From the Mic

Hey From the Mic Listeners - happy October. It's just about the end of the month and you might be wondering if a new episode is coming out. And the answer is yes...soon! In fact, several episodes are in the works that I'm really looking forward to sharing. These interviews will spotlight callers and organizers who are part of the new African American Dance Caller Pathways Program.

This exciting project trains African American and/or Black-identifying aspiring dance callers in calling technique, traditional dances, history, and culture rooted in the legacy of blackness at its core. It grew out of an event called "FWAAM Fest!" That's the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival...FWAAM Fest, started in Texas by musician, organizer, and activist Brandi-Waller Pace. The first cohort of 3 callers began learning in 2025 and this March, in 2026 they all took to the mic for the first community dance at FWAAM Fest. This fall the SECOND cohort has just begun learning with 5 brand new callers from around the country.

I was super lucky to be in Fort Worth, on the dance floor for that first dance this March. From the Mic is a podcast about North American social dance calling and I really hoped to find a way to bring a glimpse into this amazing work to From the Mic listeners. Brandi and the callers have been wonderful about staying in touch and helping me to make this happen and SOON! So soon...you'll get to hear what we've been chatting about.

Sorry to make you wait a bit longer but this little passion project sometimes happens at the pace of life, if you know what I mean… As a little teaser I’ll leave you with this soundbite of Audra Scott calling at FWAAM Fest this March, and I’ll see you back here with full episodes next month!

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

Click here to download a transcript of the episode.

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

• Emily leads a Rushfest dance during a late night session at Youth Dance Weekend 2016.
• Emily Rush calling with Buddy System at the first ever Catalina Dance Weekend!
• Emily Rush calls the Readbeard Reel by Bob Isaacs at a Rushfest dance at Butterfly Whirl dance weekend on Saturday, 23 May 2026 at Decatur Recreation Center, Decatur, GA.

Other things!

• The Rushfest website! Great videos, workouts, samples of Emily's music mixes, and the amazing Code of Excellence! Make sure to check it out!
• Want to learn how to mix music like Emily does for Rushfest? Guess what!? She just did an online workshop for CDSS about this and you can watch the workshop recording right here: Mixing It Up: Making Recorded Music Work for Contra Dance with Emily Rush

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

Download the full transcript here.

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

• Margaret calls the English country dance Trip to Tunbridge at Pinewoods Camp in 2026
• Margaret calls an English country dance she composed with her husband, Jeff—New Map at Pinewoods Camp in 2026

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

Download the full transcript here.

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

• Ghislain calling a square dance in Sutton, QC with music by Patrice Boucher, Richard Forest, and Tristan Henderson
• Ghislain calling at the Comboros festival in France (recording courtesy of Ghislain)
• Ghislain calling at a veillée de danse traditionnelle, an evening of traditional dance in Quebec City with music by Le Vent de Nord.

Other things!

• Gigi's Link Tree full of great videos, resources for callers, and his gig schedule. Make sure to check it out!

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

Click to view a full transcript of the episode

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

• Bill calling his contra dance Weeks on the Road at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in Durham, NH in 2020
• Bill calling the singing square dance On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend in Durham, NH in 2020

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

Click here for the episode transcript

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

• Lindsey calling the dance “Susie's Send-Off" by Scott Higgs with music by Audrey Jaber and Alex Cumming at the Lake City Contra Dance in Seattle on April 17, 2025.

• Lindsey calling the dance "Labor of Love" by Kathy Anderson with music by Pachelbel's Bazooka (Claude Ginsburg, Dave Bartley, and Anita Anderson] at the Emerald City Contra Dance at Phinney Neighborhood Center, in Seattle, Washington on February 3, 2023

Other things!

• Lindsey's very own website. Make sure to check out:

• Dance choreography!
• Hear more wisdom from Lindsey and others in this great online workshop from CDSS: The Caller’s Toolbox: Gender-free Calling for Contra Callers
• Check out a recent story from KNKX Public Radio featuring Lindsey and others from the Seattle dance community.

