English Caller Bios
Beverly Francis
Dorothy Cummings
Gene Murrow
Helen White
Margaret Bary
Orly Krasner
Paul Ross
Tom Amessé
Beverly Francis
Beverly Francis, emerita, now of Columbus, Ohio, has b
een dancing since 1974 and from the very beginning was engaged by the beauty of the music and dance patterns and the sociability of dancing with a partner and a whole set. Her earliest days of dancing included the teaching of May Gadd, Pat Shaw, Genny Shimer, Jim Morrison, Sue Salmons and Christine Helwig, who were the great teachers of the times. Along with English and American country dance, she was involved in morris and long sword dance for more than 25 years, with Ring o’ Bells Morris and New World Sword. She was part of the first New York callers apprentice program in 1980 and since then has called both English and American dances in NYC, across the country and in Canada. She has been on the staff at several CDSS weeks at Pinewoods Camp. Beverly has been the MC at many a New York Playford Ball as well as balls for the Jane Austen Society of North America.
Dorothy Cummings
Dorothy Cummings has been participating in English county dance since 1997, when The New York Times ran Linda Wolfe’s article “Dancing in Jane Austen’s Footsteps.” She undertook a calling apprenticeship at CDNY in 2009-2012 and leads ECD at CDNY, the NYC metro area, the Hudson Valley, and further afield. Dorothy regards English country dancers as part of a community that extends from the 1600s to the present, and she relishes sharing the classics. She is fascinated by the variety of ways that people learn and motivated to ease the learning process. With crisp diction, lively musicality, and personal warmth, Dorothy promotes an encouraging and rewarding ECD experience to keep dancers coming back.
At CDNY, Dorothy uses the historical teaching terms Men and Women.
Gene Murrow
Gene Murrow has been an English country dancer and musician since 1965, and has taught and called at clubs, workshops, festivals, and balls throughout the United States as well as England, Europe, Canada, and Japan. He has attended Pinewoods Camp as a CDSS staff member almost every year since 1965, and has chaired Early Music Week, English Dance Week, and English/American Dance weeks several times each.
In 1996 he organized the Amherst Assembly, a week-long conference devoted to a scholarly and practical look at the origins and evolution of the country dance. He was invited to present a paper at the 2001 EFDSS/Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society conference in London tracing the history of English country dancing in America, and in 2004 he was honored as the featured country dance caller and teacher at the gala 50th anniversary of England’s Sidmouth International Festival. He has toured England several times for calling engagements, has appeared at the Eastbourne, Lichfield, Whitby, and Southam Festivals,. In the fall of 2006, he toured Japan for two weeks teaching English dance workshops, where he returned in 2011 to lead the Folk Dance Federation of Japan national workshop.
He is author of a resource guide and training curriculum on musicianship for English country dance teachers—the basis of a course offered at the Pinewoods, Mendocino, and Berea country dance workshops in the United States.
As a dance musician, he has made four recordings: “Measured Obsession” (music for dances by Fried Herman), and “Old Friends,” “New Friends,” and “Band of Friends” (for dances by Gary Roodman). He is also the Producer of the series of English dance recordings featuring the Boston-based band Bare Necessities, now numbering 14 discs.
A professionally trained musician, Gene is the founder, first Executive Director, and current Chairman of the Board of Gotham Early Music Scene, a service and advocacy organization for early music in New York City, and served on the Board of Directors of Early Music America. He has also served on the Board of the Country Dance and Song Society of America, was President of the American Recorder Society, and serves as a jury/panel member for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Helen White
Helen White was first exposed
to traditional Country Dancing in 1990, at the British Club in Thailand, where she experienced the power of community dance to draw strangers together. She started leading English dance in Michigan in the mid-1990s, an
d graduated from CD*NY’s apprenticeship program in 2012. Now calling mainly in the New York metro area, Helen’s programs share her delight with the variety of English country dance — from sublime to playful — and encourage participants to enjoy themselves while building their competence and confidence. In addition to leading dances for adults, Helen also leads family dances, with age-appropriate programming. She also has played music for English and contra dances for more than 20 years, in the tri-state area and beyond.
