Mike started calling when he was 18. His first call was to
an empty supper room because he was so nervous that he could not even look! It
seems that the dancers enjoyed even that phantom call, because, with the help
of Lee McFadyeon, he went on to develop his talents until he is now one of the
best callers in
Australia.
Mike was born in
Wales, which probably accounts for
his superb voice and excellent timing. He came out to
Australia when
he was just a lad, and got dragged along to the square dance by his parents
against his will. To his surprise he found he thoroughly enjoyed the experience
and has been heavily involved in the activity ever since.
This year Mike will be doing a
dance in Buderim over Easter. Howard Cockburn will join Mike and Nev
McLachlan for a very exciting and entertaining weekend of dancing. If you
are planning on going to Queensland for Easter, then you may like to join these
three Callers.
The first weekend in May will see
Mike in Cairns, after that, he will be flying to New Zealand and will join the
New Zealand Callers at their Convention in Hamilton.
From June 10 to June 15, Mike will be joining the other Australian Callers at our 51st Australian National Square Dance Convention, being held in Wodonga, Victoria. I believe there are still tickets available, so if you are thinking about attending, I suggest you contact the Convention Committee as soon as possible. The theme is "Under the Big Top", so it should be a fun weekend.
On 19 June - after the Convention - Mike and Peter Humphries are doing a dance for the TAWS group. It will be held at the Woolshed and there are limited tickets, due to the small size of the shed. Talk to Mike about tickets if you are interested, or go to the TAWS website and talk to Mal or Chris Parrington, who are the organisers.
