Graham called for:
Ulysses Squares - Cairns
Ulysses Squares - Cairns
Grahams's Club Website
Profile
From a local news outlet article:
Graham Durose is passionate about square dancing; revelling in teaching it — and making it fun!
Thursday afternoons he is in full voice, calling for U3A Squares Cairns beginners and mainstream classes; Monday evenings for more advanced plus dancers. On the third Saturday of the month, Waterfall Square dancers of Malanda, on the Atherton Tablelands, also claim his expertise.
Leaving a teaching career in Sydney in the 60s, he travelled Australia in an old Morris 1100 with a friend. He sampled an array of occupations: at Whyalla steelworks, SA, down a goldmine in Norseman, WA, with bauxite companies at Mitchell Plateau and Cape Bougainville, WA, as well as bus and taxi-driving in Perth. Finally back in Sydney, he tackled a diesel mechanic apprenticeship.
He met Alison, his wife of 34 years, at a square dancing club, which he joined for ‘something to do’. They made Cairns their home in 1984.
Here Graham taught introductory computer courses for two decades at Cairns TAFE, from the days when TAFE still lacked computers. But he never strayed from his favourite pastime, before long founding Ulysses Squares in Cairns.
His calling skill began with taking a learners’ class with the help of records, eventually progressing to calling and singing.
‘More fun,’ Graham declares. ‘But pity the poor dancers who put up with my voice in the early days,’ he confesses with a laugh.
A member of both Queensland and Australian Square Dance Caller Associations, he has achieved a grading qualifying him to call at national conventions.
Graham and Alison have attended three conventions in Canada and eight national conventions in Australia, with numbers of up to 2,000, dancing for three days. Enduring friendships are highlights, with overseas members met in Australia visited again in Calgary and Halifax.
A Square Dance publication best sums up Alison’s support: A caller’s wife is the one who opens the windows, makes the coffee and dances as a man as required.With ongoing disparity in men to women ratio, learners value Alison’s expertise in dancing the male part.
How does Graham cater to different levels? With the right balance of repetitions, hoedown calls that allow for hiccups, and smoother singing calls; while challenging learners with new moves at each class. He coaches non-stop, before class, during breaks, and also teaches a trainee caller.
Preparation is crucial, before class — practising singing calls and groups of calls that successfully resolve a set, returning couples to home position.
Time and energies are not the only investments. He has a huge record collection, imported from the US, with top quality specialist player and amplifier specially built in California.
How does this dynamic septuagenarian maintain his stamina? He enjoys long, regular hilly walks with Alison and hiking on campervan trips.
And his dedication to the skill of square dancing means happy dancers will continue to benefit from his love of teaching.
Graham passed away on the 4th October 2023 after a lengthy ilness.