Calling feels like a puzzle to solve and a skill to build, and something that can be constantly honed. I’m never going to be done developing as a caller. ~Maia McCormick Maia McCormick is a contradance caller and choreographer based in New York City, and has gigged at festivals, weekends, and dance camps from coast…

Rick Mohr’s calling and choreography have delighted dancers for decades, from local barn dances to dance weeks and weekends across North America. Many of Rick’s contra dances are coast-to-coast favorites, which he attributes to persistence in reworking an idea (for days or years) until any imperfections are smoothed out. In the wider world of traditional music and dance Rick also plays fiddle for contra dances, leads an open band, chorus songs, writes songs and fiddle tunes, leads, plays, and choreographs for Morris and rapper, and programs dance weeks. Enjoy!

I tell new people out on the floor, “If you’re having a good time, that’s fine, it isn’t all about doing it right.” And I finally heard what I said, and I realized that it might apply to me, too! ~ Cis Hinkle Cis Hinkle has delighted contra and square dancers since 1985 with her…

David Millstone started contra dancing with Dudley Laufman in the early 1970s and has been calling dances for forty-five years: contras old and new, squares from different regional traditions, English country dances, and plenty of family friendly events. He’s been on staff at dance weekends, festivals and weeklong camps from Alaska and Hawaii, Maine to…

Dancing is magical. And if you’re willing to dance with someone you don’t know, then good things can happen I think. And you put it in the context that you’re dancing not just with a partner, but you’re dancing with a whole community of people who are very supportive and joyous and having fun, that…

I think the caller ideally should be part of the band. Not to upstage the band, but that there should be an effort to think about what you’re doing musically. ~ Susan Kevra Mary’s guest this month is Susan Kevra, a dance caller, musician, and singer who makes her home in Nashville, Tennessee. Dancers on…

Seeing the community that exists around this dancing—seeing how much it means to people and looking back and seeing how many of the close friendships and relationships in my life have come from this community—I want to do whatever I can to support it and help it grow and thrive. ~Ben Sachs-Hamilton In this episode…

How many parts of our lives are all organized around this idea of joyful interaction? When we dance, why are we getting together except to do this beautiful thing that’s been around forever and that keeps evolving. ~David Smukler This episode we hear from the most wonderful David Smukler. A dance caller, scholar, organizer, choreographer,…

I love treating each night as an experiment, and it really is, everything comes together differently. No two dances, no two evenings of contra dancing are ever exactly the same. You never know what it’s going to turn out like, but you know it’s going to be unique, never to be exactly duplicated and that’s…

Catherine Burns has been at the heart of the Ottawa contra dance scene for decades. Born in Switzerland to Canadian parents Catherine traveled the world in her youth then became the house caller for the Old Sod Folk Music Society when they started a dance in the late 90s. Since then, she’s been a steady presence in the Ottawa dance scene, helping to mentor new callers and shape a warm and welcoming community in her chosen home town.