Stepping Up to the Mic: Creating the Post-pandemic Dance Experience

As organizations are beginning to contemplate holding in-person activities, and as small dance parties are already happening, it’s time for callers to get ready. Join our panel of dance leaders, Lisa Greenleaf, Cis Hinkle, Kalia Kliban, and Ben Sachs-Hamilton, as they explore what dancers will need, want, and expect once in-person dancing resumes, how callers and organizers will need to work together to help re-build the community, and more.

Lisa Greenleaf calls regularly in the Boston and New England areas and has been a staff member at dance camps and festivals throughout the country and Europe. Her specialties include traditional and contemporary contras, fun squares, challenging dances of all shapes and sizes, and caller’s training. She is the talent booker for the Neffa Thursday Night Dance Committee, and is also a member of the CDSS Camp Task Group.

Kalia Kliban has been performing and teaching in a wide range of styles since the mid-80s, and she’s a regular contra and English caller in the vibrant California Bay Area dance community as well as at events across the US and beyond. Her welcoming and relaxed teaching style has helped dancers of all levels experience the joy of traditional dance. Since the onset of COVID restrictions she has been part of the online dance community, collaborating with caller Sharon Green in running the Odd Sundays English series.

Ben Sachs-Hamilton started contra dancing at 12 and started teaching dances at 15. Since then he has called and organized for dances across the northeast, with a focus on LGBTQ and gender-role-free dance communities. He fosters a welcoming and inclusive space for diverse groups of new and experienced dancers, adding tips on style and safety into his teaching. Ben currently lives in Western Massachusetts.

Cis Hinkle has delighted contra and square dancers since 1985 with her skilled teaching, welcoming manner, playful enthusiasm and masterful selection of dances. She is in great demand at music and dance festivals all over the U.S., England and Denmark, and is currently president of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee Contra Dancers. When not on the road, Cis teaches tai chi classes in her native Atlanta, GA. During the pandemic Cis has frequently called online, and has also helped produce weekly contra and ECD dances with some other members of the Atlanta community.