From the Mic

Nov 08 2024 30 ep. 86 mins 17

From the Mic Podcast artwork

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?

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Episode 28 - David Kaynor

Nov 08 2024 70 mins

We have a special episode for you this month, From the Mic listeners! Mary shares an interview she recorded with David Kaynor of Montague, MA in 2011, ten years before his passing. Rather than focusing on calling, this interview is about the relationship between contra dancers and the Grange, the social organization connected to some of the places David organized dances near his ho

Episode 27 - Diane Silver

Sep 30 2024 104 mins

Check out this month’s interview with caller Diane Silver! Hailing from Asheville, NC, Diane has been a die-hard contra dancer, swing dancer, and flat-footer for nearly 30 years. With a penchant for hot modern contras and everyone-active squares, she loves sharing high-energy dancing that allows everyone to “play” with the band. Diane values calling for beginners and communit

Episode 26 - George Marshall

Aug 08 2024 98 mins

This month, Mary interview the renowned George Marshall, known for his expertise in teaching and calling New England-style contra dances, which he has collected from across the country. He is praised for his ability to match music with dance and for his clear and engaging teaching style. As a talented musician, George plays the concertina and bodhrán, and has recorded on eight alb

Episode 25 - Maia McCormick

Jul 08 2024 95 mins

Enjoy this month’s conversation with Maia McCormick, a contradance caller and choreographer based in New York City. Maia has called at festivals, weekends, and dance camps from coast to coast. As a choreographer, she strives to write dances that are fresh, yet idiomatic; as a caller, she is passionate about keeping the dance floor safe, comfortable, and connective.

Episode 24 - Rick Mohr

May 23 2024 101 mins

Rick Mohr's calling and choreography have delighted dancers for decades, from local barn dances to dance weeks and weekends across North America. Many of Rick's contra dances are coast-to-coast favorites, which he attributes to persistence in reworking an idea (for days or years) until any imperfections are smoothed out. In the wider world of traditional music and dance Rick also p

Episode 23 - Cis Hinkle

Apr 05 2024 81 mins

Cis Hinkle has delighted contra and square dancers since 1985 with her skilled teaching, welcoming manner, playful enthusiasm and masterful selection of dances. She is in great demand at music and dance festivals all over the U.S., England and Denmark. She’s also the current president of Atlanta’s Chattahoochee Contra Dancers. In this interview Cis takes us back to the first ti

Episode 22 - David Millstone

Mar 01 2024 100 mins

David Millstone started contra dancing with Dudley Laufman in the early 1970s and has been calling dances for forty-five years: contras old and new, squares from different regional traditions, English country dances, and plenty of family friendly events. He’s been on staff at dance weekends, festivals and weeklong camps from Alaska and Hawaii, Maine to Florida, as well as in nine

Episode 21 - Penn Fix

Feb 09 2024 87 mins

Penn Fix began dancing in the 70s in the Boston and Monadnock Valley areas, becoming a caller when he returned to his home in Spokeane, WA and filling the void that existed at that time. He’s the founder of a long-standing weekly dance, as well as co-founder of the Lady of the Lake dance damp. Serving on a number of boards, he’s seeped in the questions of how to make dancing we

Episode 20 - Susan Kevra

Jan 09 2024 87 mins

Mary's guest this month is Susan Kevra, a dance caller, musician, and singer who makes her home in Nashville, Tennessee. Dancers on both sides of the Atlantic appreciate her diverse repertoire of singing squares, Western patter calls, contras, and English Country dances. She has also choreographed a number of well-loved contra and square dances. Susan has taught English Country dan

Episode 19 - Ben Sachs-Hamilton

Dec 01 2023 74 mins

In this episode Mary is joined by contra dance caller and community organizer Ben Sachs-Hamilton - right in her own living room in Burlington, VT! Ben started contra dancing at 12 and started teaching dances at 15. Since then he has called and organized for dances across the northeast, with a focus on LGBTQ and gender-role-free dance communities. He fosters a welcoming and inclusiv