Paul Ross has been dancing English country dance since 1971, when he joined the University of Chicago Country Dancers under the direction of Pat Talbot. She was an inspired teacher and leader, who taught English and Scottish country dancing, morris, gamalpolska, and hambo. When she left, Ross took over the calling.
In 1981 he followed his wife to New York City and promptly joined the country dance scene here, dancing at Metropolitan Duane Hall and serving on the New York Dance Activities Committee, the precursor of CD*NY. His teachers were the master callers of those years: Genny Shimer, Christine Helwig, Fried Herman, Sue Salmons, Bertha Hatvary and others.
In 1993, Ross became an apprentice caller in Westchester, studying under Christine Helwig and Fried Herman. Fried Herman, in particular, has been the major influence on his dancing and on his understanding and vision of what ECD is. To help preserve that vision and the dances that she created, Ross founded The Lenox Assembly in Lenox, Mass., in 2009, a dance weekend co-led with Amherst-area teacher Robin Hayden that is dedicated to the art of dancing well. You may see some of the results of this effort on his Childgrove YouTube channel and experience his teaching both in New York City and in White Plains during the September - June ECD season.