Episode 13 - Louise Siddons

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 pandemic lockdown several community members collaborated to create an oral history of the Society, which you can listen to here.

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

• Catherine calling the dance Trip to Margaree by Sue Rosen at the Ottawa Contra Dance in 2012 with music by The Old Sod Band.
• Catherine calling the dance Feet in Flight by Dale Rempert at the Ottawa Contra Dance in 2015 with music by Genticorum.

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 August, 2019 Portland (ME) Intown Contra Dance with music by Shandy (Eileen Kalfass, Rebecca McCallum, and Jane Knoeck)
• Luke calling his own dance, If You Can Walk, You Can Dance at the Feb. 2017 Mad Robin Contra Dance in Burlington, VT with music by Maivish

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 (recording provided by Steve)

Steve calling the dance Hillsboro Jig by Bill Thomas at the 2019 Memorial Day Dawn Dance in Brattleboro, VT with music by Polaris.

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 London Barndance in London, UK with music by Portland Drive.

Louise calling the square dance Square Line Special by Gary Roodman at the Brighton Gender-Free Contra+ dance in Brighton, UK with fiddling by Linda Game.

More about Louise

• You can buy Louise's book, Dancing the Whole Dance: Positional Calling for Contra here!
• Louise has offered a number of online workshops related to positional calling, which are accessible here on her website (along with lots of other goodies!)