I was born in Cairns, Queensland in 1997 however have spent most of my life in Melbourne, Victoria. Square dancing has long been a part of my life, the first dance I attended I was only 6 weeks old (although I admit my dancing knowledge was limited at that stage!) After several years of watching I learnt to square dance at Golden Squares in 2004 and was soon out and about dancing at several clubs.
After years of admiring top callers such as Brian Hotchkies and Peter Humphries I decided to have a go at calling, my first call was at an Amateur Callers Night in February 2006. In October 2006 I visited Frank Kennedy's Newport club, and with great encouragement from Frank I quickly started improving and before long I started receiving calls at several dances. I am very appreciative to all the callers who gave me a go at this early stage, without their support I would never have made it to where I am today. In early 2007 I started attending Matamoras Squares with Peter Humphries, Peter was quick to offer me a call and advice and Peter also ensured he gave me a call at large events such as Speewa and his club birthdays. I can’t thank Peter enough for his help in developing my calling.
In early 2008 I became an official trainee under Frank and started calling hoedowns whilst working hard on improving singing calls. In late 2008 Frank encouraged me to try round dance cueing and soon enough I was also cueing a couple of rounds a night at Frank’s club. Over the next few years I continued to develop and received calls at many different clubs and events.
In late 2011 I decided to open my own club and in April 2012 'Australiana Dancers' was formed. Once again Peter and Frank were crucial in getting the club up and running. In September 2012 I took over calling at Early Birds Mornington (due to their club caller Clem Parkinson retiring) and I call weekly for this club also. After a while there was significant interest in having a new night for Plus and Rounds and Australiana Tuesdays was formed with a fortnightly Rounds, fortnightly Plus format. Australiana Dancers has graduated over 40 learners through its first two learner classes and dances 4-5 sets each week (with at least a set of under 18s!). Australiana Dancers has hosted feature callers including Barry Wonson (1st Birthday) and Paul Bristow UK (2nd & 3rd Birthday).
I call from Basic/Mainstream through to A2 and cue rounds up to PH IV. Adelaide will be the 6th convention I’ve attended and the 3rd I have been programmed for. I am a member of the Victorian Callers Association, Australian Callers Federation and Callerlab.
Outside of square dancing I am currently doing my Year 12 VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) School Studies with main topics in Software Development, IT Applications, English and Further Maths. My main interests include watching and playing many different sports, website design, travelling, listening to music and watching movies (especially comedies).
I am looking forward to a great convention in Adelaide, see you there!!