Kip Garvey

Kip Garvey
Professional Square Dance Caller
394 Callaway Ln, Ione, CA 95640 ♦ kip@kipgarvey.com

Copy of June 30 Seminar on rebuilding the Jackson Claim Jumpers click here.        For a current Central Sierra Caller School flyer click here.

About Kip

Kip Garvey Promo Picture
Kip's promotional photo
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Kip Garvey began calling as a teenager in 1960. Initially he was club Caller for a teen square dance club in Andover, Massachusetts. He soon began calling for many local New England square dance clubs. Calling for several teen and adult clubs over the years, Kip has taught dancers every year since 1960. Kip has called in 48 States, England, Holland, Germany, Austria, Japan and China. He has been a featured caller in nearly every major square dance festival across the United States and was a principle Caller at the World Square Dance Convention for several years.

Kip was a recording artist for several different square dance labels, beginning with J-Bar-K and including Thunderbird Records and Rhythm Records. In 1988 Kip began the Eureka Records recording company and has produced many great square dance hoedowns and singing calls throughout the years. Currently, Kip is producing music on Eureka Recordings.

Kip joined CALLERLAB, the International Association of Square Dance Callers, in 1979. He was elected to the Board of Governors for five years and served on the Executive Committee and as Vice Chairman of the organization. He worked and chaired several committees with special focus on dance programs and caller training. After a move to California in 1980, Kip worked regularly with Bill Davis in development of much of the current day technical theory regarding choreographic structure and sight calling technique. Kip and Bill Davis were the first two test-certified CALLERLAB Caller Coaches and together conducted several caller training schools.

As one of CALLERLAB’s first certified Caller Coaches, Kip has been the feature lecturer at several caller schools across the country and in Europe. He has authored several magazine articles and technical documents, including a recently completed book on the technical aspects of square dance choreography entitled ‘Nuts And Bolts’ and another recently completed book for newer callers entitled 'Call Me Crazy'. Kip created the first online caller training facility that went live in 2017, the Central Sierra Caller School and is actively mentoring several local callers.

After a decade of work as a software engineer for Hewlett Packard Company, Kip retired in 2007. He and his wife Pat moved to Pioneer, California. In September 2019, they moved to Ione, CA where they now reside. Kip is the club caller for one of the oldest square dance clubs in the Sierras, the Jackson Claim Jumpers, a club founded in 1950. He travels and calls regularly for clubs in Northern California as a guest caller.