Margaret Bary
Margaret Bary joined the roster of ECD callers in 2016 after completing an apprenticeship with mentors Paul Ross and Beverly Francis. Along with CDNY, she calls English dances in other communities including Westchester, Ridgewood, Princeton, Albany, Boston, Burlington and the Hudson Valley, and has taught adults and children on staff at CDSS Family and Campers’ Weeks, ESCape and LCFD. Recently, Margaret along with her husband Jeff, have delved into dance choreography, writing a number of dances that have been featured in the wider ECD community.
In addition to leading English Country and community dances, Margaret teaches English sword dancing. As a member of Half Moon, she hosts the NY English Sword Dance Festival, and performs locally and at events such as NEFFA, the Marlboro Ale and DART (Dancing America Rapper Tournament).
Margaret currently serves on the CDSS Board and on the steering committee of Pourparler, a national gathering for teachers of traditional dance and music. A lifelong dancer, she has a background in Modern Dance, holds an MFA in Dance Choreography and is a Certified Movement Analyst. After a long career as a dance educator, she currently mentors Pre-K teachers in NYC public schools. Underlying her work with people of all ages, Margaret believes that participatory dance fosters joy, self-expression and connection between people.
At CDNY, Margaret is calling ECD positionally, without reference to gender.
Orly Krasner
Orly Krasner teaches regularly at Country Dance*New York and Country Dancers of Westchester. She discovered English Country Dancing while writing her doctoral dissertation on a totally unrelated musical topic. Intrigued by the idea of music made visible, she soon began to choreograph, and then apprenticed as a dance teacher under Fried de Metz Herman, Paul Ross, Beverly Francis, and Gene Murrow. In 2011, Gene invited her to join him in Japan as guests of the National Federation of Teachers of Folk Dance; their workshops began just in time for them to experience the earthquake! Orly has also called at the Lichfield (UK) Folk Festival (where she returns in 2017) and appears as a guest teacher for dances, festivals, and special events throughout the USA, and Canada. Celebrations, Orly’s book of dances, will be available soon; the CD, recorded by Reunion, is already out. Orly also dabbles in baroque dance but remains a committed ECD dance gypsy! In “real” life, Orly holds a Ph.D. in Musicology, and when she isn’t dancing, she teaches music history and theory at the City College of New York.
Paul Ross
Paul Ross has been dancing English country dance since 1971, when he joined the University of Chicago Country Dancers under the direction of Pat Talbot, an inspired teacher and leader, who taught English and Scottish country dancing, morris, gamalpolska, and hambo.
In 1981 Paul moved to New York City. His teachers were the master callers of those years: Genny Shimer, Christine Helwig, Fried Herman, Sue Salmons, Bertha Hatvary, and others, and he had the privilege of dancing to Phil Merrill’s and Marshall Baron’s playing, both legendary musicians of English country dancing.
In 1993, Paul became an apprentice caller in Westchester, studying under Christine Helwig and Fried Herman. Fried, in particular, was the major influence on Paul’s dancing and on his understanding and vision of what ECD is. To help preserve that vision and the dances that Fried created Paul founded The Lenox Assembly in Lenox, MA., in 2009, a dance weekend dedicated to the art of dancing well, whose final session was in May of 2022. Paul is also the keeper of the Childgrove YouTube channel.
Paul currently teaches regularly in White Plains, NY, with the Country Dancers of Westchester and in New York with CD*NY, using a mix of historical and positional terminology.
Tom Amessé
Tom Amessé has been calling English Country dances for over two decades. If he seems a natural on stage, some of the credit goes to his having, long ago acted in community theater! His clarity and easy-going style have helped him become a favorite at English country dance events in his hometown New York, as well as across the country. Tom once won an international story-telling contest on a trip to Wales. You might also find him calling Contra dances and Square dances, and playing his fiddle at Irish sessions.