Rich Sbardella, Dance Caller Square Dance Caller from Stafford Springs, CT

I have been a dance caller for 30 years, and I have had the opportunity to lead contra dances, square dances, barn dances, and community dances throughout New England and as far away as Nevada, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Florida. Although I call for established clubs and dance communities, my specialty is bringing traditional American dances to people and organizations who do not regularly participate in these dance forms. Terms like Dosido, Swing Your Partner, and Promenade have become part of the American vocabulary, but I will have you dancing these moves and more, in just a few minutes. I teach all my dances before I call them and no experience is necessary. This form of dance is perfect for community building and works well at family reunions, corporate parties, weddings, anniversaries, father-daughter dances, and for many other occasions. One of my early mentors was Dick Leger, a Hall of Fame square Dance caller. He once told me that anyone could call a difficult square dance but it takes a good caller to call an easy, but fun dance. I took that as a challenge and made it my goal. In the most recent years I have been calling about 150 of these fun dances each year. I am a traditional caller, and I choose to use lots of traditional fiddle music, but I can also use more current music. I have worked with many great musicians in New England, but I do about half my dances with professionally recorded music. Most of my dances are one night events, but I have called longer programs for schools, and I have a tentative, full week camp event on my schedule. For a bit more than a DJ, and sometimes less, I can turn your event into a memorable slice of Americana people will talk about for a long time afterwards. Square dancing has a way of making people smile and laugh, and it is a great way to enhance your event.