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.

It’s amazing to see that many people just blissed out and dancing and having gotten to help them get there as a collective, as a group of people…and being like, “I helped this.” I didn’t play an instrument, but I helped them get there together with the music… ~ Luke Donforth This month Mary is…

 I think what the caller brings is probably different for each person who’s there…it’s experience, it’s confidence, it’s preparation, it’s knowing your material. But it’s all packaged and presented with your personality.  ~ Steve Zakon-Anderson In 1980, Steve walked into his first contra dance not knowing how it would change his life! He started calling…