Nick and Mary Anne Turner Contact at 250-392-2432 or nmturner@telus.net
 Nick
learned to square dance in 1970. He started calling for the Chilcotin
Circul-8-tors in 1976 and he became the Williams Lake Stampede
Whirlaways club caller in 1978. Mary Anne joined the Whirlaways as a
new dancer in 1988. She taught herself to cue rounds in 1992 and became
the club Cuer. She and Nick were married in 1993.
2018 marked Nick's 40th year of calling for the Stampede Whirlaways and Mary Anne's
26th year of cueing for them.
Mary Anne cues and teaches Round Dancing through Phase lll+ and she
and Nick dance up to Phase lV+. Mary Anne has cued the Kamloops
Mayfest dance, several local Jamborees, at three Canadian Nationals
and at the B.C. Festivals and is well known for her annual Round Dance
Social at the Williams Lake Jamboree. In 2006, she organized and
hosted a weekend conference for Cuers - attended and enjoyed by Cuers
from around the province.
Nick prefers to call Mainstream or SSD and both he and Mary Anne have a
considerable repertoire of Easy Mixers, Couple Dances, Circle Dances
and other material that they use with Square Dancing when asked to call
for church groups, and schools.
Nick taught himself to call Contra and in 2000, he and Mary Anne
attended the San Diego Contra weekend. The next year they started the
Cariboo Contra Club in Lac La Hache. They organized and hosted a
Cariboo Contra Weekend and continued to do so for ten years. Mary
Anne also calls Contra now and helped with the calling for the Lac La
Hache club. She was also a staff caller for the Cariboo Contra
Weekend.
Nick has called Contra and squares at three Canadian Nationals, at the
BC Festivals and at the Callerlab Convention held in Vancouver. In
2004 he was Contra Program Chair for the Canadian National in Calgary.
Mary Anne and Nick have conducted dance sessions for Fine Arts days,
Professional Development Days, and Teachers’ Conventions. They
designed and wrote the dance programme for schools entitled “Moving and
Grooving” as well as recording the CDs for the programme This programme
is enjoying considerable success.
For 20 years, Mary Anne and Nick were the publishers
of
a dance Newsletter for Region 5 called The Cariboo Connection.
Mary Anne is the webmaster for Region 5, the Stampede Whirlaways and
the Moving and Grooving program.
Nick has served as Secretary and President of the Region 5 Caller, Cuer, and
Dancer Association and Vice President and President of the B.C. Square and Round Dance
Federation. For 3 years Nick and Mary Anne operated the BCS&RDF
InfoLine. Mary Anne has served as Secretary and President for the Region 5 Callers',
Cuers' and Dancers' Association.
In 2008, Nick and Mary Anne were privileged to receive the Award of
Excellence from the Canadian Square and Round Dance Society and in 2009
they received the BC Square and Round Dance Federation Sillery Award
for their service to the square and round dance world.
Nick retired from teaching school in 1998 and Mary Anne retired
in 2003.
They still enjoy being able to call, cue and teach dancing.
|