"Can you play 'Far Far Away'?" is an old joke, but playing less will actually make your band sound better. Volume changes -- dynamics -- make the dancers actually notice the band.
The simplest version of this is the big finish. When the caller holds up three fingers to say "Three more times through," use the countdown to end with a 3-2-1-0 punch. During 3, you make sure everyone knows to play quietly on time 2. In B2, build until you hit full volume in time 1, to end the dance with a flourish.
A second is having individual members drop out for a part or a time. If the dance is going strong, having the rhythm instruments -- piano, guitar, bass -- stop playing and leaving the melody instruments on their own makes a big change in the sound, at both the stop and the restart.
A more sophisticated variant is fancier drop-outs. Give everyone a number, then call "Next time, 1 and 3 ... Now add 2 ... Everybody."
Fine-grained versions of this in the rhythm section grade into rhythm changes. When the guitar drops out for a random amount of time, to adjust a mike or change a string, dancers hear a glitch. When the guitar drops out for a measure, or half a measure, or a beat, dancers hear a dramatic effect. (For any instrument, if you have to drop out, don't rush back in -- always come back in at part boundaries.)
When a dance really gets rocking, the dancers become part of the rhythm section. A petronella "Turn to the left" is capped with a "clap-clap." "Long lines go forward and back" kicks into a "one-two-three-WHUMP," with a big stomp at the end of the lines forward.
If this starts, watch a couple of times through, to through to see exactly when it happens in the tune, then give 'em a solo. Stop playing for the beat they're stomping or clapping on, and let them do it instead. The first time we ever did this, our caller whipped around, grinning from ear to ear.
We have, on rare occasion, extended this to an entire part. We stop playing and let the dancers dance in silence.
This is risky. Done right, you'll be heroes. Done wrong, enough dancers will think the dance has ended, the dance will fall apart, and everyone will blame the band. Correctly, I might add.
Picking the right part to try this helps your odds. Don't stop playing for the A1. Seems obvious, but I'll say it anyway.
Watch the dance flow, too: when there's a move that the dance flows smoothly into, then even if you stop playing for it, they're more likely to keep going. (That does take being able to recognize those parts, which you can't do if you don't dance. Want to become a hotter band? Dance more.)
Another aide to success for this is keeping the rhythm going. Though we're not playing, I'll keep time, tapping the top or side of my instrument, so there's something coming through the speakers.
Even without a rock band in front of me, I get an occasional drum solo.
