Susan Kevra - Biography

Susan burst onto the contra dance scene in the early 1990s in New England and honed her craft at her monthly dance series in Greenfield, MA for ten years. She now makes her home in Nashville, Tennessee, where she calls and organizes English, contra and square dances. She also travels to call at dance camps across the country and occasionally, around the globe. She spent 2000 - 2001 in France and traveling throughout Western Europe teaching Anglo and American dancing – and learning French dances. She is also a professor of French and American Studies at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches a class, "American Social History through Dance."

Susan is noted for her warmth, clear teaching and lovely voice. Dancers on both sides of the Atlantic appreciate her diverse repertoire of singing squares, Western patter calls, contras and English Country dances. She has choreographed a number of well loved contra and square dances, including "Trip to Phan Reel" and "The Hume Fogg Reel."

A fine clarinetist and singer, Susan is also a member of the English Country Dance Band, "Meeting House."

Her calling and singing can be heard on the critically acclaimed CD, "Full Swing" featuring some of New England's finest contra dance musicians. The CD contains a lengthy and entertaining booklet she wrote tracing the roots of New England contra dancing and a guide for new callers.