Al Vesper » Members

Al Vesper

Home Phone: 507-289-1755
Photo of Al Vesper

Biographical Info

Bonnie and I were bitten by the square dance bug while we were in college through the outing clubs at our respective schools. Outing Clubs would periodically gather for a weekend of canoeing or camping and would feature a square dance on Saturday night, so we learned at the rate of three or four one-night-stands per year over a 3-4 year period. I hosted one of these weekends, put on a Saturday night dance featuring me as the caller, and thus my career in calling began with some contra dances and eastern dance routines. After college we married and joined a square dance club in Poughkeepsie, NY. We quickly became fanatics and moved through the advanced and challenge levels of Modern Western Square Dancing, eventually driving to NJ or Long Island several times a week. .

I started calling in earnest in 1975 to make dancing above the mainstream level available in the Mid Hudson Valley of NY. Four years later we quit square dancing altogether to have a better balanced family life. After a move to Minnesota and a few decades later we resumed our former dancing passion, quickly followed by a return to calling. Having discovered that there were no Plus club in the Rochester area, I was delighted to pick up the mic again and share my enthusiasm for dancing with area dancers.

I am currently calling for two clubs in Rochester: Mocha Crunch PLUS which started in January 2013, and Mocha Crunch Squares which graduated its second mainstream class in June 2014. Along with another caller, I have taught and continue to call for a small group of C2 dancers in the Minneapolis area. We are excited by the amount of enthusiastic support we have had for these new clubs.

I attended caller’s school with Lee Kopman in 1979 and the North Star Callers School run by Ken Ritucci in June 2013. I am a member of the Minnesota Square Dance Callers Association, and I maintain BMI and ASCAP music licenses through CallerLab.

My choreography includes all position dancing and DBD, but I tailor dances to fit the dancers and workshop troublesome moves. Please call me for mainstream through C2 dances.

Categories: Caller