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

Click here for the episode transcript

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

• Ang calls the dance The Magpie and the Seal by David Zinkin with music from Sycamore (Cedar Stanistreet, Samuel Foucher, Michael Sokolovsky) at the Mt. Airy Contra Dance
• Ang calls their dance Golden Girl with music by Gus La Casse on fiddle, and Pepin Mittelhauser on guitar and mandolin at the BIDA dance in July 2024

Other things!

• Ang's very own website. Make sure to check out:

• Dance compositions, including the dream dance "Golden Girl"
• Dance Safety Illustrations

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

Click here to download the transcript

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

• Jeremy calling the dance 16 for Gregg by Luke Donforth with music by The Syncopaths (Ryan McKasson, Ashley Hoyer, Christa Burch, and Jeff Spero) at the 2025 Fiddling Frog Dance Weekend in Pasadena, CA.
• Jeremy calling a square dance with music from the band Big Fun (Marty Somberg, Rob Nuhn, Myron Grant, and Lance Wagner) at the 2012 Ann Arbor Dawn 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 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):

• Peter leads his class of 8-10 year olds in the traditional playparty game "The Noble Duke of York" to the New England Dancing Masters recording from their Rise Sally Rise CD at the July 2022 Country Dance & Song Society Ogontz Family Camp.
• Peter teaches "La Bastringue", a traditional French Canadian circle dance to some fourth graders in a clip from the New England Dancing Masters DVD Chimes of Dunkirk - Teaching Dance to Children.
• Peter and Mary Alice dance and sing the Lorraine Hammond singing game The Tree Song, which can be found in New England Dancing Masters' book and companion CD Down in the Valley - More Great Singing Games for Children.

Other links

• Peter and Mary Alice's website - Amidon Community Music
• The New England Dancing Masters website
• Bow Tie Music - many examples of NEDM dances here in this wonderful collection!
• Pourparler - Gathering of music and dance teachers hosted by the National Folk Organization

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

More about the Granges

• The Montague Grange is no longer active as a Grange, but the Grange Hall, now know as the Montague Common Hall, is still an active community hub now lovingly maintained by the Friends of the Montague Common Hall, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. They host social dances and music in the space along with many other events. The organization is currently fundraising for future improvements to the building.
• The Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, MA celebrated 150 years in 2023! The Grange membership, which still includes many dancers and musicians connected to the contra dance community, has worked to broaden the mission of the Grange to encompass many facets of community enrichment (including dance!)
• The Capitol City Grange in Montpelier, VT is also still active as a Grange and still hosts regular contra dances on first, third, and fifth Saturdays of each month, along with many other community events and activities.

More about David

• David's obituary, June 1, 2021
• Before David's passing in 2021 The Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS) presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation happened over zoom and the recording is still available.
• With help from many, many contributors, Sue Songer has assembled a wonderful book about David called "David Kaynor: Living Music and Dance," which also includes many of his musical compositions as well as writings about dance and dance calling.
• Midnight in Montague - Betsy Branch and David recorded a wonderful album INSIDE the Montague Grange Hall called "Midnight in Montague." Betsy is working on getting the album up on Bandcamp and also having it reprinted for purchase on CD. Stay tuned here for more info.

Thanks to Vermont Folklife

We extend a special thanks to Vermont Folklife, a statewide cultural research and education nonprofit that loaned Mary the equipment to make this recording with David and then placed a copy of the recording in their Archive so the file wouldn't become lost in the ether of Mary's personal, digital files. (Fun fact: Mary now serves as the Director of Education and Media at Vermont Folklife!)

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):

• Diane calls the dance Roll Around by Cary Ravitz with music by Steamshovel with the Chattahoochee Country Dancers in Atlanta in 2014
• Diane calls the dance Silver Anniversary by Jim Kitch with music by Steamshovel with the Chattahoochee Country Dancers in Atlanta in 2014

Other links:

• Diane's website!
• Dance Safety guidelines from Asheville's Old Farmer's Ball
• Diane shows up in this great local news segment on contra dancing in North Carolina

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

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