2010 West Coast GLBT Advanced Challenge Weekend
Featured Callers
Saundra Bryant was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. She first started square dancing when she was eight years old as a Girl Scout with her best friend Alicia. The leader of the troop happened to be Alicia's mother, world famous square dance caller Swersie Norris. Swersie taught square dancing to youth groups and coached boy's basketball and baseball. In fact, that's how Swersie found dance partners for the girls; she would make the boys dance with them before they could play ball!
After going to college, Sandie returned to square dancing in 1978. By this time, Callerlab had established dance levels and calling lists. She went back to a Beginners class Swersie was teaching, but didn't believe she'd remember any of her past training. To everyone's surprise, she wound up directing traffic in the square. So Swersie gave her the entire Mainstream and Plus list to study.
By October, Swersie thought Sandie had lost her mind. Sandie had gone from non-dancer to C4 in one year! By the summer of 1980, Sandie called her first National Convention in Memphis and proceeded to establish herself as one of the premiere callers in the country.
Around 1988, a Times Squares dancer told her about a new year-old club called the Chi-Town Squares, who were looking for a caller. Club cofounder, Ron Goodman, later called her, informing her that Chi-Town Squares was a gay club. Her response was basically, "And I'm a black caller!" So they had a little laugh and it was never an issue from the start. As it turned out, Sandie wasn't available to teach that year on Tuesdays, but she recommended a man by the name of Lindle Jarvis. And the rest is history!
Sandie is internationally known, having called in Japan, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Mexico.
Sandie still lives on the South Side of Chicago with her husband, Albert and her daughter, Alexandra. We are truly privileged to have Sandie here in Chicago.
Anne was born and grew up in Peterborough, Ontario, of Scottish parents who shared with her their interest and talent in music. They all played instruments in the home, and Anne who has been playing since age 7, has a musical expertise that extends to the accordion, saxophone, and clarinet.
As a teenager, Anne and her Dad played at a local dinner club (background music for dining). Anne's parents were very much into ballroom dancing. As a child Anne knew nothing of square dancing. After finishing high school her parents took square-dancing lessons.
When a local Mainstream caller was having a weekend dancing campout that her parents were planning to attend, they invited Anne to come along to swim, enjoy the outdoors, or whatever since she had no specific plans for that weekend. It turned out that the dance was one person short of an additional square and Anne was drafted to fill in. After three days and a lot of push, pull, and shove, she was dancing (almost at Plus level) - and she was hooked! Anne began dancing at the local Mainstream club, enjoying it immensely and became friends with local dancers, Jean and Dave Johnstone.
Dave approached her one night and ask if she might be interested in dancing at a higher level. Anne exclaimed that she thought she was dancing the top level! She did not know there was anything higher, and when she was invited to go with them to Toronto she was really excited at the prospects. She did go and hardly understood anything said the entire evening. After it was all over she was acutely aware that there was a lot more more to square dancing than she had ever dreamed, and thought, "That's for me!"
Anne started calling in 1976 for a children's group and has progressed to call for all dancing levels from Basic to C4. A strong "home" program for Squares Across the Border Monday through Thursday complements an equally busy traveling schedule on the week-ends that may find her calling anywhere from Vancouver to Florida, Boston to San Francisco and across the miles to Japan and Europe. Some of the calling highlights she is really proud of are her calling assignments at the numerous IAGSDC Conventions in Canada and the Unites States, the Canadian Challenge Convention, the National Challenge Convention, and the Academy of Advanced and Challenge Enthusiasts. Anne's relaxed style and easy listening voice have won her many square dance friends at all the dancing levels. Anne resides in Burnaby, British Columbia, with her son Todd and her life partner Sally.
John was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He began his calling career there in 1969. Four years later a change in his day job brought him to Northern Virginia. He currently resides in Sterling near Washington D.C. John regularly calls every program from Basic through C-3B as well as party nights.
John has worked to develop a strong program in his community. The program includes home clubs ranging through Challenge 2. In addition to these clubs, John also teaches classes and workshops to support the continued growth of these groups.
This home program is accented by John's out of town calling commitments which have taken him all over the United States and Canada, and overseas to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, and Australia.
Becoming a full time caller in 1979 gave John more time to work at his chosen profession. Consequently he has chaired committees as a Callerlab member, and is serving an elected term on the Board of Governors. John is currently the Chairman of Callerlab. He is very proud to be serving in this capacity. John enjoys serving as a clinician, panelist, and presenter at workshops and schools for callers.
During his career he has been a regular contributor to various square dancer and caller publications, he has appeared on television a variety of times, and as a talented singer has served as a recording artist for Sets in Order, 4 Bar B Records, and Red Boot Records.
John is always working to expand his music and choreographic knowledge, as well as his showmanship abilities in order to bring you the best square dancing possible.
Calls Mainstream through C4. Vic Ceder was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA, but has called Los Olivos, CA home for over 21 years. He began square dancing in 1973 at age 13 where he met his wife, Debbie. They have a fourteen-year-old daughter named Caitlyn who, thanks to the infectious fun of the IAGSDC convention, has finally expressed interest in learning how to dance. Vic started calling in 1981 and his calling career has taken him to many US states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, England, Sweden, and Denmark.
By day, Vic is a computer programmer and he has written a comprehensive calling program that has been on the market since the late 1980's, and another program that helps evenly rotate couples throughout squares. He and his wife have also written a series of square dance definition books for the A1 through C3 programs. He maintains one of the most resourceful websites on square dancing at http://www.ceder.net.
Vic's past calling highlights have included several state, national and international conventions including the National Square Dance Convention (NSDC), the National Advanced and Challenge Convention (NACC), the Academy for Advanced and Challenge Enthusiasts (AACE), the Canadian Challenge Convention, the International Association for Gay Square Dance Clubs Convention (IAGSDC), the International Plus Advanced and Challenge Convention (iPAC) in Europe, and the USAWest festival. He has also served as an instructor at the Gay Caller's Association (GCA) caller's school.
Todd calls Fun Nights through C3B. He'll even call some C4 if asked nicely! Todd has been calling for 35 years. With his love of travel, he has called in 27 states, Canada, England, Germany, Sweden and Taiwan. He has also been on staff at a few caller's schools.
Michael's first introduction to Square Dancing was in the mid-1960s, while on a family vacation to Capon Springs State Park, West Virginia. His next opportunity to square dance was in 1976 at a church convention in Philadelphia, PA. On both occasions the groups were dancing Traditional Appalachian or Southeastern Square Dancing. Michael learned Modern Western Square Dancing in 1984 when the D.C. Lambda Squares started holding their classes in the dining hall of the church where he was organist-choir director.
Michael began his calling career in the summer of 1993 shortly after attending his first callers school. From 1993-1999 he was the club caller and instructor for the Rosetown Ramblers in Portland, Oregon. Currently his home program consists of calling for the C-Dogs, a C-1/C-2 club also in Portland, and calling for the Coast Swingers, a Mainstream club in Garibaldi, Oregon, for whom he is the club caller and instructor.
He is proficient at all levels from Basic up to and including C-2 and enjoys the variety of all the levels. Michael has been a guest caller at various weekends from coast to coast in the USA and Canada, as far north as Vancouver, BC and Toronto, Ont., and as far south as San Diego, CA. He has left his mark on the square dance world with his keen attention to detail, choreographic definitions and smooth choreography. His creativity is evident at every level and you will never be bored at any dance that Michael is calling.
Michael is proud to be a member of Callerlab, the International Association of Square Dance Callers, where he serves on the definitions sub-committee. He is also a member of the Gay Callers Association, a callers organization for callers who call for the gay/lesbian community.
