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 pr...

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 M...

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....

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...

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 con...

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 Ani...

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...

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 Gr...

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...

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 Ha...

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 Steam...

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 P...

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...

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 Chattahooc...

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 Ba...

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 Jan...

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...

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 f...

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 epi...

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: Robi...

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...

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 Catherine has deep ties with the Old Sod Society, the house band for the original Ottawa contra dance for many years. During the...

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): Luke calling the dance Homeward Bound by Andrea Nettleton at the A...

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): *Audio only* of Steve calling at the Concord Scout House - 2023...

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): Louise calling the dance The Reminder by Louise Siddons at the L...