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From the Mic

From the Mic

By: Mary Wesley CDSS
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About this listen

Host Mary Wesley takes you behind the caller's mic to explore perspectives from the people who choose to stand in that curious place between the band and a roomful of dancers. Featuring conversations with callers of American social dance forms (contras, community dances, trad squares). Why do they do it? How did they learn? What is their role, on stage and off, in shaping our dance communities? Art Entertainment & Performing Arts Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 32 - Lindsey Dono
    Oct 31 2025

    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

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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Episode 31 - Ang DeCarlis
    May 7 2025

    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

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Episode 30 - Jeremy Korr
    Mar 8 2025

    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

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 41 mins
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