Me and Margaret (I am on the right)
Contra Dance Caller, et cetera
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Welcome...
This is a page dedicated to my life as a contra dance caller. Just so you don't get bored with all the words, I am going to give you some audio samples right up front. These samples were recorded 1n April 2002 when Domino played at the Burlington, VT dance at Edmunds school. You will need Real Audio installed on your computer to hear the samples. Download Real Player
Walk-through and dance
Dance only
Walk-through and dance
At the present...
I do not have my own regular dance, but I am working on it. I call a couple of times a year in Burlington and Bristol, and have called Montpelier First Night contra dance and the dances in Bennington, Tunbridge, Montreal, and at various community and private events. I have been collecting dances for years, and I always pick a program ahead of time, with extra dances in case I need to make the program more or less challenging.
I call contras, circle mixers, Sicilian circles, a few quadrilles, and a few odd dances. I am still learning about squares, but I have a couple I can call reasonable well. Most of the dances I know are modern (written since the 1970's), the rest are old chestnuts and traditional dances.
The dances I call tend to have 15 to nearly 100 percent beginners. I strive to make new folks feel welcome and relaxed, not only so they will have a good time, but also because I think they will learn better. I try to communicate this to experienced dancers, and also encourage the rule of three. What is that? Three obligated dances: 1. Dance with the person you came to the dance with, 2. Dance with someone you ordinarily would not dance with, and 3. Dance with someone who has a very different ability level from yours. I believe that if we all make an effort, we can build more viable dance communities.
I enjoy calling, and the only reason I do not call more dances at the moment is I have not had the time to promote myself. I am hoping this web site will help with that. I am able to travel, and would really like to do a tour with a band.
The Beginning
My first calling experience was in 1997 when David Kaynor came up to call the Burlington, VT contra dance. At the suggestion of a friend, I asked him if I could call one dance. He gained my perpetual respect for taking a leap of faith and letting me call the first dance after the break. I had taken a calling workshop with Carol Ormund several months before, but this was the real thing and I was terrified.
Well, I faced the 70 or so folks looking up at me expectantly, walked them through Carol's Lexington's Loss, then David started fiddling and ten or so repeats later it was all over. No on threw rotten fruit (well, they didn't know ahead of time, so they weren't prepared) and more importantly, I didn't croak from fear.
After losing my calling virginity, I continued to practice, collect dances, and call at every opportunity. Rachel Nevitt, who called a regular dance in the Old North End of Burlington, was very supportive. She would let me call occasionally at her dance, and gave loads of moral support. I also attended every callers workshop I came across, and have learned from Beth Molaro, Cis Hinkle, Rick Mohr, Larry Jennings, Mary Devlin, and others.
I am not sure how it works in other parts of the country, but in Vermont, inexperienced callers usually call for inexperienced dancers. A trial by fire, you might say. It is ironic, because it is generally more difficult (and more work) to call as the percent of beginners at a dance increases. In my efforts to gain experience, I have called free public dances at an art gallery and a local community farm, done beginner's sessions at dances, and contra workshops for girl scouts. Not only did I learn patience and pretty clear teaching methods, I have also become a pretty decent cat herder.
I value your comments, whether it is constructive criticism or you just want to say "hi" Just click this link to Contact Patrick.
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