I call dances at community social events big and small, near and far!

Picture
Brian calling at the Catapult! dance weekend
in Atlanta.
I love being a dance caller, helping to carry on community dance traditions that I have enjoyed all my life. I first caught the dance bug around age 10 going to outdoor square dances each summer at Long Island’s Bald Hill Park. A few years after college, I eagerly looked up the Fluvanna Flutterwheels and joined the square dance scene in central Virginia, my new home. But discovering the Greenwood contra dance in 2002 really lit my fire, and not long after that my joy for calling was first kindled at a summer party in 2006 when there were musicians and eager contra dancers present but no one to call. Armed with a few dances freshly printed from a website, I stepped up...and based on compliments received, it appeared that I was a natural. After taking a calling course from renowned caller Tom Hinds, I began touring in earnest in 2009.

Nowadays I have called at hundreds of contra dances both in the mid-Atlantic states and as far afield as Maine, Indiana, Florida and California; even a guest appearance in Toronto. I am also a reed musician, and I play clarinet & saxophone for dances with my band Ricochet. I've also been seen playing as a guest with my friends in Atlantic Crossing.

Since 2011 I have also offered Club Contras, a really fun intersection of my passions for traditional dance and DJ'ing mainstream music. I enjoy producing contra dances with just about any kind of music, as long as it WORKS and is FUN TO DANCE TO. I have an extensive collection of music tracks that I have lovingly edited for contra dancing. I am happy to DJ my music mixes, call the dances, or do both at the same time!

As crowds of happy dancers will attest, my energetic yet easygoing style at the mic translates to guaranteed dance bliss. Please contact me if I can be of service, and I'll see you on the dance floor!