From the Mic

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

Show Notes

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Clip of George calling the dance Worth the Wait by Dana Parkinson at the Glen Echo Contra Dance in 2012 with music by Swallowtail
• Clip of George calling the dance Salute to Larry Jennings by Ted Sannella and Russell Owen at the Greenfield, MA contra dance in 2011 with music by Wild Asparagus

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Maia Calls the dance Playground Stomp by Julian Bee with music by Not Enough Fiddles at NEFFA 2017 in Mansfield, MA
• Maia Calls A Dance for Dan by Bill Olson with music by Callithump (David Knight (fiddle), Andrew Marcus (accordion), Paul Oorts (guitar)) at the Silver Spring, MD monthly contra dance in March, 2015.

Other links:

• Check out Maia's excellent website! Including:
  • Dance blog!
  • Dance compositions
  • She's even written a few dance tunes!

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Rick calls his own dance, Rick's Triplet #1 at the 2011 Chattahoochee Country Dancers Au Contraire November Dance Festival in Atlanta, GA to the music of Crowfoot (Adam Broome, Jaige Trudel, and Nicholas Williams)
• Rick calls the dance Tica Tica Timing by Dean Snipes at the 2015 Flurry Festival with music by the Great Bear Band, (Andrew VanNorstrand, Noah VanNorstrand, Kim Yerton, Rebecca Bosworth-Clemens, and Dana Billings)

Other links:

• Once you've listened to Rick on this podcast, go check him out on his own podcast! Rick hosts and produces the Northwest Philly Neighbors podcast where he interviews, you guessed it! His neighbors!
• Explore dances written by Rick here and find lots more goodies on his website.
• Learn about the By-Ear Open Band
• And for all you dance card enthusiasts, thanks to Rick for sharing the fruits of his epic internet search for heavier weight index cards!
• Lastly - how cool is the World of Tessellation Art that Rick made!?

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Cis calling the dance Reel to Reel by Cary Ravitz with music by Barefoot (Ed Howe and Jamie Oshima) at the 2015 - Atlanta Dance Weekend with the Chattahoochee Country Dancers
• Cis calling a square dance with music by The Figments (Ethan Hazzard-Watkins, Owen Morrison, and Anna Patton) at the 2023 Epicenter Contra Dance Weekend in Mill Valley, California.

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• David calling a variation on the dance "California Twirlin" by Janet Levatin at to the music of Nova at the Ottawa Contra dance on April 28, 2016.
• David calling the singing square dance "Deep in the Heart of Texas" to the music of the Stringrays at the 2013 Dance in the Desert weekend near Tuscon, AZ.

More from David

• David's work as a documentarian is prolific! Be sure to check out these links mentioned in the interview:
  • The Square Dance History Project
  • A Hand for the Band
  • Find MUCH more on his personal website
• David has also presented for groups all over the country, both in person and online. Check out these recordings:
  • Country dance in Modern Times: Squares, ECD, and Contras in Post-WWII America
  • Contra Dance in Modern Times: 75 years of change in post-WWII America
  • Contra Chestnuts: A New Look at Old Dances
  • Square Dance: An American Medley (for the Country Dance and Song Society)
    • Session 1 – historic roots
    • Session 2 – Northern and Southern
    • Session 3 – Western and modern

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Penn calling the dance Hillsboro Jig by Bill Thomas to the music of Applejack on May 3, 2014, in Peterborough, NH, at the "Kwackfest" dance to celebrate the life of Bob McQuillen.

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.

• Learn more about Susan here on her website.
• Susan references this book, "Swinging the Machine," in the interview

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Susan calling the singing square dance Goodbye My Lady Love on the Great Meadows Music recording Susan Kevra's Full Swing
• Susan calling the contra dance As If by Jesse Edgerton at the Chattahoochee Contra Dancers and Atlanta Dance Weekend
  Contra Under the C (CD) with music by Eloise & Co (Rachel Bell, Becky Tracy, and Owen Morrison.)

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.

• You can follow Ben's calling here on his caller Facebook page
• Ben is an advocate for gender-role-free dance calling. In this episode of CDSS Common Time he participates in a panel discussion on the ins-and-outs of calling gender free.
• Ben also serves on the camp committee for the Lavender Country and Folk Dancers.

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Ben calling a folk-processed variant of "The Amazing Becky Cohen" written by Tom Hinds at the Swingin' Tern dance in East Hanover, New Jersey in 2019 with music by the band Blue Jersey (Frank Ruck on mandolin and banjo, Louise McClure on fiddle, Ellen Ruck on guitar, and John Burton on bass.)

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.

• Learn more about David on his website including some of the dances he’s written!
  • In the show David mentions these dances:
    • Robin Hood
    • Maid Marian's Fancy
    • David’s Triplet #1.5 (A.K.A. “Corner Triplet,” by Linda Leslie)
• Also make sure to check out his book (co-authored with David Millstone):
  • Buy the book: Cracking Chestnuts: The Living Tradition of Classic American Contra Dances
  • Also useful is this amazing online video library, which shows examples of every dance in the book

 Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• David calling the traditional chestnut British Sorrow for the Country Dancers of Rochester at Harmony House in Webster New York in April, 2023 with music by "Confluence" (Nadine Dyskant-Miller and Barbara Dyskant.)
• David calling the traditional dance “Careless Sally” at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in 2009 with music by George Wilson, Deanna Stiles, Bob McQuillen

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. Click here to download the transcript directly.

And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent

Learn more about Susan on her website including some of the dances she's written!

Sound bites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Susan calling at the Lake City Contra Dance in Seattle 2023 with music by "The Electrodes" (Joe Bowbeer, Joe Micheals, Marcy Kubbs)
• Susan calling the dance "Barbarella" by Tom Thoreau at the Burning Man Contra Dance in 2014 with music by The Syncopaths and Ed Howe

See the From the Mic website for great bonus content, including pictures and audio, transcripts, and more. And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent