John Charman and Wendy VanderMeulen
JOHN
About Me
I started dancing when I was 5 years old. My uncle was a musician in an old time square dance band and he would let me into the dance if I carried his equipment for him. That was just the beginning of a love of dance and I’ve been doing some kind of dancing ever since then.
In 1967, I came over to Canada and joined a Modern Square Dance club the same year. By 1969, I decided to start calling. Over the years, I’ve called in the Peterborough area, Toronto, Cobourg and, since 1985, the Ottawa area. I called from Basics through Challenge, and at one time was calling 5 nights a week. I currently call three times a week:
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Teaching/Calling Basic and Mainstream for the Harbour Lites
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Calling Plus for the Meri Squares
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Calling Advanced (A1) for the Crazy A's
I’ve called for many special dances in Ottawa and Montreal; I’ve called for special weekend Festivals; and I’ve enjoyed calling at international Festivals in both Canada and the US.
Testimonial:
Hello John and Wendy
What a great performance you put on for the April Caper! Everyone on the dance floor looked happy and lively ....
The Dance could not have gone as well as it did, without your consummate skills and infectious enthusiasm. ...
Thank you for your work in organizing the dance program, and swinging Meri Squares into success!
Ann D
Woodworking
In my free time, I keep busy making all kinds of wood crafts, from things like children’s puzzles and toy boxes, to trays, fruit baskets, and memories boxes, to coffee tables, picnic tables and dollhouses. Most things can be customized and personalized. The items shown below are a sample of what I do. Go to my Woodworking page to see more.
Jewelry
Several years ago, John took up making jewellery (British spelling for "jewelry"). he has designed a lot of his own creations and has tried his hand at various methods of jewelry making. Visit the Jewellery by John page for details on John's jewellery and how to buy it!
