I've been calling seriously since about 2004, although I had been calling on and off before that since 2000. CUSRC and The Round gave me my first local public gigs, and since then things have grown, with regular bookings at ceilidh series across the South of England.
For a long wile I was a regular feature at IVFDF, although having a small family has got in the way of that recently! More recently, I've been calling regularly at both my local dances, Unicorn Ceilidhs and Ceilidhs on the move (formerly Dances in the Barn) .
I'll be back at Ceilidhs on the move later this year, as well as a return visit to Meltdown.
I'm flexible and willing to work with any band, and I'm quite happy to travel. If you have particular requirements for your event, I'm keen to help out and honest enough to speak my mind.
My prefered style of calling is direct and fast; I'm not a standup comedian. I tend to choose straightforward dances, with a mix of familiar and unusual ones, but I'm not above putting in a tricky dance or two if the crowd are up for it. I love sicilian circle dances and hornpipes; I will call mixer dances if I'm asked to, but not as a rule. I try to always name the dance as I ask for sets to form; I'll always mention if the dance has strip-the-willow, a basket or some kind of stepping in it.
I'm a keen contra dancer, and occasionally a contra dance will slip into my repertoire, but the real influence is from contra callers like Cis Hinkle and Lisa Greenleaf, who have influenced my style of calling.
I'm also a keen Scottish dancer, and a few Scottish dances drift into my repertoire, but mostly I keep those for when I'm booked for a Scottish event. Yes, I do have a kilt.
A final influence I'm willing to admit is Cambridgeshire Feast dances. Ask me about them, when you see me.
At some point I'll add some quotes and people to ask for references here.
Andrew Swaine wrote a short introduction for The Round website, several years ago, which I've reproduced here.