During the 1998/99 Christmas Country Dance School in Berea, KY, a handful of dancers and a fiddler were up for more fun late night at Al and Alice White's house party - but there was no caller to lead them. The dancers collaboratively wrote a dance, adding a never-before-seen move, the "Melt Up" (opposite of a gypsy/swing meltdown, of course!). They wrote the dance down on the only thing that could be found - a paper plate -- lying on the snack table. They nominated the person with the loudest voice (that's me) to do the calling. A tradition was born!

Now, every year, the young (and young at heart) write a new "paper plate" dance - with something novel in it. This tradition sparked my calling and dance writing. I'm currently the holder of the paper plates, and am revising them in hopes of making them available in a collection (perhaps spiral bound and printed on paper plates?)

Watch Wendy call a Hip-Hop inspired version of "Monday Night In Ballard" by Mike Richardson
at Christmas Country Dance School at Berea, December 2008

Listen now! Wendy calls Cary Ravitz's "Mary Keith's Harmonium" to music by Bag o' Tricks at Folkmadness 2009.

Click here for audio file.

Click here for Seattle "Binary Blackout" Techno contra videos, August, 2010.