Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Carter.
Hi Ann, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I discovered the joy of community square dancing in college. I was a regular dancer for many years before becoming a caller. One night at the Monday Night Square Dance in Minneapolis a seasoned caller witnessed me helping out some beginners in a square at the back of the room that was struggling. She pulled me aside afterwards and said: That’s it, you should be a caller! The next week I was at her house learning the basics and it all unfolded so naturally from there. I’m so grateful to her for seeing something in me that I hadn’t considered before! I started out practicing the craft at house parties specifically hosted for the purposes of helping new callers get experience. And then I started getting gigs and finding my own style and spreading my wings as a caller. It’s such a gift to do something that feels so fun & natural & offers something so joyful to folks! I now lead square dances at all sorts of events & places: weddings, reunions, birthday parties, fundraisers, festivals, corporate & non-profit events, block parties, senior centers, schools, day programs for folks with differing abilities, and really just about anywhere for any reason! I am booked this summer for a memorial celebration of someone’s life. What an honor!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been pretty smooth, actually! I mean there was for sure a learning curve, and I’m still learning and growing and honing my skills.
Learning to work with a live band has been fun and sometimes challenging.
Communication is key. Once I was gigging with a new band and forgot to tell/show them my cue for ending the dance tune. When I did my cue for ‘wrap it up/bring it home’, swirling my pointer finger around in the air as I make eye contact with the fiddler — they interpreted it as “speed it up and keep going!” It was a funny & fun miscommunication – the dancers were nice & tired by the time we sorted it out!
In general, I have had to grow my overall capacity for patience, and let go of trying to do it ‘perfectly’. Again and again I come back to the purpose of it:
to spread joy & connection.
During the recent surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis I had a series of preplanned gigs that were extremely challenging to pull off under the circumstances. For the first time ever, joy wasn’t the main goal, but rather creating a space to grieve and rage and connect and just be together. Those were the most powerful gigs in my nearly 20 years of calling.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a professional square dance caller. I specialize in leading groups of all sizes in fun partner dances, usually accompanied by a live band. Distinct from ‘club’ square dancing that tends to be more serious & advanced, the community square dancing I am steeped in is all about joy & connection. I tend to be known for my clear & positive teaching style and the enthusiastic spirit I bring to each gig & group. I love reminding folks that it’s all about having fun, about being in community, about moving our bodies to lively music – it’s not about getting it perfectly or being great at it! I am so grateful to have found a vocation that feels so natural for me and one that spreads such needed joy in this aching world.
I am especially proud of the recent dance series I created & lead as part of the Art Shanty Projects on Minneapolis’s frozen Lake Harriet. Planned back in the summer & fall of 2025, the dances ended up falling during the most intense weeks of the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. It was a terrible time for our city and residents and I was not at all sure we should proceed with something that seemed potentially frivolous. I was completely distracted by mutual aid efforts and also by despair, as so many of our neighbors were being traumatized & harmed. Ultimately it was decided we would proceed with what I had previously titled Collective Joy Square Dance on the Ice. I wasn’t sure people would participate but the second the music started, folks started flooding over to us, ready to hold hands with strangers and swing partners and be in community, amidst of the pain. For four weekends we offered this unique opportunity and each time, folks flocked to us and danced together in grief, in rage, in hope, and even in some joy. My voice shook and a couple of times I cried at the microphone as I acknowledged all that was happening in our city, and yet we danced. We danced in subzero temps, on the good kind of ice – actual ice on a frozen lake! At the end of each dance I had everyone get in a big circle holding hands and asked them to think of a wish they had for our city and then led them into the center of the circle to shout out their wishes into the cold air, up into the sky. The whole experience was incredibly moving & powerful for me, and I think for everyone involved.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The network of callers in the Twin Cities, and even nationally, is very strong. I have so many mentors that I still learn from, and it’s been an honor to also be a mentor to newer callers. For folks interested in learning to call, the best place to start is by regularly attending dances and getting to know some callers. In the Twin Cities there are regular public square dances at the Eagles Club and other styles of folk dancing led by callers at Tapestry Folkdance Center. It’s a friendly, social scene and networking can happen easily! I love ‘geeking out’ with other callers about the ins & outs of our unique jobs!
Pricing:
- My fees vary widely depending on the type of event.
- For private events (such as weddings) I usually charge about $1100 for a 3 piece band (fiddle, banjo, guitar) plus myself.
- If a live band isn’t in the budget, I can come with recorded music (but live music is the best!)
- I also lead dances with various community groups at community centers & day programs (seniors, folks with disabilities, church groups, homeschool groups, etc). These fees vary.
- I am also available for hire for team building experiences at workplaces! Rates vary.
Contact Info:
