I started modern square dancing in 1983, when I was 25 years old. I met John at work and he invited me to a demo he was doing with a Club he called for in Cobourg, Ontario. That was in the summer.  I went and had such a great time that in the Fall, I joined the "Lakeshore Waves" modern square dance club and haven't looked back since.

When we moved to Ottawa in 1985, I quickly learned as much as I could and was dancing Challenge (C1) before too long. We got busier with Modern Square Dancing and soon John was calling 5 nights a week!  We wouldn't do it if we didn't love it.

In 1997, John bought a singing call called "I Love You Honey" (old Patsy Cline country classic). The main line in the song is "I love you honey, I love your money, but most of all, I love your automobile." Well, it just made sense that I should sing the words to that song!  It soon became quite popular in the Ottawa area, and we often got requests to do it. As well, people began telling me, "You have such a nice singing voice, you should learn to call!"

I was not interested in calling, but then, in the summer of 2001, John and I decided to run an Instructors' Clinic. We believe that the area needs more Callers, and someone had to take the initiative to get dancers interested in calling. This clinic would cover the very basics of calling and give interested dancers the chance to see if calling might be for them. I decided that I would sit in as a student, as well as help teach, just to see what would happen. Well, it turns out that I didn't do too badly, so I made up my mind to pursue calling and see where it would take me.

That was 11 years ago, and I've been calling modern square dancing regularly since then.  I still am often told that I have a nice singing voice, and some of the songs I like to call to include "All That Jazz", "I Will Survive", "Hey Soul Sister", and many more.

I currently call for:

• Meri Squares, as the teacher for their new dancers. We dance Tuesday nights (see Meri Squares page for more info). 
• "Wendy's Elegant Eights" is my own Club; I am teaching Mainstream on Friday afternoons (see WEE page for more information). 
• As part of Wendy's Elegant Eights, on January 19, I am starting a New Dancer Class on Thursday nights.  More information can be found here. 
• For the January-April 2012 season, I am the Caller for Charmin' Promenaders, a Plus Club. 

I also currently have 2 casual groups that get together for easy MSD, once a month.  One is private, but one is open to anyone interested in attending.  No experience is necessary - it's just a time to kick up your heels and give MSD a try.  More information can be found here.

"Party Nights" are really special, and I particularly love doing these events.  This is where a group has decided that they want square dancing as part of their evening social, so I go in and teach them a few moves and we dance for an hour and a half or two hours.  I've done office Christmas Parties, fundraising events, Church groups, BIrthday / Anniversary / Wedding Parties, family and church picnics, Girl Scouts, series of classes in a local High School, a PD Day dance for teachers, and many more.  There is no limit to reasons or opportunities to try square dancing.  If it sounds like something you'd like to try, contact me! I'd love to tell you more about it.

I enjoy what I'm doing, but more than the enjoyment I get out of it for myself, it is such a thrill to see people square dancing and having fun doing it!

Contact me to find out more about where and when Modern Square Dancing is going on in your area.