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.

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

• Chris calling the dance Chinese New Year written by himself with music by the Gotham Pioneers (Lise Brown, Naomi Morse, Peter Siegel) at the Concord Scout House in 2011
• Chris calling the dance Half a Slice written by Bob Isaacs with music by the Crabapples (Teresa Fife, Bob Silberstein, Norm Cotton, Marta Lynch) at at BACDS dance in Palo Also, CA in 2011
• Chris calling the dance Midwestern Rories written by himself with music by Welcome to Your Feet Again (Lloyd Carr, Mike Kerr, Siena Kaplan and Rachel Reeds) at the Portland Intown Contra Dance in 2018

More about Chris

• Chris's website contains a wealth of knowledge and gifts: all the dances he's ever written, dance programs, a wonderful annotated list of highlights from Ralph Page's folksy publication "Northern Junket," and more!!
• As Chris describes in the interview, The Caller's Box is a contra dance database produced by Chris and Michael Dyck. Thousands of dances at your fingertips!

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.

Soundbites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Sue calling the contra dance Forgotten Treasure by Beth Parkes with music by Betsy Branch, Sue Songer, and Eric McDonald at the Halifax Contra Fest on the CDSS Centennial Tour, 2015
• Sue calling the square dance Tea Kettles, by Ron Buchanan with music by ... at Timber Ridge Dance Camp in 2016
• Sue calling the traditional square dance Chase That Rabbit from the Join Up Hands CD 
• Sue calling the dance Sweet Potato from the Join Up Hands CD

More about Sue and Join Up Hands

• Learn more about Sue here on her website where you can also buy her Join Up Hands book and CD.
• Sue in the news! Check out a few local news clips about a January 2022 dance residency Sue did at North Woods International School, La Crosse, Wisconsin:
  • North Woods Global Folk Dancing
  • Folk dancing helps kids learn, move at North Woods International School in La Crosse
  • Northwoods students learn folk dance

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 transcripts and more. Or click here to download it directly.

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

Soundbites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Gaye calling the dance "Gaye's Groove" with music by The Syncopaths at the 2018 Atlanta Dance Weekend
• Gaye calling "Rick's Triplet #2" by Rick Mohr to the music of Turnip the Beet (Kelsey Wells & Jeremy Lekich) at the Trillium Twirl in Michigan in 2019
• Gaye calling the grid square "Can of Worms" by Bob Isaacs with music by The Syncopaths at the 2018 Atlanta Dance Weekend
• Gaye calling "United We Dance" by Bob Isaacs with music by the Asheville Cats in Cocoa Beach, Florida in 2015

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

In this bonus episode Tony Parkes shares archival recordings of 5 callers who deeply influenced his style:

• Ralph Page
• Rod Linnell
• Ed Durlacher
• Ed Gilmore
• Fred Townsand

See the From the Mic website for transcripts and more, or click here to download a transcript of this episode directly.

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. 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 transcripts and more. Or click here to download it directly.

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

Soundbites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• All tracks of Tony’s calling were recorded at the 2011 Dare to Be Square Weekend in Brasstown, NC and distributed by CDSS as the DTBS Syllabus
  • Tony calling Dosido & Face the Sides, track 033
  • Tony calling the singing square The Auctioneer, track 133
  • Tony calling The Kitchen Lancers, track 064
  • Tony calling The Merry-Go-Round, track 157

Other Links

• Tony and Beth Parke’s website has all manner of good things including access to their catalogue where you can order Tony’s books:
  • Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century
  • Contra Dance Calling: A Basic Text
  • Shadrack’s Delight – 43 original dances by Tony! (The title dance, “Shadrack’s Delight,” celebrates its 50th anniversary this year!)
  • And more!
• Tony Parkes interviewed by Julie Vallimont on our sister podcast, Contra Pulse!
  • Contra Pulse Episode 23
• Check out this lovely video of Tony calling the classic square dance mixer “The Merry Go Round” at the 2020 Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, including an introduction by David Millstone. The dance originated with Ralph Page, was adapted by Tony’s mentor Ted Sannella, and then adapted by Tony himself. Tony traditionally calls The Merry Go Round” as the last dance at the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA).

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 transcripts and more. Or click here to download it directly.

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

Soundbites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Sarah calling ​​"Dennis’ 50 Years of Entrancement" written by Seth Tepfer to the music of Riptide (Glen Loper, Owen Marshall, Alden Robinson) at the Epicenter dance weekend in Mill Valley, CA
• Sarah calling “Celebrating 60” written by Linda Leslie to the music of the combined Notorious (Larry Unger, Eden MacAdam-Somer, Sam Bartlett, and Mark Hellenberg) and Seaglass (Rachel Bell and Eileen Nicholson) Band at the Echo Summit dance weekend in Sacramento, CA
• Sarah calling "Vallimont's Steamboat" written by Chris Weiler to the music of the HotPoint Stringband at the June Moon dance weekend in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Other Links

• Check out Sarah's personal website
• Sarah's home dance where she got her start dancing and calling is run by the Syracuse Country Dancers
• Sarah is a longtime collaborator with Great Bear

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 transcripts and more. Or click here to download it directly.

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

Soundbites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Lisa calling the square dance “Contra Corners Canon” written by Ron Buchanan in 2004 to the music of Dave Langford, Lise Brown, and Kate Barnes
• Lisa calling the square dance Chinese Fan in 2013 to the music of Karen Axelrod, Daron Douglas, and Anna Patton.
• Lisa calling the contra dance "Summer of '94" by Mike Richardson at the 2015 Florida Snowball to the music of the Stringrays
• Lisa calling a variant of the contra dance "Mad Slice" by Rick Mohr at the 2013 Balance the Bay dance weekend to the music of the Moving Violations

Other Links:

• From her position as an internationally recognized dance caller and teacher Lisa has been interviewed many times! Here are a few others if you want to hear more:
  • 2007 interview with Bob Brundage for the Square Dance Foundation of New England, Inc
  • Lisa appears in a series of interviews in the Square Dance History Project database
• Lisa's home dance, which she helps organize, is the Thursday Night Contra at the Concord, MA Scout House
  • She's also very involved with the New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA)
• Lisa mentions BIDA, the Boston Intergenerational Dance Advocates
• She also mentions dance choreographer and commentator Larry Jennings, who you can get to know through his books Zesty Contras (1983) and Give & Take (2004)
• Several musicians and callers mentioned in Lisa's interview have appeared on our sister podcast "Contra Pulse!" Check them out here:
  • Tony Parkes
  • Larry Unger
  • Amy Larkin

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

In the debut episode of From the Mic we meet Phil Jamison of Asheville, North Carolina. Phil is nationally-known as a dance caller, old-time musician, and flatfoot dancer. He has called dances, performed, and taught at music festivals and dance events throughout the U.S. and overseas since the early 1970s, including over forty years as a member of the Green Grass Cloggers. His flatfoot dancing was featured in the film, Songcatcher, for which he also served as Traditional Dance consultant. From 1982 through 2004, he toured and played guitar with Ralph Blizard and the New Southern Ramblers. He also plays old-time fiddle and banjo.

Over the last thirty years, Phil has done extensive research in the area of Appalachian dance, and his book Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance (University of Illinois Press, 2015) tells the story behind the square dances, step dances, reels, and other forms of dance practiced in southern Appalachia. A 2017 inductee to the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, Phil teaches traditional music and dance at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, where for twenty-five years he served as coordinator of the Old-Time Music and Dance Week at the Swannanoa Gathering.

Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

Music and soundbites featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• “Blizard Train” – “Blizard Train,” Ralph Blizard & the New Southern Ramblers (June Appal Records, 1989) Ralph Blizard (fiddle), Phil Jamison (guitar), Gordy Hinners (banjo), Andy Deaver (bass).
• Phil Jamison, Thomas Maupin, and friends flatfooting at the Clifftop festival in 2010
• Phil calling the Grapevine Twist square dance and a big set dance at the 2011 Dare to be Square in Brasstown, NC
• Historic recordings from Phil (view the entire collection referenced in his book here):
  • Mellie Dunham, "Chorus Jig" contra dance (1926)
  • Samantha Bumgarner, calling a Southern (big ring) square dance to "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" (1924)
  • Ernest Legg calling "Chase the Rabbit" square dance with the Kessinger Brothers playing "Devil's Dream" (1928)
• “Zai Na Yaoyuan De Difang” (In That Faraway Place) – “March Celebration: Chinese-Appalachian Collaborations,” Jenny & the Hog Drovers and Manhu (recorded in Shanghai, China, 2017) Maddy Mullany & Clarke Williams (fiddles), Phil Jamison (banjo), Hayden Holbert (guitar), Landon George (bass), Jin Hongmei (vocal)
  • Watch a video of the group performing in China

Other Links

• Phil's website, where you can also order his book, Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics: Roots and Branches of Southern Appalachian Dance
• Square 'em up! A Dare to be Square event is happening in Dumfries, Virginia, May 6 - 8, 2022!
• Crazy about squares? There is SO MUCH on the Square Dance History Project webpage.
• Phil was featured in a great episode of Radio Lab exploring the history of square dance called "Birdie in the Cage"
• You'll find some of Phil's writing on dance traditions here on his website

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