Callers Resources
Local Callers
| Judy Bass |
| Deborah Hyland |
| Mac McKeever |
| Eric Schreiber |
| Ted Steele |
Calling Parties
Calling Parties take place on first, third and fifth Wednesdays at Martha's house. The Calling Parties, which started in June of 2007, are basically an incubator for newbie callers (called "Hatchlings"), though experienced callers who want to try out new dances or unusual moves are especially welcome. The gatherings encourage good calling, good dancing, good music, traditions, evolution of traditions, and fun.
You do not have to be a caller to come, just willing to dance and cheer. Childgrove callers, bless their hearts, enthusiastically support the efforts of the Hatchlings, inviting them to call a dance or two at almost every dance. The first all-Hatchling dance took place on April 6, 2008. Read their blog at http://dancecaller.blogspot.com. Contact Martha at meedwards@westendweb.com for more information.
Regional Callers
Jill Allen |
Lawrence, KS | Dot Kent |
IL | |
Kat DiFoxfire |
Columbia, MO | Paula McFarling |
Columbia, MO | |
Debi Harp |
Springfield, MO | Heidi Stallman |
Columbia, MO | |
Lisa Harris |
Lawrence, KS | Joe Surdyk |
Carbondale, IL | |
Jim Hawkins |
Springfield, MO | Jim Thaxter |
Columbia, MO | |
Gail Hinze |
IL | Martha Tyner | IL |
The Beneficial Tradition Library
The following books were donated by an anonymous patron for use by the St. Louis dance community. Anyone interested in borrowing one of these books should contact Deborah Hyland.- Ed Butenhoff, Dance Parties for Beginners (Rochester NY: Lloyd Shaw Foundation, 1990)
- Mary Dart McNab, Contra Dance Choreography: a reflection of social change (New York: Garland, 1995)
- Penn Fixx, Contra Dances of the Great Northwest (Spokane WA: Self-published, 1991)
- Gene Hubert, Dizzy Dances II (self-published?)
- Gene Hubert, Dizzy Dances III (self-published?)
- Larry Jennings, Zesty Contras (Cambridge MA: New England Folk Festival Association, 1983)
- Ted Sannella, Balance and Swing: a collection of fifty-five squares, contras, and triplets in the New England tradition with music for each dance (New York: Country Dance and Song Society, 1982)
Web Links
A Contra Dance Designer - http://www.seattledance.org/contra/design/
Notes on calling contra dances (Cary Ravitz) - http://ravitz.us/dance/call.php
Notes on choreography on contra dances (Cary Ravitz) - http://ravitz.us/dance/chor.php
How to learn to call - http://www.heinerfischle.de/contra/learn.htm
Resources for contra dance callers - http://www.quiteapair.us/calling/
Essays about contra dance - nearly 300 of them! http://www.contradancelinks.com/essays.html
Some of the categories: calling, organizing dances, composing dances, callers' workshops, and humor
So, Why Are They Called Chestnuts? You may have heard that contra dances have changed a bit in the last twenty years. What were they before? Here's an interesting piece of contra history.
Thoughts about calling dances (Seth Tepfer) - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/Calling/Handouts.html
How to Program an Evening - Part 1 (Seth Tepfer) - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/ProgrammingAnEvening.pdf
How to Program an Evening - Part 2 (Seth Tepfer) - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/ProgrammingAnEveningPart2.pdf
What Style of caller are you? - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/WhatKindOfCallerAreYou.pdf
How to compose a dance - http://ravitz.us/dance/chor.php#c
Dance Books available locally (compiled in 1998) - http://www.folkfire.org/books1.html
Lists of Dances
Fun Contras for a Mixed Crowd - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/DancesMixedCrowds.pdf
Great Dances for Novice Callers - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/DancesEasyCall.pdf
Groovin' dances to end an evening - http://www.dancerhapsody.com/handouts/DanceEndEvening3.pdf
American Country Dances Online - http://arcserve.astro.washington.edu/dances/
A compilation of dances - http://www.cambridgefolk.org.uk/contra/dances/
Rich Goss's Callers' Cards - http://www.richgoss.com/dancecards.doc
Michael Dyck's Contradance Index - http://www.ibiblio.org/contradance/index/
Rick Mohr's dances - http://rickmohr.net/
Carol Ormand's dances - http://www.geocities.com/carolormand/dances.html
Joseph Pimentel's dances - http://jp.thedance.net/Contras/ContrasDancesFrame.htm
Barb Kirchner's dances - http://www.geocities.com/barbkirchner2003
David Kirchner's dances - http://www.hamline.edu/~dkirchner01/personal/compositions/
Charlie Seelig's list of Dance Resources - http://www.contradancelinks.com/resources.html
Books for callers - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/1752/contra_books.html
See the Ralph Page Legacy Weekend syllabus collection at the New Hampshire Library of Music & Dance - http://www.izaak.unh.edu/nhltmd/ - many good dances here, with commentaries.
Happy Dancing!