56th Australian National Square Dance Convention

Born in Perth Western Australia on the 7^th November 1948 and lived in WA since then. A true born and bred West Aussie!!

I was first introduced to Square Dancing in the late 1960’s in a small club in the Methodist Church Hall in Carlisle with Steve Turner as the Caller. My first foray into calling was later that year at a youth camp in Bunbury where I was part of the organizing team for the camp and as part of the evening activities I called a square dance to the song “Red River Valley”. It was a short lived career move which started and ended on the same night until nearly 40 years later.

In 1973, Christine and I married and we soon moved to the country. After a number of years of absence from dancing we started to dance at a club in the southwest of WA, Manjimup, at the Karri On Dancers which was a fun and challenging time for our one set club. We even ventured to hold a Christmas Dance at the Donnelly River Workers Club in Donnelly River Mill Club and managed to lure Steven Turner to be our guest caller for the evening. A great night of dancing and our fledgling club were a happy group. We even ventured to a State Convention at the Hartfield Park Recreation Centre at which there appeared to be thousands of dancers (probably hundreds) but to we country hicks the numbers exceed our town sizes many fold so that was a new country in its own right. Colorful dress and loads of fun callers etc.

1990 saw our family return back to the big smoke. After I had had some major surgery and was recovering from it we attempted to return to Square Dancing at Prim’s club Greenfinches, alas that wasn’t to work out, so another few years out of the activity. Eventually we returned to Greenfinches with Don Gauci at the helm and the rest is history, we are still dancing there every Tuesday night with a great crowd, and as history travels in circles back to Steve Turner being the club caller.

In 2008 while at Margaret River I was challenged by a group at an evening after party to try my hand at the Amateur Callers event the next year. Unfortunately 2009 we were overseas at the time of the event so I had to wait until 2010. At that event I was the winner and won the Judges Choice Trophy. That year I joined CAWA and the ACF. I then became Treasurer of CAWA later that year, a position I still currently hold.

I have called at the Annual Callers Ball since that time and also at the State Conventions in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. I was Co-programmer/MC at the 2012 and 2013 State Conventions along with Jeff Van Sambeeck and Jim Buckingham respectively as well as sound and music manager. I also currently represent the Callers Association of WA as the Caller Liaison Officer on the Square Dance Society of WA executive.

In 2010 I commenced my training as a Trainee Caller with Don Gauci as my mentor and Steve Turner as my Training Officer. I completed my training gaining accreditation as a Club Caller in December 2013. I have also attended a number of training sessions since that date and continue to avail myself of opportunities to improve the craft of calling both singing and hoedown dances.

I have been privileged to be invited to call for the following clubs:-

Riverside – Queens Park
Dolphins – Mandurah
Augusta Margaret River – Busselton
Greenfinches – Hamersley
Allemanders – Mindarie

Avon Valley Squares in York have also extended me an invitation as a guest caller at both their birthday and Christmas dances since 2011.

2013 saw my wife and I commence a club of our own in the Swan Valley, a well known historic wine growing region in Perth. The club celebrated its birthday in March and just recently graduated its first set of dancers with a Spanish themed evening which drew a crowd of over 100 dancers to a fabulous celebration. This club has developed into a strong group of friendly welcoming dancers who have now become a committee run club and are showing a great strength in the square dancing community of WA.

I have been instrumental in the introduction of standardization of music mode delivery at large state functions, including the use of MP3 or Vinyl only and the use of powered USB hubs. I have conducted a training course on this for WA Callers. The system was trialed at the Callers Ball in 2011 and with modifications and adaption has been used with ever growing success at successive Caller Balls and State Convention since. In 2013 in support of this initiative the Callers Association of WA supplied each caller in WA with a specially marked CAWA USB for use at all functions. The programme is now recognized and at the forthcoming State Convention the only two acceptable forms of presenting music for callers will be via a USB or Vinyl. Whilst I wouldn’t make such a bold claim to be the first in Australia to implement this strategy I would happily agree that I am at the forefront of attempting to standardize music presentation at large events to improve the “professionalism” of the callers for the enjoyment of all dancers.

Recently I have released my first square dance song “Ninety-Nine Ways” under the GR8Trax label and am in the process of releasing a second shortly, of a modern original Australian pop group song released in 2013,  along with a “surprise” duo fun one in the not too distant future. I certainly am looking forward to being part of the 2015 Come to The Cabaret Celebration in Adelaide.

See us on Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/groups/456272654473495/
or on the web at:
www.swanvalleysquares.weebly.com

Born:         1951 in Armadale, Western Australia
Star Sign:  Scorpio
Live:          Quinns Rocks, Western Australia
Family:      Married to Leila Buckingham with 3 children and 5 grandchildren

HISTORY

• 1994 - Started Square Dancing as a dancer
• Sponsored by Ray Routledge, Caller at Capricorn Dancers
• 2002 - Fully qualified Mainstream Caller
• 2009 - Programmed the 50^th National in WA
• 2011 - Fully qualified Plus Caller
• 2014 - W.A. State Representative for Australian Callers Federation (Representing C.A.W.A)
• 2014 – Current member of Caller Lab

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Previous winner of the W.A. Amateur Callers event.
• We started our own Square Dance club called Allemander Squares, in 2004. I am the current caller and owner at the club.
• Programmed for state conventions in WA
• Called at National Conventions 8 times
• Called in Japan for the Tokyo Squares 50^th Birthday and called at one of the Japanese Nationals
• Past club caller at White Gum Valley for six years
• Current caller at Northern Stars (shared)
• I am the owner of GR8 Trax Square Dance label
• My favourite Square Dance Song is Ginny Come Lately, sung by Richard Muir on the GR8 Trax Label.