with your partner, using the basic pattern and the toolbox
of additional moves.  (Some people don't get far beyond the basic
pattern and a couple of additional moves.  Some people get a lot
farther.)

My impression of "called" dances is that the dancers all learn the
toolbox of basic movements, and the overall pattern is improvised.
(Caveat, square dance is not my thing.)  The "caller" is making up the
pattern of the dance as they go along, from a toolbox of basic
movements. (Square dance is sets of four couples, in a square, go
figure.  Line dance is multiple people in a line of couples, or just
in lines.)  Multiple sets of couples may be doing the same dance in
their own separate floor spaces.  There *may* be specific named
patterns, too; again, square dance is not my particular thing.

(US style country line dance is more like historic English country
dance than square dance; there are formal patterns for each dance, the
individual movements have names, and while someone may be calling,
they are calling the established pattern for the dance, not
improvising.)

On Sun, Apr 14, 2019 at 7:58 AM Alan Peery <xxxxxx@tractare.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
> On 11/04/2019 02:09, Jeff Zeitlin wrote:
>
> What sort of pattern dances are you
> familiar with/aware of, and are any of them 'called'? Do you have
> references that I can read further on?
>
> Some good friends of ours have run a dancing group called London Barndance Company (https://www.barndance.org/) for 30+ years that meets monthly in London, not too far from Regent's Park.  Visitors are welcome, if you go say Alan sent you. :-)
>
> The dances tend more towards line dances than square dances, partly because line dances fit the hall better and also because of a belief that it helps keep the overall group together by mixing up the dancers.  The bands and callers change from month to month, and with it the dances change as well.  Mark's calls to the Wizard Walk (https://youtu.be/5hh4FgsGCrc?t=141 for the music ) may well differ from Colin's steps, and Mark's may even differ from session to session.  Calls tend to go on for the first half of the music, and then people settle into the pattern.  Here's a recent video shot by the band at a recent LBC session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8sEl_cF-J0.
>
> There are dance socities that tend to a more regimented set of dances.  From what I understand the "Playfair crowd" and many of the distinctly ethnic dance groups (Slovakian, Scottish)  are in this camp.  For more info, the society that owns the dance hall used by LBC and many othr dance groups may be helpful: https://www.efdss.org/.
>
> And just for good measure, I should probably mention the dance book written by my sister and brother in law, though I think there more coverage of the historic steps than the manner in which they were called:
>
> Western Dance, 1450-1650 (The Complete Anachronist, No. 101)
>
> https://www.amazon.com/Western-Dance-1450-1650-Complete-Anachronist/dp/B001H8XLLO
>
>
> Alan
>
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